Turkish leader’s words disclose his darker side
Erdogan’s extremism a clear danger, writes Harry Sterling
“They look like friends, but they want us dead, they like seeing our children die.”
When the president of an important nation makes such unequivocal and alarming statements, it clearly shouldn’t be ignored. And if such alarming assertions happen to be made by Turkey’s long-standing prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently elected president of arguably the most important nation in the Middle East, such an unequivocal statement presumably wouldn’t go unnoticed.
Nor presumably, would be Erdogan’s further public assertion regarding the West, that “They like the conflicts, fights and quarrels of the Middle East. Believe me, they don’t like us.”
However, despite such extremist language by Erdogan of Turkey, a fellow member of NATO, there’s been almost total silence from Western governments, including Prime Minister Stephen Harper, regarding his condemnation of the West. But such silence is nothing new.
In direct contrast to how quickly some Western governments are prepared to denounce the perceived faults and lack of commitment to the rule of law in other countries, many ignore or downplay the serious undermining of democracy in Turkey since Erdogan became leader of that pivotally important state over a decade ago.
Although some European Union states have expressed pro forma criticism of the Erdogan government’s failure to fully honour democratic principles and respect for the rule of law, Erdogan has continued to steadily undermine essential democratic principles, including freedom of speech.
Under Erdogan, his government continues to arrest journalists for allegedly violating national security regulations or other dubious laws. Turkey now has the highest number of journalists imprisoned of any supposedly democratic country.
His authoritarian policies reached the point that when his government unilaterally moved to demolish the most famous park in the heart of Istanbul, violent anti-government demonstrations erupted all over Turkey, resulting in several deaths and countless wounded and arrested. Erdogan blamed the anti-government demonstrations as being instigated by political opponents and foreign interests, a claim he repeatedly makes whenever his government is challenged.
While still prime minister, Erdogan purged hundreds of police and legal officials investigating a large-scale bribery scandal involving several ruling party MPs, including Erdogan’s own son. Erdogan predictably claimed such allegations were attempts by political enemies, allied with foreign interests, to overthrow his democratically elected government.
Those far removed from Turkey may find it difficult to comprehend how such an authoritarian leader could manage to subvert Turkey’s ostensibly democratic and secular system, originally established by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk over eight decades ago. Among the key reasons for his political success is the fact Erdogan came to power when Turkish society itself was experiencing a major socio-economic transformation with an expanding economy and a population increasingly urbanized and exposed to a better life, thanks to expanded international trade and better paying jobs.
By identifying himself with these positive changes, Erdogan shrewdly advanced his own Muslim-based political party’s own electoral prospects. But once fully entrenched in power with a majority, Erdogan’s innate authoritarian nature began to be exposed, an unwelcome development for citizens wanting Turkey to remain free from undue religious influences prevalent in the Middle East.
However, such Turks increasingly find themselves on a collision course with Erdogan. Liberal-minded Turks were shocked in recent days when Erdogan publicly stated women were not the equal of men and their main duty in life was to be mothers. Coming on the heels of Erdogan’s inflammatory denunciation of the West, portraying Western society as some kind of evil force, governments should recognize that Erdogan’s self-serving and extremist statements and actions are a clear danger to democracy and human rights, not just for Turks themselves, but also for the well-being and stability of Turkey’s neighbours and the international community itself.