Murat Çemrek from the Institute of Strategic Thinking (SDE) said Turkey has fallen into an awkward political position from the outset and criticized Turkey for being against foreign intervention in Libya. He said it is always a good thing to be able to talk to everyone, but one needs to get results, adding that it is technically impossible to be at peace with everyone. He acknowledged that Turkey is calling on rulers who are not accountable to their people to step down, but he said, “These dictators don’t simply leave through praying, operations are necessary.”
He said Turkey has attempted for five years to integrate Syria into the international community, which he said was largely successful, but he noted that it is impossible to ignore the repressive Baath party in the country. Davutoğlu was in Syria this week, having talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem in the face of growing protests against the president’s 11-year rule under iron fist. Turkey claimed it urged Syria’s leadership to heed the demands of people and continue sweeping reforms.
Çemrek said Turkey is a coy democrat in the region and that its business interests prevail, clipping its wings. The expert explained that the reason why Turkey’s Libya policy is faltering is because it attached too much importance to the idea that it is able to and will embrace every party in the region, claiming that this harms Turkey’s principled stance and is technically impossible. He also urged the Turkish government to put its democracy agenda forward and abandon its “unsustainable foreign policy.”
Before his talks in Damascus, the foreign minister was also in Bahrain and Qatar, discussing the Shiite-led upheaval in Bahrain and following developments with officials to avert the crisis. In contrast, Birol Akgün, an expert from Selçuk University, and Coordinatior of the program of International Relations at SDE welcomed Turkey’s policy in the Middle East and said it is wrong to blame Turkey’s foreign policy in the Middle East.
“Turkey’s basic policy with respect to transformations in the Middle East is this: Changes are inevitable and Turkey supports the demands of people. But these demands should be addressed and reforms should be made through persuading the current regimes without plunging into civil strife,” Akgün explained. The expert stressed that Turkey is against foreign intervention under the guise of humanitarian necessity because the Iraq and Afghanistan examples displayed that foreign-led regime changes are untenable and bring only instability. Turkey believes rapid transformations will only lead to a chaotic situation in the region and fears the fact that foreign interventions will become usual in countries rocked by internal strife.
“Some forces could also create a chaotic situation in Turkey to make foreign intervention conducive,” he speculated. Akgün said accusations leveled against Turkey do not ring true and that Turkey’s policies in the Middle East are designed as a long-term strategy, not for “three days to avoid criticism.” Turkey wants, the expert argued, changes to come through countries’ internal dynamics and to prevent foreign intervention. Akgün also accused anti-Turkey protesters in Benghazi of being “ill-intentioned” and being provoked by “some circles” after Western states’ French-centered policies faltered.