Turkey Unbound

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan must be possessed of a truly sardonic sense of humour. He appears enthralled with the prospect of turning truth inside out so that blatant untruths may be construed as reality. His reality is the kind that accuses Armenians of co-opting history to reflect their version of historical events. "In 1915 and before that, it was the Armenian side that pursued a policy aimed at exterminating our people which led to hunger, misery and death. There is no genocide in our civilization", he trumpeted in a speech glorifying Turkish military victory in World War I.

Thus no need for Turkey to feel obligated to take ownership of the Armenian genocide they perpetrated against a helpless Armenian population driven from the geography consecrated to Turkey.

Mr. Erdogan has no patience for the lies on the world stage accusing his great good friend in Sudan of another genocide attempt in Darfur. The simple and honest answer to all such charges is denial, for Muslims do not engage in genocide. Islamic regimes are always mindful of human rights and careful to obey the letter of Islamic law. Islamic Republics are well known for their civilizing respectfulness toward others.

On the other hand China is prepared to commit genocide in dealing with its Uighur Turkish population. And Israel most certainly inclines toward genocide in its relations with the Palestinians.

Where the international community sees Iran as a threat to world peace; most certainly as a threat to peace in the Middle East, Prime Minister Erdogan sees a deliberately, maliciously misunderstood Islamist regime being scapegoated by the West. As for Syria's reputation in the West as a safe haven for terrorist leaders, and a supplier of weapons to terror militias, Hezbollah and Hamas too have been unfairly labeled as terror groups, where in reality they are simply warriors of Islam.

The sacrifices that these warriors have willingly made on behalf of Islam mark them as blessed martyrs to undying whom gratitude is owing.

"Martyrdom for us is our school, our ideology, our heart and our prayer. It allows the continuation of Islam. The blood of the martyr revitalizes our religion. Mullah Hassan Ali Ahangaran, Martyrs Museum, Tehran...In the Hot Zone, Kevin Sites

The once-proud Democratic Republic of Turkey teeters now on the cusp of falling into an extremist Islamic state. The country's secularist politics and society are in deep danger of succumbing to fundamentalism. The Turkish military which until recently was the keeper of the faith with Kemal Ataturk's vision of a secular Turkey has been targeted and neutralized through its senior officers accused of treason and imprisoned. The Turkish judiciary has fallen into line, the press is complicit through state pressure, and the secret police know to whom they are obligated under this government.

The new Islamist-oriented Republic of Turkey has broken with its 15-year accord with Israel, ostensibly outraged over the Jewish state's maltreatment of Palestinian Arabs in Gaza, accusing Israel of embarking on ethnic cleansing. While in Northern Cypress a process of ongoing colonization is proceeding, operating within an occupied zone, where a wall dividing the island ensures that Greek Cypriots are denied entry to Northern Cyprus, guarded by Turkish troops to ensure Cyprus remains divided and Greeks do not re-gain their territory.

In the face of all of this, Turkey demands that Israel issue an apology and restitution for its having halted an 'aid flotilla' that set off from Turkey bound for the Gaza Strip to break the blockade that Israel has instituted to attempt to control the materials and goods that reach Hamas in Gaza. During the commission of the boarding of the lead ship armed Turkish 'activists' attacked the boarding Israeli sailors, leading in the ensuing battle to the deaths of 9 of the Turks.

Video footage clearly shows the sequence of events where Israeli sailors, taken by surprise, were surrounded and attacked with prepared militiamen using weapons, culminating in the Israelis fighting back and killing 9 of their attackers.

For Turkey to demand, for the restoration of normal relations with Israel, an apology and compensation appears breathtakingly arrogant. The government of Turkey knew very well that a terrorist group which they supported had a group of their men on board the Mavi Marmara, and they approved and encouraged the blockade-busting tactics. To pretend hurt innocence, demanding compensation and apology is just another level of hypocrisy the new Islamist leadership has become adept at.

Turkey will have to make up its mind precisely where it wants to position itself. It has pretty well severed ties with former ally, Israel, at a time when it still aspires to membership in the European Union. It has established close ties with clear and declared enemies of Israel, both Iran and Syria, and championed Hezbollah as a legitimate political party in Lebanon, and Hamas as its own political legitimacy, handily overlooking the agendas both terror groups favour; the destruction of Israel. Under the aegis of Iran, this is the formula.

Turkey is conflicted between its aspirations; on the one hand its celebrated (within Arab countries) new alliance with other Islamic countries, on the other its long frustration with the European Union insisting it must strengthen its human rights record before admission to the EU is seriously contemplated. It is entirely possible that France and Germany will never be convinced that Turkey's place is within the EU.

It is clear that Turkey is having second thoughts about its decision to be outraged with Israel on weak pretexts. The level of hypocrisy within Turkey has reached legendary heights. Quite in keeping, however, with the Islamist government's orientation.