The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Saudis must name masterminds of killing
ISTANBUL >> Saudi Arabia must identify those who ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and turn over the suspects for trial, the Turkish president said Tuesday in remarks that carefully ratcheted up pressure on a country that is a source of investment for Turkey, but also a rival for influence in the Middle East.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a sharp rebuttal of Saudi Arabia’s widely criticized account that the writer for The Washington Post died accidentally in a brawl, saying Saudi officials had planned the killing for days.
Some analysts believe Turkey is also calculating whether it can capitalize on outrage over the killing to extract political capital from the world’s largest oil exporter without alienating it altogether.
Addressing ruling party lawmakers in parliament, Erdogan used the word “murder” 15 times to describe Khashoggi’s death after the writer entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on Oct. 2 for paperwork related to his marriage plans.
Erdogan also cast Turkey in the role of global statesman, echoing calls for full Saudi accountability from Western allies whose relationships with the Turkish government have often been edgy in the past.
“To blame such an incident on a handful of security and intelligence members would not satisfy us or the international community,” he said. Earlier, Turkey’s foreign minister said it would cooperate with any international or U.N. probe into the killing, a nod to transparency that only seemed to accentuate an emerging pariah status for Saudi Arabia.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stood by his earlier call for an independent and transparent investigation, said Farhan Haq, a deputy spokesman for the world body. Haq reiterated that Guterres can initiate a probe if key parties request it or if there is a legislative mandate from a U.N. body.
“Turkey is playing the long game. And today’s speech is part of a very careful — in my opinion — escalation strategy,” said Ahmet Kasim Han, an international relations analyst at Altinbas University in Istanbul.
“Turkish authorities seem to be concentrated on turning this into a multilateral issue” because they don’t want “to be left alone with Saudi Arabia on all of this,” he said.
Maha Yahya, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, speculated that Saudi Arabia could now be vulnerable to pressure, including from the U.S., to end a boycott of Turkey-backed Qatar.
“As far as Erdogan is concerned, he will use this incident to try and get as much mileage and concessions out of it, to the advantage of Turkey, as he possibly can,” Yahya said.
Erdogan focused on the investigation in his speech, saying he wants the 18 suspects detained by Saudi Arabia in the killing to face trial in Turkish courts, a demand the kingdom will probably resist. Saudi Arabia has said it will punish those involved and has described the suspects as rogue operators, even though officials linked to Saudi Arabia’s assertive Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have been implicated.
Although he didn’t mention Prince Mohammed, Erdogan likely knows that the kingdom’s major decisions always require the approval of those at the top of the ruling Al Saud family.
“As of now, we expect of them to openly bring to light those responsible — from the highest ranked to the lowest — and to bring them to justice,” the Turkish president said.
Han, the Istanbul analyst, said Erdogan is moving cautiously, wary that Prince Mohammed might stay in control despite the scandal or could succumb to pressure over the Khashoggi killing and relinquish power. The latter outcome would benefit Turkey because the crown prince “is consciously and continuously pursuing strategies that work against Turkey,” Han said.