Sunday’s Zaman, Turkey
Aug 24 2014
Davutoglu will be remembered for wrong-headed remarks
ONUR KAFALI / ISTANBUL
Turkey’s presumptive prime minister and current Foreign Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu, an academic-turned-diplomat, will be remembered for his
statements that were either wide of the mark or highly exaggerated.
Davutoglu has attracted criticism from a number of groups for his
handling of foreign issues, ranging from the incident in which a
Turkish aircraft was downed by Syria without warning in international
airspace on the Syrian border in 2012 to the abduction of diplomatic
personnel and other Turkish citizens from the Turkish Consulate
General in Mosul in 2014. The impracticability of his theories on
foreign policy has been proven on several issues.
On the issue of the Armenian allegations related to the incidents of
1915, which was brought before US House of Representatives Committee
on Foreign Affairs in March and passed in April 2010, Ahmet Davutoglu
gave a message on March 4 to the United States regarding a resolution
on the “genocide,” saying, “nobody should test us.’ This was the first
time Davutoglu issued a warning about not testing Turkey’s limits, but
not the last time. He made similar statements on several occasions.
In 2010, this time challenging the world, Davutoglu said: `Not a
single leaf stirs in the Middle East without our knowledge. The most
powerful political actor in this region is Turkey.’ He kept uttering
similar highly provocative remarks. `We [Turkey] will manage the big
shift in the Middle East. We will continue to be the frontier in this
big wave of change [in the Middle East]. Today, Turkey is known as not
only an ally and a comrade to the countries in the Middle East, but
also as a country at the forefront of new ideas and a new regional
order which has the power to direct the future,’ Davutoglu said in
another speech on April 26, 2012.
When Syria’s armed forces downed a Turkish aircraft without warning in
international airspace on June 24, 2012, Davutoglu declared that
Turkey would formally consult with its NATO allies about possible
reactions and said, `No one dares to test our courage.’ Yet Syria kept
on testing Turkey’s determination. Davutoglu said that Turkey would
retaliate accordingly in the event of an attack on the tomb of
Suleyman Shah — the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the
Ottoman Empire — in Syria. This came to public attention following
reports in the Turkish press on March 14 that the area had been
surrounded by the al-Qaeda splinter group the Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (ISIL). Davutoglu said Turkey would retaliate
accordingly in the event of an attack against the tomb or Turkish
troops.
After car bombs killed 52 people in Reyhanlı — a town on the Syrian
border — last year in May, Davutoglu said Ankara would take the
necessary measures to protect Turkey. “No one should attempt to test
Turkey’s power,’ he said.
Instead of taking concrete steps, Davutoglu has repeated the same
narrative over and over. This has led to strong criticism from
opposition circles, who blame Davutoglu for Turkey’s failed foreign
policy. He also became a laughing stock on social media.
Referring to the statements by Davutoglu, main opposition Republican
People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroglu described him as `the
lowest-caliber person in the world. The state of Iraq is beyond chaos.
People are being killed. Iraq is being separated into three parts and
he [Davutoglu] is not aware of that,’ in a speech he made in a CHP
parliamentary group meeting on June 18.
In spite of the developments in neighboring countries such as Iraq and
Syria, Davutoglu shared a message on his Twitter account which was
criticized heavily on social media, saying on June 10 that “there was
nothing to be concerned over with regards to the safety of the
diplomatic personnel in Turkey’s Mosul consulate” because the
necessary measures had been taken for their safety. The next day, ISIL
broke into the consulate after threatening the diplomats inside with a
bomb attack and kidnapped 49 people, including Consul-General Ã-ztürk
Yılmaz, diplomatic staff, special forces members and children.
In remarks to reporters on June 11, Davutoglu said: “Right now we are
engaged in calm crisis management, considering our citizens’ security.
This should not be misunderstood. Any harm to our citizens and staff
will be met with the strongest retaliation.” Turkey’s hostage crisis
entered its 75th day on Sunday and there is still no word about the
release of the 49 Turkish citizens, while the public and media are not
able to question the issue due to a gag order imposed by the
government.
Referring to the consulate attack, Davutoglu said it was “not the
first time that Turkey has faced such a crisis,” adding that “all
parties around the world should know that if something bad happens to
our citizens, the perpetrators will be dealt with.’ Even though he had
previously issued a statement saying that `media outlets are
pretending that there is chaos in Iraq. We are not planning a mass
evacuation in Iraq’ on June 13, Davutoglu then said `Iraq and Syria
are tied to each other inextricably; there is a big crisis on our
doorstep’ on June 27, contradicting his earlier statement.