Gülen, Erdoğan’s new agenda item with the West


Date posted: January 24, 2014

 SEDAT ERGİN

Not but two months ago, sitting next to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan referred to Turkey’s EU membership bid as a “50-year-long experience,” and told Putin, “Take us to the Shanghai Five and save us from this hassle.”

Talking about the EU as a hassle in Moscow, Erdoğan entered the door of the European Commission in Brussels the other day and underlined to his interlocutors his commitment to the EU membership target and reform process.

Actually, it is not difficult to guess Prime Minister Erdoğan does not harbor a deep love for the EU in his internal world. Yet, whatever his sentiments, especially after the disappointment he experienced in the Middle East and together with realism weighting in, we see the prime minister is again set with the EU preference.

Looking from that perspective, his Brussels visit shows he does not desire a rupture with the EU and feels the need to direct the axis towards Brussels, despite all the uncertainties and problems in relations with the EU.

He surprised many observers during his visit to Brussels. One of the important concerns before Erdoğan left for Brussels was a probability to have a second Davos incident, in case he lost his temper facing criticism from the EU. Yet the talks, at least from what has been reflected to the public, have not witnessed a serious crisis. The first conclusion we need to draw from the Brussels visit, is Erdoğan can succeed in controlling his temper when he wants, or rather when his political interests require so.

A similar account is valid for the EU as well. The European commission does not want relations to deteriorate or to get out of control, despite the concerns it has about the authoritarian tendencies within the AKP government.

Furthermore, an additional chapter has opened in 2013 and then with the signing in December of the readmission agreement with the aim of visa liberalization, a new momentum has been caught in relations after a long break.

The EU wishes to maintain this momentum and even carry it further, if possible.

Yet, the mood reflected to the outside public does not mean everything was nice and sunny behind the closed doors. It is clear neither side mince their words. Erdoğan has been subject to severe criticism in a wide range of issues from fights against corruption to the independence of judiciary and press freedoms. Instead of entering into contention, interestingly, Erdoğan replied to these criticisms by committing the will to go more toward democratization

Erdoğan said, “2014 will be a turning point in terms of Turkey’s democratization reforms and EU membership.” This is very ambitious and does not overlap with the situation inside.

Erdoğan’s visit took place under the shadow of the Dec. 17 process. Facing strong messages from the EU on the independence of the judiciary, Erdoğan spent his energy to convince that the problem does not stem from the interference of the government to the judiciary, but rather from the parallel structure’s interference. We do not know to what degree Prime Minister succeeded in convincing his interlocutors. We can, however, say without any doubt that Fettullah Gülen became an official agenda item in the dialogue between the government and the EU.

This agenda item will not be limited to the European Commission but leaves its mark on the talks Prime Minister will hold in the coming days with other Western countries.

Yet, no matter how strong of views he might voice to his interlocutors about the Gülen movement (Cemaat) he can’t save himself from the problem of credibility. While he was giving assurance in Brussels that he is not interfering with the judiciary, the fact that the very same day the pressure exerted by the undersecretary of the Justice Ministry to the chief prosecutor in his investigation on a corruption case was revealed through documents will lead the EU to approach these assurances with suspicion.

Still, the fact that Erdoğan turned his focus to Europe, even if for a short while, is something we should approach positively because AKP government will be open up to the EU’s constructive recommendations in the areas of democracy, press freedom, independence of judiciary and reforms to the degree dialogue with the EU gets deepened.

Sedat Ergin is a columnist for daily Hürriyet in which this piece was published on Jan 24. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.

Source: Hurriyet Daily , January 24, 2014


Related News

Erdoğan admits gov’t capitalized on coup attempt to pursue Gülen movement

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during a speech in New York on Thursday that a failed coup attempt on July 15 presented him with opportunities that are not available in normal times.

The demise of Turkish democracy

A total of 84 American foreign policy experts have written a bipartisan letter to US President Barack Obama, expressing concern that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s autocratic actions and demagoguery are not only subverting Turkey’s political institutions and values but also endangering the US-Turkey relationship.

PM Erdoğan once defended Hizmet, said it was Feb. 28 [military coup] victim

Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has recently accused the faith-based Hizmet movement inspired by Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen of cooperating with coup perpetrators during the Feb. 28, 1997 post-modern coup era, defended the same movement at a parliamentary coup commission in 2012, when he said the movement’s followers had been victimized during the coup.

Fenerbahçe’s Yıldırım calls on fans to attend protest

“We consider the dissemination … of wiretaps of Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi’s conversations an operation, and we condemn and refuse to accept these kinds of activities,” Yıldırım said. Gülen filed criminal complaints over the illegal wiretaps and against the media outlets and websites that published the distorted voice recordings in an attempt to defame the scholar.

Did they make mistake?

We are experiencing a period of turmoil in which we strongly need the supremacy of law, the presumption of innocence and the individuality of criminal offenses. A grave campaign instead is being carried out to insult and denigrate millions of people. Why would the Hizmet movement consider forming a parallel state within the state given that its members hold no intention other than Allah’s will? Considering that democratic options are available for seeking positions within the state, why would people within the bureaucracy strive for greater political power?

Humanity prepares its own end, says Assyrian Catholic Church leader Sag

“Dialogue is not an option,” Yesil said, “it is an obligatory way through which we all have to go.” “We both need and have to understand and know each other, love each other and live together.”

Latest News

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

University refuses admission to woman jailed over Gülen links

In Case You Missed It

Fear and paranoia still stalk Turkey two months after the failed coup

Arrested Turkish TV chief writes an open letter from his jail cell

Domestic violence addressed at GYV Women’s Platform int’l conference

Police pressure businessmen who sued Erdoğan over Hizmet remarks

When I met a Gandhian ‘Jihadi’ in America

Graduation ceremony of the Turkish school in Senegal

In Turkey, how Germany’s president became ‘Germany’s imam’

Copyright 2023 Hizmet News