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Odd duck

I livetweeted Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s appearance in Washington at SETA (a Turkish thinktank for political, economic social research) yesterday, but the performance merited more.  Maybe my numerous Turkish readers will find it interesting, even if the Americans don’t.  I rarely attend such high-level public events, as little new gets said.

But Erdogan did not disappoint.  Speaking in Turkish (I was listening to the simultaneous translation), his main theme was this:

no justice means no humanity, no dignity, and no peace.

He went on to talk about the “bottom billion” living on less than $1 per day, most of whom are innocent children, as well as the suffering in Somalia and Darfur.  Personally moved by starvation and circumcision done with a simple knife on several children, he underlined the injustice of racism and discrimination, referring in particular to violence against Muslims in Myanmar.

Lack of justice in one place is a threat to justice elsewhere.  Palestine is not a territorial issue but a justice issue.  Israeli settlements are making a two-state solution impossible.  Israel should release Palestinian prisoners and end the blockade.  Hamas will have to be at the negotiating table.  It was elected and then denied the right to govern.  Israel has apologized for its raid on the Turkish aid flotilla.  Compensation is under discussion.  Then Turkey will press for an end to the occupation.

The twentieth century was one of war and injustice.  The twenty-first century should be one of peace and justice.  Turkish policy is based on justice and humanity.  This is why Turkey supported the people in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, and Syria.  But the UN Security Council is doing nothing.  The system is blocked, and wrong.  Humanity cannot be in the hands of one or two countries; the system has to be changed.  Events like those of the 1990s in Bosnia and Rwanda are happening again, but the Security Council is doing nothing.

A world in which babies are slaughtered is not a religious world.  This is not honorable and it makes me mad.  When you witness things of this sort, you have a responsibility.  Why is the media not covering the slaughter in Banias (Syria)?  The babies dying are not only their parents, but also ours.  You have to act.  You have to stop these things.  Society shares responsibility for this evil.  There is a need for global conscience and justice.  We have to see that the elements bringing us together are stronger than those that drive us apart.  We have to help the poor and the weak. We cannot step on each other and remain connected to our ideals and faith.

Somewhere around this point, Erdogan took a diversion that I wasn’t able to capture tweeting but I’ll try to reproduce here.  God’s justice, he said, is ever present but manifests itself at different times and places.  He reminded the audience of the Koranic phrase

Bismillah al rahman al rahim

This is generally translated

In the name of God, most Gracious, most Compassionate

But, Erdogan said, its real meaning is that God has two aspects.  The first he shows to everyone on earth during their lifetimes.  This is the same for everyone (most Gracious).  The second is reserved for the faithful in the afterlife (most Compassionate).  I’m no theologian, but this struck me as a millenarian concept rather similar to that of the raptured Christians or the Puritans’ “elect.” No ecumenism in this second aspect.  Only true believers enter heaven.

I imagine some aide in the front row was figuratively urging him to move on at this point, which is what he did.  Turkey will fulfill its obligations, Erdogan said.  We want to see more countries concerned about Syria, where the regime does not control much of the territory but uses its weapons to fire on the population.  Asad has fired hundreds of missiles and used sarin gas.

President Obama is trying to do the right thing, but what is needed is UN Security Council action, which would accelerate the process.  Russia needs to step forward.  Turkey will continue to cooperate with Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

In the Q and A, Erdogan said he would go soon to Gaza and the West Bank (he did not mention Israel). He is against war, but sometimes justice requires it.  The clergy should help us avoid getting to that point by reaching across borders.  An EU/US trade agreement is a fine idea, but it will need to take into account Turkey’s interests, as Turkey has a customs union with the EU.  Turkey will continue to press China on respecting the rights of the Uighurs.

The session ended without questions about Kurds inside Turkey, imprisonment of journalists or other human rights violations.  As questions were submitted in writing, the moderator presumably tossed those.

This is an odd duck:  a religious and social conservative who has instituted vigorous free market economic reforms but also holds liberal internationalist views on the world, while ignoring those views when it comes to internal politics and human rights.