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  • Erdogan's Fractured Ties To The West

    ERDOGAN'S FRACTURED TIES TO THE WEST

    Al-Monitor
    April 4 2014

    Author: Semih Idiz
    Posted April 4, 2014

    Prior to the March 30 municipal elections, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
    Erdogan had adopted strong anti-Western rhetoric, further tarnishing
    his already damaged image in the United States and Europe, as well
    as straining Ankara's relations with the West. The question being
    asked by Western diplomats and Turkey observers is whether Erdogan,
    to normalize ties, will tone it down after the strong electoral
    results secured by his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

    Summaryâ~N~Y Print Some are speculating that following the victory
    of the Justice and Development Party in municipal elections, Turkey
    might seek to build bridges to the West, but this would require a
    shift in Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's approach.

    Author Semih IdizPosted April 4, 2014

    Nouriel Roubini, of Roubini Global Economics and a senior economist
    for international affairs in the Clinton administration, suggested
    before the elections that Erdogan would "shift policies" in a way
    that would eliminate political uncertainties in Europe and the United
    States concerning Turkey. He argued, "Turkish Prime Minister Recep
    Tayyip Erdogan cannot realize his dream of a presidential republic
    and will have to follow his opponents -- including a large protest
    movement -- to the secular center."

    Roubini's prediction is predicated on two assumptions. The first is
    that Erdogan still wants to become president, which is not as clear-cut
    as it once was, and the second is that he has a desire to move to the
    "secular center," even though his Islamist perspective has since been
    endorsed by 43% of the electorate.

    The criticism Erdogan has been getting from the United States and
    Europe mostly concerns his increasingly authoritarian and undemocratic
    tendencies, apart from his accusations about external forces,
    mostly in the West, trying to topple him and his government. Since
    the elections, Erdogan has shown no sign of abating his tendencies,
    as indicated by his remarks on the Constitutional Court's ruling that
    the government's Twitter ban breaches freedom of expression.

    "We have to comply with the Constitutional Court's ruling, but I do not
    have to respect it. I don't respect this ruling," the prime minister
    told reporters on April 3 en route to Azerbaijan. Questioning the speed
    with which the court had dealt with the case, despite there being so
    many others in front of it, Erdogan accused the highest court in the
    land of "not having displayed a national stance." He also claimed that
    the court's stance had nothing to do with law, asserting, "The law is
    something else. What is involved here is not a legal implementation."

    Political analysts and legal experts, who took note of President
    Abdullah Gul welcoming the court's ruling, were quick to assert
    that Erdogan's remarks do not augur well for the future of Turkish
    democracy. Many see in his words not only a defense of restrictions
    on the Internet, but also a dangerous suggestion that if Erdogan
    had the power to do so, he would change the constitution to curb the
    Constitutional Court.

    Erdogan's words came on the heels of his government having hastily
    drafted a new law on the Supreme Board on Judges and Prosecutors that
    curbed the independence of the judiciary and effectively closed the
    path for cases concerning government corruption. The government moved
    against the judiciary following the investigation by prosecutors (who
    have since been dismissed or displaced) into government corruption
    and took action against the Internet after corruption-related
    incriminating recordings of Erdogan and members of his government
    were leaked through social media.

    Erdogan's criticism of the Constitutional Court's Twitter ruling is
    not expected to play well in the United States or the European Union
    (EU), where his authoritarian tendencies are already under increasing
    scrutiny. His actions elicited a number of harshly worded statements
    and resolutions in the West condemning his interfering in due process
    as well as restricting press freedoms and freedom of thought. The
    criticism seems, however, to have had little intended effect on
    Erdogan to date.

    To the contrary, Erdogan has used the criticism to bolster his
    standing with his followers, who traditionally have admired strong
    stands against the United States and Europe. Addressing a crowd of
    supporters in Bursa prior to the March elections, Erdogan promised
    to "root out Twitter," which he has referred to in the past as a
    "scourge." He added defiantly, "The international community will say
    this, it will say that. ... None of this is of any concern to me.

    Everyone will see Turkey's strength." Within hours of Erdogan's
    remarks, Twitter was banned in Turkey, to be followed a week later
    by a ban on YouTube.

    Reactions from the West were not long in coming. US State Department
    spokeswoman Jen Psaki uncustomarily read a prepared statement during
    her daily press briefing of March 21, affirming that the United States
    supports freedom of expression in Turkey and opposes any action to
    encroach on the right to free speech: "We urge the Turkish government
    to unblock its citizens' access to Twitter and ensure free access
    to all social media platforms," the statement read. "This action
    is contrary to Turkey's own expressed desire to uphold the highest
    standards of democracy and efforts to attract foreign investment."

    In the US Senate, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., chairman of the Foreign
    Relations Subcommittee on European Affairs, cosponsored a resolution
    on March 27 with Sens. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.,
    "condemning the actions of the government of Turkey in restricting
    free expression and Internet freedom on social media." A day later,
    34 members of the House of Representatives, led by Rep. Luke Messer,
    R-Ind., signed a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to
    strongly demand that Turkey protect the democratic freedoms and rights
    of its citizens. On April 1, Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., and founder of
    the Congressional Internet Caucus, introduced a resolution calling on
    the Erdogan government to allow free expression and Internet freedom
    in Turkey.

    The picture was no better in Europe, where the Erdogan government was
    not only castigated with strong language, but also reminded that it
    was backpedaling on its commitments to the EU, to which Turkey has
    been seeking membership. European Commission Vice President Neelie
    Kroes referred to the Twitter ban, through her own Twitter account,
    as "groundless, pointless, cowardly," adding, "Turkish people and the
    (international) community will see this as censorship. It is." The EU
    commissioner for enlargement, Stefan Fule, in a statement that same
    day, asserted, "The ban on the social platform Twitter.com in Turkey
    raises grave concerns and casts doubt on Turkey's stated commitment
    to European values and standards."

    While similar sentiments were expressed after the government banned
    YouTube on March 27, none of them has had a moderating effect on
    Erdogan thus far, as his latest remarks on the Constitutional Court's
    Twitter ruling show. This would appear to suggest that any additional
    criticism from the West will merely stoke more defiance, especially
    since it plays well among his supporters. There are a number of other,
    unrelated developments that will most likely prompt angry reactions
    from Erdogan, not only creating strains in ties but also intensifying
    anti-Western sentiment among his supporters.

    One such development concerns the perennial Armenian genocide issue
    and involves a resolution cosponsored by the Democratic Sen. Robert
    Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and
    Republican Sen. Mark Kirk, commemorating the Armenian genocide. Turks
    in general, not just Erdogan supporters, reject the Armenians' claims
    of genocide at the hands of Ottoman Turks, arguing that million of
    Turks were also killed during World War I. This issue continues to
    hold the potential to poison Turkish-US relations.

    Attacks against the Armenian community in the Syrian town of Kassab
    by the jihadist Jabhat al-Nusra group, which the Erdogan government
    is accused of supporting -- an issue that has already been taken up
    in the House of Representatives -- could also fuel tensions between
    Washington and Ankara. Another development that will have angered
    Erdogan and his supporters was an inquiry ordered by British Prime
    Minister David Cameron into the activities of the Muslim Brotherhood,
    which has resulted in speculation that the group could be banned
    in Britain.

    Erdogan is a strong supporter of the Brotherhood, of which many
    consider the AKP to be an honorary member.

    Given this sensitive backdrop to Turkey's current ties with the West,
    it remains an open question as to whether Erdogan will display the
    statesmanship necessary to keep Turkey's ties with the West on course
    or whether he will choose instead to play to his domestic gallery,
    which is anti-Western by nature, with an eye on the August presidential
    elections and the general elections after that.

    Al-Monitor's Julian Pecquet contributed to this report.

    http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/04/erdogan-fractured-west-ties-eu-us.html




    From: A. Papazian
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