PRESIDENT BUHARI’S MESSAGE TO ERDOGAN
President Muhammadu Buhari had sent a congratulatory message to his counterpart, President Recep Erdogan of Turkey, over his victory in the just concluded referendum that sought a yes vote for Erdogan. But the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has rejected a proposal given by Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies to use a derogatory word, FETO, to replace the Gulen Movement.
The message from President Buhari to Erdogan was, ordinarily, one conveying official greetings on the aftermath of the referendum polls, which political watchers and scholars described as diplomatic mockery.
Fethulah Terrorist Organisation, FETÖ, is a derogatory term which amounts to a hate speech and relentlessly perpetuated by President Erdoan and his government to smear the Gülen movement which is inspired by the US-based Turkish Muslim intellectual Fethullah Gülen. Gulen is one of the vocal critics of Turkish government. Gülen has been outspoken against Turkey’s autocratic President Erdoan on corruption as well as Ankara’s aiding and abetting of radical groups in Syria with regard to illegal shipment in January 2014.
No one can compare the comatose regime of President Erdogan to the liberties and rights that exist in Nigeria. Journalists in Nigeria exercise their right to report without hindrance, which of course informed the decision of the Presidency to apologise to The Punch reporter recently and immediately had him reinstated into his beat at the Villa.
President Buhari merely congratulated Erdogan without any form of official endorsement to the political rascality of the Turkish President which has limited interface and partly led to the country’s disqualification from the membership of the European Union.
I have carefully followed reactions and comments in some of the national dailies and have come to the conclusion that both President Buhari and President Donald Trump did not send messages of congratulations to Turkey to endorse Erdogan’s despotic rule.
Both leaders forwarded mere greetings to their Turkish counterpart who manipulated a yes vote to his advantage at the kangaroo referendum that was held to confirm an earlier position by a rubber stamp parliament.
Erdoan is witch-hunting Gülen and his followers and has vowed to pursue them abroad. Turkish government shut down all institutions affiliated with the movement and jailed almost 50,000 people in the last nine months. He labelled the movement as ‘FETÖ’, a terrorist organisation, although Gülen, 75-year- old cleric, and his followers had never advocated nor preached violence, radicalism and terror in the name of religion.
President Buhari’s message which was signed by his spokesperson Femi Adesina made a caricature of President Erdogan by saying the outcome of the referendum showcased the democratic credentials of Turkey and the willingness of the people to work together to sustain the growth and development of the country.
How can a divisive nation like Turkey work together? The letter of congratulation was embellished with profane and deliberate pretentious official conduct that is normal within diplomatic circles.
Erdoan has also blamed the failed coup bid last year on Gülen, but failed to present any direct evidence linking the cleric to the attempt. Gülen himself strongly denied any involvement. Many believe Erdoan staged the failed coup himself to set up his critics for a mass persecution and as a pretext to transform secular parliamentary democracy to political Islamist autocracy. There is no country and head of government around the world that will lend support to the political aggrandisement going on in Turkey right now.
AKP lawmakers have also wanted to drop the word “purges” from highly critical PACE report, but they have also failed to do so. The language of the report has been toughened further by the new amendments that were approved against the wishes of Erdoanist AKP deputies. At least four amendments by the ruling party AKP lawmakers have failed to pass.
PACE met recently to discuss whether to degrade Turkey’s status and reopen a monitoring process against the country. PACE has called for monitoring of Turkey to be reinstated in order to strengthen its cooperation with Turkish authorities and all forces in the country and thus ensure respect for fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and democracy.
In a recent report prepared by PACE, it pointed out that the AKP government had adopted “disproportionate measures” beyond what is permitted by the Turkish constitution and international law, and expressed concern about the extent of the purges conducted in public administration, in the military, the judiciary and the teaching profession.
While acknowledging the trauma caused by the failed coup attempt of July 15, 2016 and the ongoing terrorist threats, the monitoring committee stated that they were concerned about the implementation of the state of emergency, the large-scale and disproportionate effect of the decree – including the massive dismissal of civil servants, judges, prosecutors and academics and the closing down of media and NGOs – as well as limited access to judicial remedies.