Do Arab Leaders deserve Turkey’s support?

The Arab world has been going through some turm-oil for a while.

Many countries including USA, UK, France in the first place seem to have major interests in the recent events. This we know has to do with benefits such as getting a big share from the the oil reserves in said Arab countries, mainly.

Turkey on the other hand has been giving the world the message it is only concerned in seeing to it that democracy starts prevailing in said countries.

In fact Turkey has provided real support for countries such as Palestine for quite a while and moreover has got into trouble with Israel (the buddy to USA) to help protect the rights of Palestine.

This is not to say certainly that Turkey does not have any domestic problems to cope with and has all the time and energy and resources to challenge Israel, in the tough issue with Palestine.

On the contrary Turkish government and PM Erdoğan has been receiving tough criticism from opposition (and many citizens with a little skill of observation and reasoning) that the administration should concentrate/focus its energy and resources on domestic issues such as terrorist acts, economy etc.

It cannot be easily said the current administration has taken this criticism into much consideration so far, as they put the majority of their energy into conflicts between Israel and Palestine, and the unrest in Syria and so forth, despite many deaths caused by terrorists in Turkey especially in recent weeks.

The interesting point is however, Turkey is not aware that these countries have not shown their gratitude so far in the way they have approach Turkey and the friendship and support extended to them.

As a very good example to this fact, a prominent Turkish journalist has written a very basic report showing Turkey’s superior efforts to help improve the status of said Arab nations does not get what it deserves in return.

We only hope the administration becomes aware of this unpleasant picture and take their steps accordingly based on a new/revised Turkish policy for the muslim countries in the Middle East and North Africa, mainly.

The report written by Mr. Brant is worth reading;

Editor
BUSINESS TURKEY TODAY

Arab leaders absent while Erdoğan talks to UN
written by Mehmet Ali Birand

The Turkish prime minister’s address to the U.N. General Assembly was the most important event for us on Thursday.

We are Turks, we take these things seriously. We want to be proud of those who speak on behalf of Turkey.

Until his speech the only scandalous figure of the day was Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran’s head of state. As expected he burst out against United States and Israel. The rest used vague sentences, delivering speeches full of lies and hypocrisy. We were bored to death.

By the time Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his delegation entered the General Assembly, we realized that the torture of listening to others was ending and Turkey’s show was beginning.

The prime minister’s voice was slightly trembling when he started talking. It did not last long. His voice started to rise and by the end we saw Erdoğan, the one who speaks at party group meetings in Parliament every Tuesday.

Those present in the General Assembly started to realized that there was someone different talking about different things.

It was a strong speech. It had a substance. It was well prepared. It was apparent that the Foreign Ministry had prepared a draft that had resonance.

At one stage, Erdoğan stopped reading from the document and started to improvise. There could be a road accident at any time. Thank God this did not last long and the prime minister resumed reading from the document.

It was wise for him to put the tragedy in Somalia in the spotlight and put emphasis on it more than others. He defined the U.N.’s position as a disgrace. He did not hold his tongue. He condemned the former colonies (European countries) that have exploited the country. “This has nothing to do with humanity,” he said.

The message was clear: You help the countries in which you have interests, or change governments in some others. But you ignore thousands of Somalians who die because they cannot find a piece of bread.”

He was more of an envoy for Somalia than the Somali government.

Just as U.S President Obama stated his unconditional support for Israel in that podium, Erdoğan stated his unconditional support for Palestine. He said Turkey’s current active policy will not change unless Israel lifts the blockade.

I was struck by the fact that he did not touch upon terror events while his speech covered a lot of issues from Libya to Somalia to Cyprus.

At the end of 30 minutes he stepped down from the podium to applause mostly from the Turkish delegation and Turkish invitees. A long queue formed to congratulate him and that made him happy.

I met him at the exit. “At the beginning your voice trembled, you were exited, I guess?” I told him.

He laughed. “No, our speech was like a diesel engine,” he said.

He said it was like an engine that is slow to start but opens up as it heats up.

Turks in the General Assembly were proud of that speech.

Looking out for Arab leaders in the General Assembly

While Prime Minister Erdoğan addressed the U.N. General Assembly, I looked to see who was present from other countries.
I was especially looking for Palestinian head of state Mahmoud Abbas and the leaders of some Arab countries. I am sure most had some other appointments. Yet it is usually known who will speak at what time in the U.N.

If the leader of a country who said he would “support you to the end,” if that person has changed his or her general attitude in a dramatic way and if it he or she the leader of a country like Turkey, which has the appeal to both the Arab streets and the Palestinian people, than the minimum courtesy required would be to go to the General Assembly and listen to him speak.

None of them was there and this shows us some realities. The Arab people like us. But today, the policies of current rulers of the Arab countries are based on competing with each other and hampering each other. We should not take those who are giving us a pat on the shoulder too serious. Our politics should reflect our interests. There should be no room for emotions.
In the end I understood that I was looking for Abbas and other Arab leaders in vain.

24.09.2011

SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS