What Arabs who look admiringly to Ankara do not understand is that Turkey's leaders act in concordance with Turkish public sentiment, not to save Arab dignity
By Azmi Bishara
Al-Ahram Weekly
"There is something in the Arab public space that hampers an objective discussion of Turkey's increasing political involvement in the region, its remarkable stances in favour of Arab causes, and an overall performance record that merits more than just praise. The source of the difficulty is that for more than a year Turkey has increasingly become an outlet for the frustrations of Arab societies and a convenient peg upon which to hang their hopes, but not just their hopes......
A different sort of problem arises from those who want Turkey to become an Arab leader. The problem is that Turkey has no desire to become one. It does not want to lead a rejectionist/ resistance axis. Even to begin to attempt to push it in this direction could create serious trouble for the JDP. At the very least it would open it to accusations from its rivals and from the state establishment to the effect that it is leading the country away from the Turkish agenda and dragging Turkey into a position where it has to be more Arab than many Arabs want to be.
Yet another difficulty comes when some parties try to emulate Turkey only to find that they have failed where Turkey succeeded. The way that Turkey is handling its dispute with Israel, inclusive of Turkish civil society's peaceful activism against Israel, is appropriate to a country that is in a state of peace with Israel. It is effective precisely because it functions in this context. However, when countries or movements that are in a state of war (or at least presumed to be in a state of war) with Israel try to imitate Turkey's style of talk and action they will not be effective. The ways that resistance movements and countries that are at war with Israel have of being effective are totally different and either they should use them or wait until they can, because for them to imitate the Turkish way of handling its disputes with Israel can only be regarded as a form of retreat.
There, Arab alliance with Turkey is very important. However, such an alliance does not mean that we should impose our own perceptions of it on Turkey. Rather, our task should be to form a clear and objective understanding of the actual dynamics of this alliance. At the same time, we should allow Turkey to deal with its conflicts they way it sees fit, while offering our advice when it solicits it, and expressing our gratitude when it does not."
By Azmi Bishara
Al-Ahram Weekly
"There is something in the Arab public space that hampers an objective discussion of Turkey's increasing political involvement in the region, its remarkable stances in favour of Arab causes, and an overall performance record that merits more than just praise. The source of the difficulty is that for more than a year Turkey has increasingly become an outlet for the frustrations of Arab societies and a convenient peg upon which to hang their hopes, but not just their hopes......
A different sort of problem arises from those who want Turkey to become an Arab leader. The problem is that Turkey has no desire to become one. It does not want to lead a rejectionist/ resistance axis. Even to begin to attempt to push it in this direction could create serious trouble for the JDP. At the very least it would open it to accusations from its rivals and from the state establishment to the effect that it is leading the country away from the Turkish agenda and dragging Turkey into a position where it has to be more Arab than many Arabs want to be.
Yet another difficulty comes when some parties try to emulate Turkey only to find that they have failed where Turkey succeeded. The way that Turkey is handling its dispute with Israel, inclusive of Turkish civil society's peaceful activism against Israel, is appropriate to a country that is in a state of peace with Israel. It is effective precisely because it functions in this context. However, when countries or movements that are in a state of war (or at least presumed to be in a state of war) with Israel try to imitate Turkey's style of talk and action they will not be effective. The ways that resistance movements and countries that are at war with Israel have of being effective are totally different and either they should use them or wait until they can, because for them to imitate the Turkish way of handling its disputes with Israel can only be regarded as a form of retreat.
There, Arab alliance with Turkey is very important. However, such an alliance does not mean that we should impose our own perceptions of it on Turkey. Rather, our task should be to form a clear and objective understanding of the actual dynamics of this alliance. At the same time, we should allow Turkey to deal with its conflicts they way it sees fit, while offering our advice when it solicits it, and expressing our gratitude when it does not."
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