Turkey – Pike & Hurricane

A game of chess at the Greek-Turkish border

Merle Emrich — Sun, 19 Apr 2020 13:25:18 +0000

Shortly after the Turkish government announced that they would no longer prevent migrants from crossing the Greek border a video appeared on my social media feed: A brown field with a few specks of grass and a handful of leafless bushes, small figure moving in the background, a woman screaming, following after a man carrying a seemingly unconscious toddler under the winter sky veiled in clouds of tear gas.

In a climate of increasing xenophobia, the EU negotiated a deal with Turkey that would allocate billions of Euros to Turkey in exchange for the country preventing refugees and migrants crossing over to the EU. The influx of people was slowed down for a while but did not prevent continued attempts to enter the EU by land or sea putting pressure mostly on Mediterranean countries (Greece, Italy). In Greece, where the atmosphere is becoming increasingly hostile towards refugees, the right-wing New Democracy party replaced the left-wing Syriza government in snap elections in July 2019 following a campaign partly based on promises of heavy crackdowns on migration. Their latest move finds expression in the plan to build a floating 2.7 km long barrier in the Aegean Sea meant to ward off refugee boats heading for Lesbos.

When, in early 2020, the Greek government announced plans to build closed detention centres, locals on Chios and Lesbos stormed construction sites in opposition and clashed with riot police. The following weeks saw attacks on asylum seekers, humanitarian workers and journalists. In this climate of mounting tensions, thousands of people saw their hopes of finding humane refuge in the EU crushed as they gathered behind fences and barbed wire at the Greek–Turkish border in late February, and were met with tear gas, water cannons and flashbangs.

Europe’s “shield”

Expecting yet another wave of people fleeing the ongoing battle in Idlib, Syria, the Turkish government decided to open its border to the EU for more than 4 million refugees already located in the country. Some reports even speak of Turkish officials forcing refugees and migrants to leave the country and head towards Greece. In Europe, Turkey’s manoeuvre was largely perceived as an attempt to blackmail the EU into supporting Turkey’s military actions in northern Syria and force more concessions in relation to the 2016 migration deal. “This is a blatant attempt by Turkey to use desperate people to promote its geopolitical agenda and to divert attention from the horrible situation in Syria”, the Greek government said.

Video uploaded on ManotoNews (Persian) shows Turkish military police threatening to beat this Afghan group at gun point, telling them “why did you come here if you don’t want to cross to the Greek border”pic.twitter.com/jAQaYwlVss

— Daphne Tolis (@daphnetoli) March 7, 2020

With a look at the situation as a whole, however, it becomes impossible to find fault on part of Turkey alone. Both Turkey and the EU have made themselves culpable of having turned those who flee the horrors of war into mere pawns in their game of chess; be it to gather military and financial support and obtain more privileged relations with the EU, or to appease right-wing parties and movements and distract from the shortcomings of the Dublin Agreement. In the wake of this dehumanising game of chess, people’s lives, health and dignity have been put on the line without a moment’s consideration.

While Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, travelled to Greece to thank the country for its tough handling of the border situation and describing it as Europe’s “shield”, the Greek government, describing the influx of refugees as an “invasion”, suspended asylum applications for a month despite the right to asylum being granted under international law. And while Argyris Papastathis, deputy head of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ press office claimed that Greek forces were not firing live ammunition, witnesses report shots being fired from the Greek side of the border, although it is unclear if they were fired by a police officer, soldiers or local vigilante.

An Afghan man who was treated at a Turkish hospital for burn injuries says a Greek border guard poured boiling water on him as he attempted to cross the land border in #Evros – via @enginbas pic.twitter.com/fpKk62wlkv

— Daphne Tolis (@daphnetoli) March 10, 2020

Only the dead have seen the end of war

In the midst of it all, concerns about the coronavirus spreading in overcrowded Greek refugee camps are growing. The situation in camps such as the Moria camp on Lesbos has been described as “living hell”. The camp was designed for 3 000 people. However, it currently hosts 20 000. Three square metres of living space are at times shared by five to six people. “That’s a catastrophic situation regarding water and sanitation”, Florian Westphal (MSF) told Deutsche Welle. “The lack of water in the Moria camp is really dramatic. (…) In some parts of the camp, people have built shelters from plastic sheeting. Up to 1 300 people are using a single source of water. (…) Up to 160 people on average are having to use one toilet. Our main demand to the European Union is very clear: You must start now to evacuate these people from Moria.” Ali, a 33-year-old from Idlib, describes Moria as “just a place for waiting for death. Life in Moria is impossible – believe me – most of us here have changed psychologically. Some people have lost their minds.”

The EU began as a neoliberal project designed to maintain peace in Europe. And while, at least in its beginnings, it was predominantly an economic union, the EU has evolved into an international organisation that likes to see itself as a defender of peace and human rights. The situation in the Mediterranean, however, sheds serious doubt on this self-image: Greece, weakened from the financial crisis of 2008, is largely left alone by other EU member states in managing the arrival of those in search for protection – unphased by the misery in Greece’s refugee camps, a migration policy is deployed that voluntarily accepts the drowning of human beings in order to prevent others from arriving, the EU continues to cooperate with the Libyan coast guard knowing about Libyan detention camps and the crimes committed against migrants, deals set to backfire and be broken sooner or later are made with Turkey to dodge responsibility, and those (NGOs and civilians) taking seriously the obligation to save refugees from drowning in face of the EU’s inaction are criminalised.

While European leaders seem to have forgotten the humanitarian spirit of Europe – and perhaps the political elite has always been the wrong place to look for it – can still be found in organisations such as Mission Lifeline, movements such as Seebrücke, and initiatives such as the complaint for crimes against humanity against the EU connected to its migration policy (Germany, France and Italy in particular) in front of the ICC by lawyers Omer Shatz and Juan Branco. It remains to hope that the EU (re)discovers its commitment to humanity and human rights instead of remaining caught up in a game of chess with Turkey that pushes back and forth blame and responsibility sacrificing human beings as it goes on.

by Merle Emrich

Photo Credits

Rescue at Mediterranean // 21/05/2018, Tim Lüddemann, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Syrian Refugees, Freedom House, Public Domain Mark 1.0

2018_01_28_Grecia_Manu_26, Fotomovimiento, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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The Döner and foreign policy

Julia Glatthaar — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 07:03:22 +0000

Denn Döner Macht Schöner

Turkey is known for many things, up and foremost for its food: Burek, Baklava, Kötbullar (yes, you read correctly, basically your whole life has been a lie) and, of course, the highlight of German-Turkish relations, the most fantastic … DÖNER.

Döner can be eaten the traditional way (professionals can eat it whilst walking or running to work), or in one of its chicken, vegetarian or vegan variations. It is one of the best foods to eat when going to Germany, and then, when travelling onwards to other countries, it will be the most disappointing experience of your whole trip.

In other words, Döner is great, and Döner is exciting.

Foreign Policy on the other hand is something many people often don’t really think about. It is complex, complicated and often gloomy and discouraging. However, it is also something very important and a topic we do not think enough about.

So, by analysing foreign policy through the theoretical framework of Döner, I hope to make foreign policy a bit more accessible.

Turkish-German relations

German-Turkish relations date back a long time. Today, this relationship is manifested in the epitome of awesomeness – the Döner. If you have ever been to Berlin, the capital city of the Döner Empire, you will most likely remember a harmonious setting. People from all cultural backgrounds sitting and standing in or around their favourite Döner joint, sharing the experience of this meal together. Whilst you may remember this multicultural setting as being very peaceful, behind closed doors, as always when you have two different and strong personalities coming together, conflict is unavoidable.

Turkish Delights? No thank you.

Germany currently holds the largest diaspora of Turkish citizens in the world, but the immigration process, even after all these years, is as poisoning as a Döner, which has been lying in the sun for 7 days. From the Turkish side, government actions from Erdogan have put a huge strain on the relationship of the political leaders, which of course, affects the civilian population as well. And there are problems lurking everywhere.

For instance, the comedian Jan Böhmerman, became a huge threat to relations on an international level., solely by publishing a poem. Moreover, there are other issues, such as the EU-Turkey immigration deal, which only contribute to making things less than perfect. And finally, there is the problem, that the Döner is not the only thing that is crossing Turkey’s borders and coming to the land of Lederhosen and Dirndl. Erdogan himself seems to try and imitate the ways of the Döner, only that this Turkish delight is not particularly welcome on the GDR’s territory. This became particularly evident during 2008, 2011, 2014 and recently in 2017, when Erdogan tried to secure his presidence through rallies for the 1,5 million Turks living in Germany who are eligible to vote. The German government and population did not like the idea of Erdogan’s visit, due to German reporters being detained in Turkey, as well as the precarious human rights situation in the homeland of the Kebab.

Since the Döner showcases, that the merging of these two cultures is possible, it seems that this simple dish should function as a role model for these two countries.

Bringing the heat – Must Germany return to the Currywurst?

However, Turkey is not the only cook who is spoiling this Turkish-German recipe. Germany, instead of quietly eating a Döner and being happy, has added to the heat, by acting like this horrible drunk person in your favourite Döner store who suddenly starts throwing food around and insulting the owners.

The bad taste of Islamophobia has taken control of the mouths off many Germans, and has spread political right-wing food poisoning all over the country. Threats towards the Turkish communities have become more and more prominent and thereby effectively undermine any positive progress made in immigration processes. In addition, Mosques and the holy sights of Döner stores have more frequently become targets of attacks and so called ‘Döner murders’.

Sadly, many see Turkish culture, language, food, anything as a threat to “the good culture and traditions of Germany”, with one exception: football heroes such as Khedira.

Instead of embracing the multicultural setting, Germans fear the impact of of Turkish immigrants. Moreover, the current political climate and myopic views on Turkish immigration, which often just get equated with ‘something Islamic’ leads to sabotaging the everyday lives of millions of Turkish people who contribute to what is German society. Yes, immigration does have an impact on the country and brings a number of challenges to the eating table (which can be overcome), but does Germany really have so much to fear?

When I compare the deliciousness of Döner, to ‘good, traditional German currywurst’, the horrible mess of sausage, if you can even call it that, smothered in disgusting, luke warm chilli sauce, it is very clear: Germany can and should learn a lot from their Turkish partners, fast.

By Julia Glatthaar

Pictures:
Image 1 by Nicolas Nova, Döner Kebab, (CC BY 2.0)

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Neither Friend nor Foe – Shades of Grey

Dora Car — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 19:11:36 +0000

If the European Union were a person, it would more than likely be going through a period of severe existential crises right now. To say it has a lot on its plate at the moment would very much be an understatement; from Brexit and all the joys that come with the territory, to several of its other key members having significant internal political issues, all the way to the by-now pretty much constant worrying signs coming from both the West and the East, as led by Trump and Putin respectively. The former’s commitment issues to the EU and NATO alike, and the latter’s need to constantly show off its military dominance (as if we could ever even get the chance to forget) are very much a constant in the Union’s priority agenda. But not too far behind all these lies Turkey, in all its nationalist, yet utterly unpredictable glory.

The perfect utilitarian friendship

Apart from being NATO’s second biggest armed force, Turkey also has the (mis)fortune of being placed in a geopolitically incredibly interesting location, one that quite literally acts as the bridge between the East and the West. Although its nationalist agenda has become clearer than ever during the past year and a half, ultimately Turkey remains critically unpredictable, making its role of a strategic fault line that much more potentially perilous.

Out of the 38 percent of Turkey’s generals that were sacked, the majority were pro-Western secularists, according to one military analyst. The 400 Turkish military envoys to NATO that were ordered home were replaced by not-quite-as-qualified Erdogan-loyalists. Many of these are antagonistic towards NATO and more than friendly with its enemies. Another not so insignificant worry is Turkey’s increasingly warmer relationship with Russia ever since the coup, with Erdogan being increasingly enamoured of and looking up to his Kremlin equivalent.

The warming of Turkey’s relationship with Russia implies a certain message to both the EU and NATO, one with not-too friendly of a tone. For Putin, Erdogan is merely a means to an end, a pawn to weaken and deepen the divide between NATO and the West even further, a strategic objective at the game he has been playing way before Erdogan ever took notice. The new constitution put forward by the referendum epitomises the concept of illiberal democracy, one that some EU members are no strangers to either, and one with Russia very much at the forefront.

Keep your friends close, and your friends with questionable motives – closer

Despite all this, Turkey remains a crucial ally to the EU, even if the allyship is being tested on a regular basis. Turkey matters, not just because of its size, both in terms of population and armed force, but also because of the vast impact it continues to have in shaping the political forces of the world. In many ways, it must walk the thin line between Western liberalism and authoritarian nationalism as epitomised by Russia & Co. In more than one sense it bears the brunt of the burden of the violence that is still spewing from Syria, even though in absolute terms in much smaller numbers than just a year ago. In a way, the referendum in April 2017 was a test of whether democracy and political Islam can be reconciled, even though the result of the referendum should not be taken as a definitive answer to that question.

During the campaign for the referendum, both German and Dutch officials were accused more than once of ‘Nazi practices’, with the accusation against the mayor of Rotterdam being particularly ironic due to both the history of the city in the context of WWII and the personal background of the mayor himself. Even after the referendum result Erdogan wanted, he continued to provoke the EU with things not big or significant enough to justify an actual retribution, but not quite small enough to go completely under the radar either, and these things keep piling up.

Although de jure the Turkish accession talks haven’t been suspended yet, de facto they are at this point moribund at best, with both sides being more than aware of this. Some in the West will use Turkey and its current situation to justify their claim that Islam and democracy are fundamentally incompatible, and partially, they would be right. But to completely admit that would be to give up on Turkey in the state that it’s in today, and that’s not something the EU is ready to do at this point, no matter how provoked it may feel.

Partly, of course, this is due to self-interest. Both as a crucial NATO member and a vast regional power, Turkey is simply too important to cut off. It has played and continues to play an indispensable role in the remains of the fighting in Syria. Giving it that final boost to jump right into Russia’s arms would also make no sense, strategically-speaking. Then there is of course also the EU-Turkey refugee deal, bringing with it the obvious consequences.

Sometimes the best action is no (re)action

With European parliamentary election fast approaching, the general consensus tends to be not to react to provocations by Turkey, and the main idea is that we have seen it all by now, so just ‘endure’ another year. But what if there is more to come? Is patience and tolerance really a virtue at the point when it means waiting just that tiny bit too long, or tolerating something that should not be tolerated? Depending on who decides and the pretext that led up to that decision, the line can potentially become even more blurred than it is now, and the grey zone between the EU and its not-friend, but not-quite-foe-either – even greyer. For now, however, Turkey and the European Union remain in a loveless marriage.

By Dora Car

Photo credits:

Image 1 by geralt, ‘europe-turkey-conflict-germany‘, CC0 Creative Commons

Imge 2 by DimitroSevastopol, ‘putin-policy-the-kremlin-russia’, CC0 Creative Commons

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Back to the Roots

Ruzanna Baldryan — Mon, 29 Dec 2014 20:31:02 +0000

In 2009, during the World Economic Summit in Davos, Switzerland, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly criticised Israeli President Shimon Peres for the Gaza operations in his famous “One minute” speech. His unexpected walk from the stage later during the event as a sign of protest, was the first big act, marking the deterioration not only of Israeli-Turkish ties, but also of Turkey’s loyalty towards the West.

Criticism of Israel and the West reached its peak this year, during his speech at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Erdoğan, this time holding the position of President, accused foreigners of loving oil, the cheap labor force of the Islamic world, and Middle East ern conflicts.

The world, and especially the US, started wondering what was happening to this ninety-year partner of the West, dedicated to the idea of the “Turkish model”, based on democracy, secularism and market economy. Just a few weeks later, high ranking Turkish officials made yet another set of controversial announcements. This time they “revealed” that Muslims discovered the Americas before Columbus and that Muslims were first to discover that the Earth is round.

According to many experts, in the 1920s Turkish leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s geopolitical shift towards the West was an attempt to “catch up” and gain the benefits of modernization. The same policy was followed by his successors due to economic dependence on the Marshall plan. Thus, the partnership between the West and Turkey remained tight for the more than eighty years.

Turkish foreign policy started changing drastically after Erdogan’s “Justice and Development Party” (AKP) came to power in 2002. According to Turkish activist and student Duygu, who was among the anti-government protestors in Gezi Park in 2013, during its first years of rule the AKP was a quite tolerant center-right party. The party was open to everyone and even social democrats supported the AKP. The fact that Turkey had always suffered through coups and military rule, along with other factors, soon contributed to a shift in the party.

Turkey acknowledged that its lenghty fifty-year campaign to join the European Union is unlikely to be fruitful. The EU, led by France and Germany, seems apprehensive to accept this large country, with its lower level of economic development and its totally different culture.With accession an unrealistic prospect for the near future, Turkey felt justified in its non-compliance with the Copenhagen criteria. The West’s perceived inactivity in the Kurdish issue was another factor that incited Turkey’s gradual shift towards the East.

The party started to implement a new ideology called Neo-Ottomanism. Its main aim is to combine Islam and democracy, as well as to create a link between Ottoman legacy and the modernist Republican era. According to Duygu, AKP and Erdoğan brought about new laws such as the abolition of a ban on headscarves, attempting to outlaw abortion, and banning the sale of alcohol in shops after 10 pm.

Along with these domestic changes, Turkey started shifting its position on the geopolitical chessboard of the Middle East. It started “rediscovering” its old neighbors and started trying to have “zero problems” with them. This entailed the intensification of economic and cultural relations with the Turkic states of Caucasus, Central Asia and Balkans, along with other Middle East countries that were once part of its empire. The announcements about “discoveries” can hence be understood as an attempt to gain favor among other Muslim countries, however ridiculous they might sound to the rest of the world.

Erdoğan’s authoritarian style of governing, and the new limitations it has imposed on Turkish domestic life were questioned by what started as an environmental movement, but quickly turned into anti-government demonstrations in Gezi Park in 2013. It was the largest wave of protests in recent memory, as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in order to prevent the demolition of the park in service to the commercial needs of the government. Trying to contain international commentary highlighting elite corruption, as well as the mass demonstrations, Erdogan banned access to Twitter and YouTube, which only served to bring even more international attention on the domestic issues of Turkey.

Despite this crackdown, his domestic popularity remains strong, as evidenced by his reelection to the Presidency this year. Moreover, in large part due to his pro-Islamic and pro-Arabic policies, Turkey is among the main powers competing for leadership in the Middle East, along with Iran and Saudi Arabia. Perhaps most telling, the Ak Saray, the “White Palace”, newly constructed presidential residence of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is the world’s biggest palace. The Turkish leader, who is preaching unity, solidarity and alliance in the Islamic world, seems to want to become its leader or, as it is often said in jest, its Sultan.

Nevertheless, Erdogan still faces a number of challenges ahead. His policy of gradual disengagement from the West has the potential to damage the Turkish economy, and therefore is met with resistance from the country’s economic sector. Additionally, Erdoğan’s rival Güllen, a US-based preacher of an Islamic community that has supporters even in the “inner circle” of Erdoğan, is actively undermining him and attempting to build a “parallel” state.

This anti-Western policy shift brings Turkey closer to Russia. Despite their different approaches to the Syrian and Crimean issues, Turkish refusal to comply with Western sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, was the first signal of a thaw in Russian-Turkish relations. The fact that, after the scrap of the South Stream gas pipeline, Russia announced plans to not only expand the Blue Stream pipeline for Turkey but also build another pipeline system, means that sooner or later Turkey will become a major gas hub for Europe.

On December 16, 2014 Erdoğan blamed the EU for keeping his country at the EU doorstep for fifty years, adding that he doesn’t care about their opinion about Turkish policies in Syria or domestic raids against opposition media anymore. His vision for Turkey seems very different from Ataturk’s. It is less secular, caring less about EU accession and more about its power and position in the Middle East. The loss of this secular buffer zone may have many unpredictable outcomes, both in the evolving crisis centering around the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria but also for the future of the Middle East as a whole.

By Ruzanna Baldryan

Image Credit:

Picture 1: World Economic Forum, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Picture 2: Number 10, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

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