Special bond at breaking point
For 100 years, Turkey and New Zealand have had close ties, formed from the horrors of Gallipoli. Have the latest words from Turkey’s president severed those bonds? Rob Mitchell reports.
Daryl Parker is standing at Lone Pine. It’s higher and further than his great-uncle, Cyril, made it before being shot in the shoulder and shipped to a hospital in Italy, then home to New Zealand.
As Parker looks further down the Turkish peninsula, to Anzac Cove, Suvla Bay and beyond, he’s reminded of the rugged, uncompromising hills of the Uruti Valley, in his home province of Taranaki.
He’s reminded of the ‘‘bloody hell’’ that young soldiers were tossed into at Gallipoli, during World War I.
More than 20 years later, he is recalling that pilgrimage, made in the footsteps of Cyril and so many others.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been recalling that fateful campaign as well. In the past few days, in the aftermath of the shootings in Christchurch and the killing of 50 people, he has reacted with anger and inflammatory comments.
Where other world leaders have called for unity and tolerance, he has chosen to highlight division and struggle.
On the campaign trail for local elections late this month, Erdogan has used the ‘‘failed invasion’’ of Gallipoli to highlight what he calls an ongoing struggle between Muslim and Christian.
In a message to Kiwis and others, he told one rally: ‘‘Your grandparents came, some of them returned in coffins. If you come as well like your grandfathers, be sure that you will be gone like your grandfathers.’’
Those will be scary words to the many hundreds of Kiwis and thousands of others expected to assemble on April 25 on the Gallipoli Peninsula, home to the historic battlefields, to remember the dead on all sides. They will remember the steps laid down in blood and battle, and celebrate those that came later, over the next 100 years, to help build a strong bond between two nations and enter a pact to never again enter that bloody path.
Erdogan’s seemingly divisive and incendiary words are a far cry from those laid down on a monument many thousands of miles away.
On a peninsula above Wellington, overlooking Cook Strait, is a memorial in honour of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first president of modern Turkey, who played a key role in founding a modern, secular nation from the ruins of war.
The inscription on the memorial helped frame a lasting handshake between Kiwi and Turk:
‘‘Those heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives, you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace.
‘‘There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side in this country of ours. You, the mothers who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears, your sons are now lying in our bosoms and are in peace.
‘‘After having lost their lives on this land they become our sons as well.’’
Those words appear to have been blown away in the face of a stiff coastal breeze and fiery Middle Eastern rhetoric.
New Zealand authorities have made clear they believe the Christchurch attack was undertaken by one person, but Erdogan has intimated a darker, wider campaign, suggesting that it was ‘‘organised’’ and went further than one person.
He has infuriated others by playing the video of the Christchurch mosque attacks.
Leaders in this country and others are reportedly stunned by the verbal onslaught. They have refrained from openly criticising Erdogan, but Foreign Minister Winston Peters is heading to Turkey to ‘‘set the record straight’’.
He is due there later this week to attend a gathering of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Istanbul as an observer.
Before he left, he raised the issue with his Turkish counterparts, clarifying that the accused killer was not from New Zealand.
‘‘I certainly intend to put New Zealand’s record as being an innocent party to an act of a foreigner in our country.’’
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade is monitoring the situation. After the Christchurch attacks it advised travellers to ‘‘use common sense, exercise caution and be vigilant’’ when overseas.
‘‘New Zealanders should continue to monitor the media and other sources for information about possible new safety or security threats, and follow the advice of local authorities . . . should also continue to avoid demonstrations and protests, as they can turn violent.’’
Despite the inflammatory rhetoric of Turkey’s leader, an Mfat spokesperson says there are no new concerns about the country, beyond the advisory issued in November last year.
Some commentators have pointed to Turkey’s tight local elections to explain the president’s extreme words and hostility towards a previously trusted and respected ally.
The country is in recession after a decade and more of growth. According to the Turkish Statistical Institute, its gross domestic product shrank by 2.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year from the previous quarter. That followed a decline of 1.6 per cent in the third quarter. Also, bankruptcies are rising and inflation remains stubbornly high at 20 per cent.
Peters, himself an able proponent of the darker political arts, will be aware that sometimes it helps to highlight perceived issues elsewhere while ignoring those within your own sphere.
Also, Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party appears to be
in a bit of a dogfight with the main opposition, the Republic People’s Party. As the next general election looms in 2023, he may need to lean even more heavily on the support of farRight political movement the Nationalist Movement Party for survival.
Rouben Azizian concedes that may be one motive for the president’s comments, but the academic believes there are others.
The professor of Massey University’s Centre of Defence and Security Study thinks the response is partly genuine.
‘‘He is a devout Muslim and his reaction is culturally consistent,’’ says Azizian. ‘‘He is very emotional and shaken. It is a natural response.’’
But it also represents the leader’s attempt to control and emerge at the head of an ongoing power struggle in Turkey and beyond.
‘‘Turkey is very divided, between people supportive of democracy and the current government, which is clearly very pro-authoritarian, and he is trying to get support for its authoritarian tendencies through the strong Islamic and Muslim rhetoric.’’
That rhetoric is designed to mobilise and unite Muslims, not necessarily to take up arms but to support Erdogan’s leadership ambitions in Turkey and other Muslim nations.
‘‘Turkey from time to time steps up and activates its external policy of developing solidarity among Muslim nations . . . there is a competition between a number of nations for leadership, whether it’s Saudi Arabia or Iran. Turkey clearly wants to be seen as a leader, as a model.’’
But Erdogan is playing with fire, says Azizian. ‘‘Some of his comments go too far. When he is making suggestions that New Zealand needs to return to the death penalty, or that New Zealanders might not be allowed to return to Gallipoli, for me these are inappropriate statements by a leader who is interfering with domestic legislation and jurisdiction in this country.’’
Inappropriate and possibly incendiary. ‘‘It is very dangerous when they use this rhetoric of us against them and them against us. They have to be very careful because they can indeed incite the feelings of a clash of civilisations, when this is a clash involving one idiot, a crazy, brainwashed person against innocent Muslim people.’’
Daryl Parker appears relaxed about Erdogan’s fiery statements and their possible impact. His experience with Muslims goes beyond a visit to Gallipoli more than 20 years ago.
As a lead piping designer in the oil and gas industry, he has lived and worked in Muslim countries for much of the past decade.
‘‘I’ve never felt unsafe in any of them; always felt safe and welcomed.’’
Erdogan’s harsh words reflect Muslim attitudes to crime and punishment, he says.
‘‘Islamic laws on murder, rape and even stealing are very harsh and so I suppose what he’s saying there is that if we don’t bring this guy to justice in some form that the rest of the world feels is expected, then he’s saying send him on a plane, send him over here and we will.’’
The bond between the two nations will remain intact.
‘‘The Turkish people are very respectful and there is that mutual respect between both countries . . . I felt that, as soon as you mentioned you were from New Zealand, the level of respect rose over those tourists from the like of America, England or even Australia.’’
As will the Anzac pilgrimage that underpins it.
‘‘There have been threats in the past; Islamic State threatened to disrupt Gallipoli and Anzac Day a few years ago. I don’t think that will ever happen, purely because both countries have that pure respect for each other.’’
Intrepid Travel is one of the biggest organisers of tours and travel to Turkey, which includes visits to Gallipoli and Anzac services.
Jenny Gray, its global product and operations manager, says the company is following the situation closely.
‘‘There’s been no changes to official advice from either Australian and New Zealand advisories at this point,’’ she says.
It is early days in the aftermath of the shootings and Erdogan’s speech, but travellers do not appear fazed or concerned.
In fact, bookings to Turkey have risen dramatically this year.
‘‘We have 21 itineraries in Turkey and, for 2019, departures of Australians to Turkey are up 226 per cent,’’ she says. ‘‘For New Zealand travellers, Turkey is up 128 per cent compared to the same time last year.’’
Kiwis and Aussies, it appears, are voting with their feet. They continue to follow in the footsteps of the many who went before them, on a path to peace and reconciliation, rather than hate and division.