Alwaght- The remarks and speeches of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in past few months have made one of the hottest news headlines of the media around the world. In most of his addresses Erdogan has said remarks that were understood to be surprising and wonderful, in the sense that nobody expects him to say what he says. In many cases the Turkish president has made decisions under distress and non-thinking, leading to duality in policies. He could be seen in many cases focusing both on the points of difference and at the same time on the points of convergence. This piece seeks bringing under spotlight Erdogan’s equivocal positions on different issues, most of them come in the following four cases.
1. Relations with the EU
When the European Union said that it could suspend talks about Turkey's accession to its body, the Turkish president hit back with dual and impulsive positions against the bloc. On the one hand he threatened to put the membership talks to referendum to see if people want their continuation or want them halted, showing an unwillingness by him to continue the negotiations with the EU. On the other hand, in his very latest speech he used a rough language, threatening the Europeans with allowing the influxes refugees to cross the Turkish territories towards Europe. This gives us a notion that the Turkish leader still has a good will to join the EU. In fact, in his words Erdogan downplays the significance of joining the EU for Ankara and at the same time reacts to the EU parliament's decision to suspend Turkey's accession negotiations and tries to press the bloc by the refugees "trump card".
2. Duality in dealing with Israel-Palestinian struggle
Asked about his remarks in 2014 in which he described the Israeli aggression against Gaza more brutal than Hitler's behavior, Erdogan in an interview with the Israeli Channel 2 said that some time the Israeli regime bombed the Gaza Strip, killing thousands of the Palestinian civilians. He added that he could not forget such death scenes caused by the Israeli assaults, continuing that he won’t appreciate Tel Aviv and Hitler actions. He in another part of his interview with the Israeli TV network maintained that when the Palestinian children in Gaza were being killed by the Israeli forces, he in Davos, Switzerland told the late president of the Israeli regime Shimon Peres that the Israelis knew well how to kill. The Turkish president added: “when I told Peres these words, we had no problems. Even if Israel does the same massacring of the Palestinians today, we will behave fairly.” Erdogan talked about normalization of diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv as he continued interview with the Israeli channel, as he at the same time emphasized on the need for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to apologize for Israeli forces' raid on the Turkish Mavi Marmara aid ship that sailed in 2010 to break Israeli blockade on Gaza. Erdogan's stances show that he on the one hand wants to paint himself as the supporter of the Palestinian people and on the other hand present himself as Tel Aviv's ally. This behavior expresses Erdogan’s double-faced logic in dealing with the Israeli relations with the Palestinians.
3. Duality in dealing with Turkey’s Kurds and President Assad's power
In his interview with the Israeli Channel 2, Turkey’s president noted: “we are against any kind of killing and terror. Today Assad holds the power in Syria. We see this person as a killer and a terrorist. I personally express openly my ideas on this case. Although I had close familial relationship with Basher al-Assad in the past, today it is not as such, because what he is doing is terror action and slaughter.”
These words by Erdogan come while in past few months following the July failed coup attempt he has been busy severely suppressing and purging the opposition groups, giving rise to an atmosphere of terror and hatred in the country. This issue, too, in its place is indicative of his duality and turmoil in logic.
4. Dual faces in dealing with ISIS terrorist group
In a recent interview, Erdogan called Turkey the largest force fighting the ISIS terrorist group. He at the same time unbelievably blasted the Western stances, asserting that the West not only declined to battle the terrorist group but also it is strengthening it. He continued that it was Turkey– not the West– that fought against ISIS. He also said that the US and Europe provide ISIS and Syria’s Kurdish forces with weapons while Turkey is involved in a conflict with ISIS militants. Erdogan accuses the West of backing ISIS while the West and the regional countries after 2014 repeatedly lashed out at Ankara for secret supports for the terrorist group.
In general, it can be suggested that Erdogan seeks playing role of a human rights defender and counterterrorism fighter to display a wise and logical personality of himself. At the same time, we see his authoritarian actions at home and his repression of any domestic opposition as well as his adoption of an aggressive approach towards the region’s countries and the EU. This behavior exposes to public his personality's unwise side. This is exactly what we can call Erdogan’s double standards.
