Erdogan’s Thuggery and Turkey’s Future

Al-Bayan, UAE, August 12

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to wake up every morning to yet another report about the deterioration of the Turkish economy, the collapse of his country’s reputation around the world and the decline in his party’s influence at home. But the Turkish leader refuses to look reality in the eye and insists on maintaining his illusion of grandeur. The question is, where will these illusions take his bullying next? The man who inherited a promising economy that was built with American and European support is now leading a country to the brink of bankruptcy. In his quest to revive the “Ottoman legacy,” he has brought blood and destruction not only on his own people, but also on hundreds of innocent civilians throughout the Arab world. Erdogan, the leader who promised to promote democratic reforms in his country, turned his back on Turkey’s democratic institutions and placed them under the tight grip of organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood. He allied himself with terrorist factions that undermine the sovereignty of their nation-states while wreaking havoc in the Middle East. Without any warning, the Turkish people found themselves ruled by a dictator whose illusions and fantasies sent Turkish troops to distant war zones stretching from Syria and Iraq to Libya, Qatar and Yemen. Turkey has become a hotbed for mercenaries and terrorists, a campground from which extremists can plan and carry out their attacks against innocents. Unfortunately, the ordinary Turkish citizen sees nothing but a terrible economic meltdown and rapid deterioration of the pillars of the modern Turkish state founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Turkey, which once boasted the slogan of “zero problems” with its neighbors, is now in conflict with virtually every other player in the region. Despite all of Erdogan’s manipulations at home, recent polls show he enjoys no more than 37% of the public’s support. But he has no vision on how to get out of the quagmire he got his country into. Europe refuses to accept Turkey as a partner, America views it as a liability, and Middle Eastern states can no longer tolerate him. Therefore, he continues to resort to his usual modus operandi: thuggery. His focus remains strictly on Libya despite suffering a blow there due to Egypt’s intervention. How can Turkey evade the grim fate Erdogan is leading it to? The only hope remains the Turkish people. They, and only they, have the power to bring him down and repaint a better future for Turkey. – Jalal Aref (translated by Asaf Zilberfarb)