Turkish President Erdoğan and Western Hypocrisy

September 20th, 2014

David Schulberg

105

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is one of the most controversial figures of Turkish political history, and has been well known politically since the beginning of 1990s.

Erdoğan comes from a conservative Islamist tradition, and even back in the 1990s he was known for his authoritarian tendencies. Erdoğan gave hundreds of political declarations during the 1990s, and emphasized that he believed in the order of God and not democracy. In one of his speeches, he openly said “Democracy is like a train for us. We get on it and when we reach our destination, we get off it.” He also said “We see democracy as a tool, not as a target to be reached.”

Erdoğan and AKP Government

Erdoğan established AKP (Justice and Development Party) in 2001, and won the elections in November 2002. As he established his first government, he had the support of almost all Western countries. Politicians and media organs made publications praising Erdoğan, claiming that he was the greatest hope for Turkey and the Middle East. According to USA and EU governments, Erdoğan had to be supported at all costs. Westerners’ support began in the early days of Erdoğan’s governance and continued until the Gezi Park Demonstrations in June 2013.

On the other hand, many secular and progressive people took a position against Erdoğan in Turkey. Leftist groups, Kemalists, and social democrats stated that Erdoğan had a secret agenda which aimed to establish an authoritarian regime that had nothing to do with democracy and human rights. On the other hand, Western media and politicians strictly opposed such criticisms, blaming secular people for being “paranoid”. According to Westerners, Erdoğan had positive intentions and progressive people had “unnecessary concerns”.

But why were Westerners so fond of Erdoğan and his government?

Because Erdoğan was a strong ally of the USA and EU. He even had very good relations with Israel at the beginning of 2000s. Erdoğan and his AKP government were ready to cooperate with Westerners in Iraq, Iran, and Syria. While applying the “Greater Middle East Initiative”, Erdoğan could be very helpful. So, Westerners ignored all the flaws of Erdoğan’s government and gave full support to the actions of Turkish authorities.

Rise of Erdoğan

As years passed by, Erdoğan strengthened his new regime. Social and political pressure over Turkish society has been increased step by step. In almost 10 years, the number of political prisoners has reached an extreme level. Turkey has become the number one country in the world when it comes to imprisoning journalists. Turkey’s record on this issue is still worse than Iran and China.

Students have been another target of the AKP government. According to a report of Ministry of Justice, there were 2824 students in Turkish prisons in 2012.

But this was not enough for official authorities. All the opposition had to be destroyed. So, a campaign of detentions initiated in 2007. Hundreds of people; including academics, journalists, intellectuals and authors were arrested and put in prison under the legal investigations such as “Ergenekon”, “Sledgehammer”, “Revolutionist Headquarters” and “Oda TV”. The government accused these people of trying to organize a military coup, and overthrow the AKP government. Even though there was no evidence of this alleged crime, it meant nothing to the police and public prosecutors. Hundreds of people suffered in prisons for years. Some of them died in prison because of poor living conditions. In 2013, most of the defendants were convicted and sentenced to long years of jail time. But in 2014, Constitutional Court made a new decision and stated that all the defendants were misjudged and principles of universal justice were ignored during trials. All these people are free today.

Attitude of Western Media and Politicians

Now the question is simple. What were Western politicians and media doing while such incidents were taking place? How did they react while hundreds of opposition members, journalists and students were put in prison?

The answer is simple. They supported Erdoğan and claimed that such trials were necessary in order to establish democracy in Turkey. Western press wrote that Erdoğan was a great opportunity for Turkey and was helping Turkey to reach the standards of European Union. While innocent people were suffering in prison, Westerners were praising Erdoğan and saying that Erdoğan was transforming Turkey into a democratic state. Some media organs evaluated detention of intellectuals and academicians as necessary measures to protect democracy.

A Personal Observation

Three weeks before the beginning of Gezi Park demonstrations, an ex-student of mine from Italy called me. She said that she was writing a master’s thesis on censorship in Turkey and needed some information on this issue. She asked for an interview and I accepted her request. Soon we had a meeting in Istanbul. I gave her an interview for 3 hours and told her about the ugly truth in Turkey. She was surprised and shocked by the information I gave her. And I was surprised to see that she didn’t know anything about the issues I mentioned. She told me that she had done some research on European media organs, but had never heard such awful things.

I realized that my ex-student was right. Western media was busy praising Erdoğan while opposition members were persecuted in Turkey. Until Gezi Park Resistance, Erdoğan had been presented as a hero. A hero that Middle East needed. Or let’s say, Westerners needed.

Examples of Political Support from Europe

One of the major supporters of Erdoğan was Claudia Roth from the German Green Party. Ms. Roth was the co-chairwoman of the German Greens between 2004 and 2013. Today, she is the Vice-President of the Bundestag.

In one her interviews on Turkey and Erdoğan in 2004, she said, “What Prime Minister Erdoğan has been doing is magnificent. I respect him. AKP embraced the values of European Union. Not Greens, not leftists, but a conservative party did it. I think Erdoğan is very charismatic. What AKP has been exercising is actually the values of leftists.”

In another interview in 2007, she said some of her Turkish friends fear that secularism is under threat in Turkey, but she is sure that there is no need to be afraid. In 2012, Ms. Roth named Turkey a “constitutional state based on democratic principles”.

But after Gezi Park demonstrations, Claudia Roth completely changed her attitude and began to attack Erdoğan. Recently, she named Erdoğan’s presidential election campaign as “disgusting”. Roth said “Erdoğan sees leftist and secularist people as terrorists. He is far away from democracy. The gap between men and women has enhanced a lot during his governance. Journalists are in prison. Erdoğan names all his opponents as terrorists.”

Another prominent supporter of Erdoğan was Thorbjorn Jagland (Secretary General of the Council of Europe). In 2012, Mr. Jagland said, “Erdoğan has achieved a silent revolution in Turkey…AKP provided a new energy to Turkey. Turkey has been modernized so fast that Europe couldn’t understand it”. Mr. Jagland began to state his concerns only after innocent civilians were murdered by police in front of cameras during Gezi Park demonstrations.

Western Media’s Support to Erdoğan

Western media had also supported Erdoğan since the day he was elected as Prime Minister. This support had been increased as Erdoğan gained power. For example, after the election victory of AKP in 2011, Le Figaro wrote “This is the victory of modernization in Turkey. Erdoğan has made Turkey the 17^th biggest economy in the world.” New York Times claimed that “There is political and economical stability in Turkey.” Times described Turkey as the “New strong man of Europe and a growing power in the Middle East”.

On the other hand, Erdoğan never hid his political intentions. His Islamic aspirations were known by everybody. Leftist and secularist people in Turkey emphasized this fact but Westerners preferred to ignore it. Human rights violations in Turkey were not that important when Western interests in the Middle East were on the table. In one of his articles, David Gardner from Financial Times described Erdoğan’s popularity as “an invaluable asset for the West.”

Who would want to lose such a “precious” person?

Erdoğan’s Way

Actually, Erdoğan’s rise could have been stopped if both Turkish people and Westerners had assessed the facts. Erdoğan’s objectives were clear, and he did what he wanted to do step by step.

Political cases like Ergenekon helped Erdoğan a lot. For example, Gareth Jenkins (an expert on Turkey) made a declaration to BBC Türkçe on August 4th, 2013 and said that “There is no terrorist organization named Ergenekon…Ergenekon trials laid the fundamentals of Prime Minister Erdoğan’s oppressive regime… This case was prepared by political motivations… If people examined the case carefully at the beginning and stood up for the rights of the prisoners, there wouldn’t be an authoritarian regime in Ankara right now”.

As EU and USA gave declarations in favor of Erdoğan, he became stronger day by day. EU prepared official reports praising AKP government’s so-called achievements. Western media named Erdoğan as the “rising star of Middle East”.

Effect of Gezi Park Resistance

But as Gezi Park Resistance began, things started to change. Police forces attacked innocent people and murdered civilians in front of cameras. Now, it wasn’t possible for the Western media to hide the truth anymore. People from Europe and USA started to ask questions about the Turkish government. Erdoğan’s uncompromising and fierce attitude was impossible to conceal. So, Western media started to criticize Erdoğan. Erdoğan became a dictator in a couple of days in the eyes of Westerners. One week before the Gezi Resistance began, Erdoğan was a hero. After one week, he was put in the same category with Milosevic, Hitler and Mussolini.

Obviously, one does not become a dictator in one week, but this was the image Western media and politicians presented. Erdoğan became the target of Western main stream media in a very short period of time. It is ironic that only one week before, these media organs were presenting Erdoğan as a perfect example to other Middle Eastern countries.

Suddenly, “old allies” turned into “new enemies”. Erdoğan responded to Western media harshly and called them “agents of intelligence services”. So, a struggle has begun between old friends. This struggle is still going on today.

Leftist people, secularists and Kemalists had warned the world about Erdoğan for more than a decade but no one listened to them. On the contrary, these groups were blamed for being “paranoid” and even for being “anti-democratic” and “intolerant”. Today, Westerners are criticizing Erdoğan just like the progressive people of Turkey.

But can we count on Western media and politicians?

Of course, we cannot. They can change sides again and begin to support Erdoğan, just like they did in the past.

Hypocrisy and Lies

An ordinary person from USA or Europe can say that “I didn’t know the truth about Erdoğan and his government.” He/she has the right to say that. But Western media or politicians like Claudia Roth or Thorbjorn Jagland do not have the right to say “Sorry, we didn’t know,” because we know that they knew. They just preferred to ignore it until it was too late. Who cares about Turkish people when Western interests are at stake?

Frederick William Robertson once said that, “There are three things in the world that deserve no mercy: hypocrisy, fraud, and tyranny.” It seems that Turkish people are highly familiar with all these concepts.

As for today, Western media and Erdoğan are still in conflict. The two sides are criticizing each other harshly, and Western politicians are trying to find a way to make a new deal with the Turkish government. This is understandable when we consider the low moral level of Western governments’ international policies.

It is not easy to find loyal allies in the Middle East, is it?

by GÖNENÇ ÜNALDI

Sources:

Melih Aşık, Milliyet Newspaper, “Zaferi Kutlarken”, 31 August 2014, http://www.milliyet.com.tr/zaferi-kutlarken-/gundem/ydetay/1933282/default.htm

Youtube.com, “Demokrasi Bizim İçin Amaç Değil Araçtır”, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY52kEMQyBA

Hürriyet Newspaper, “Hapisteki Gazeteci Sayısında Türkiye Bu Yıl da Birinci”, 10 January 2014, http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/25534573.asp

CNN Türk Web Site, “2824 Öğrenci Cezaevinde”, 07 August 2012, http://www.cnnturk.com/2012/turkiye/08/07/2824.ogrenci.cezaevinde/671910.0

Hürriyet Newspaper, “Tek Kusuru Fenerli Olması”, 29 August 2004, http://hurarsiv.hurriyet.com.tr/goster/haber.aspx?id=253211

HaberTürk Newspaper, “Çankaya İçin Bana Bir Türk Koca Bulun”, 05 April 2007, http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/19319-cankaya-icin-bana-bir-turk-koca-bulun

Zaman Newspaper, “Roth: Türkiye’ye Teşekkür Etmek İstiyorum”, 08 September 2012, http://www.zaman.com.tr/newsDetail_openPrintPage.action?newsId=1330959

Oda TV, “Erdoğan’ın Seçim Kampanyası Mide Bulandırıcı”, 08 August 2014, http://www.odatv.com/n.php?n=alman-yesiller-partisi-es-baskani-claudia-roth-0808141200

Sedat Ergin, Hürriyet Newspaper, “Bir Avrupalı Dostundan Erdoğan’a Mesajlar”, 27 June 2013, http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/yazarlar/23595267.asp