Turkey: Erdoğan and the neo-colonialists - By Yusuf Kanlı

The Turkish premier was not touring the region like a neo-imperial victor demanding to be awarded for what he has done for those people so far, but rather as a friend volunteering to help friends who are in need at this particular time. That was what Erdoğan stressed during the trip when he declared that Libya should not become a second Iraq. Rather than a greedy effort to siphon the resources of those lands as a reward to what was undertaken by his country yesterday, he was there to help out friends and brothers who need assistance building a new future for themselves.

As yesterday’s “rebel leader,” today’s de facto and internationally acclaimed chief executive of new Libya, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil underlined in talks with both Erdoğan and in remarks to the media during the historic visit, even though we Turks might have some concerns regarding anti-secular developments in our homeland, the democratic setup and the [so far existing] secular atmosphere in Turkey constitute a golden example of how Islam and democracy can coexist.

Whatever complaints critics might have against the AKP government in Turkey, probably most of them were delighted seeing the sharp differences exposed in the messages delivered in Libya by Erdoğan and the neo-colonialists.

Note EU-Digest: This is a surprising comment coming from Hurriyet Daily News. They probably know better than anyone that Mr. Erdogan is a populist and opportunistic politician in most of the actions he undertakes. 

When the rebels first started their actions against Gaddafi and France and Britain were there to help out the rebels from certain defeat and it was Mr. Erdogan who was against any military support from these countries and NATO In effect he made a strong case for negotiations with Gaddafi.  He quickly shifted this position when he realized that the Gaddafi regime was crumbling knowing that Turkey could lose all its major investments in Libya.  

Regardless of his efforts in trying to project himself as the new political guardian of the "Middle East Arab Spring" Mr. Erdogan unfortunately has two strikes against him. One is Turkey's historical past when the Ottoman Empire controlled most of the area and as such is still not trusted there. The other problem is the fact that Turkey is not an Arabic country and that Mr. Erdogan does not speak any Arabic. 

On the other hand, if Mr. Erdogan wants to prove to the EU that he is the leader of a country which can handle Europe's Middle East problems, he certainly is doing a good job. He must also be given credit for standing up against, what at times seem to be Israel's bizarre foreign policies when it comes to (Gaza) Palestine.

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