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Armenian, Assyrian and Hellenic Genocide News
Who is really afraid of Turkey?
by TURKISH Daily News - 03 Jan. 2001
Posted: Friday, January 05, 2001 10:57 am CST
Cem should know that today nobody is afraid of Turkey. There is no need for this. On the contrary, Turkey as a regional power should encourage trust and cooperation
"Opinion" By Professor Huseyin Bagci
Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem's interview with Sabah Daily's Murat Yetkin at the end of the year (Dec. 31) was a masterpiece of a wrong assumption of the world! The interview was titled "They are afraid of us."
It is the first time that Cem has said such things so openly and undiplomatically. Actually, he is known here and abroad as a capable, knowledgeable and open-minded person who is trying to improve the image of Turkey and to defend Turkey's national interests in the international arena. His argument is that in both the East and the West there are certain anti-Turkish tendencies and that the dominate view is that "Those Turks are getting too far" meaning that Turkey plays a much greater role than she should.
It is difficult to understand how such a first-class politician as Ismail Cem can fall in with the anti-EU voices in Turkey. There is a possibility that Cem wants to please the anti-EU circles who are every day getting stronger in order to not jeopardize his political future because those groups can direct and manipulate Turkish public opinion. For instance, last Saturday the headline in the Daily Radikal was "Confusing EU answer" that talked about a public opinion poll showing that for the first time the results were against the EU membership of Turkey. First time since Helsinki! What has happened that suddenly such polls are giving such results? Despite the fact that most of the pro-EU people are young people who foresee their future in Europe, the "elder generations" spread propaganda that the West is not interested in Turkey because "they are afraid of Turkey."
Therefore, as a foreign minister, Cem's interview is full of controversy -- what he said before and what he says now. This is actually the real inconsistency in Turkish foreign policy -- politicians create fear and later became a tool of those fears that they created. According to Cem, the historical prejudices of the East and West come to the forefront if Turkey gets stronger. It was Cem who tried to use the "dimension of history" as a positive element in Turkey's foreign and security policies both to the East as well as the West when he was writing his article titled "Turkey: Setting Sail to the 21st Century" (Perceptions, September-November 1997). He stressed: "I do not find useful a discussion on Turkey's 'true location' in the world -- whether it is European or Asian, whether it is in the Balkans, in the Caucasus or in the Middle East. Nor is there any need to choose 'one or the other' for Turkey is the embodiment of them all. That is our uniqueness, our richness and our strength." Does this uniqueness, richness and strength of Turkey suddenly become a reason for these fears?
One of Cem's interesting views was his observation of Turkish-European history: If Turkey is weak and does not pose any danger for Europe then Europe does not "create" any problems for Turkey; but, if Turkey becomes an international actor in international politics, then historical issues such as the "Armenian question," are brought up. Now, Cem knows that this Armenian question is a problem of the Ottoman Empire and it will remain so. Turkey does not accept any responsibility in this regard, and no state can force Turkey to recognize the so-called Armenian genocide. But how then can Turkey become a "global state" when she is not ready to fight against such accusations politically?
There are historical facts and history is an interpretation of the facts. Why bother? Until now the Turkish state has been successful, so what is the problem? But, as Cem stated in his above mentioned article, Turkey's target is to become a global state. Therefore, he cannot say that they, meaning the rest of the world, are afraid of us. Cem defines Turkey as a global state and expects Turkey to be "a global state ... that acts as a role model with its democracy, respect for human rights and its traditional characteristic tolerance ... that truly fulfils our great leader Ataturk's dictum, 'Peace at home, peace in the World' that competes with the best in the realms of science, technology and economy ... and that becomes one of the major centers of attraction with its historical record, cultural richness, humanity, and sense of identity with all contemporary values."
Cem should avoid this problem. He should not make the same mistake as many his predecessors -- to speak to the Turkish public differently than to the world public. Turkey is a democratic country and the West is democratic also. A new civilization of democratic countries has occurred, and Turkey has to take its place in this civilization. This is necessary for the sake of future generations. Why does he again bring up the views and statements saying that the Turkish public is really fed up? Why should Turks live in constant fear that a better, rich, democratic and strong Turkey is not in the interests of the West? Does he not see that this is the biggest mistake ever for the democratization of Turkey? Why was he proudly speaking for one year that Turkey is a candidate for EU membership? What happens to Turkish politicians? Why do they not have the political vision that a strong, democratic and rich Turkey is not only in the interest of the West but in the entire world?
Cem should know that today nobody is afraid of Turkey. There is no
need for this. On the contrary, Turkey as a regional power should
encourage trust and cooperation. It is a pity that Cem became part
of this "chorus of anti-EU and anti-democratic slogans." The
pessimism that dominates Turkish economic and domestic developments
now also covers foreign policy. Let's hope that this assumption is
wrong. Cem remains responsible for his views unless he restates
them differently in a new interview. Who knows, maybe he is
looking ahead to a post-Ecevit period! However, Cem should not
forget that he is still foreign minister, and his hard-earned
reputation should not be lost because of some cheap political
interests. The world considers him a statesman. He should not
reduce himself to the category of local politician. He has to make
a choice!
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