These developments should give the Turkish government a chance to take stock, carefully weigh the new political balances created by last week’s events and perhaps conclude that the populist rhetoric of recent days has now served its purpose. Cooler heads are now needed to navigate the murky waters of regional politics.Ankara sought to attract world attention to the plight of Gaza residents: It has successfully done so. Governments cannot ignore public sentiment, but when it comes to state policy, emotions need to be tempered by a dispassionate assessment of wider interests. Indexing Turkey’s foreign policy to Hamas and allowing the Humanitarian Aid Association (İHH) and its supporters to set the tone could threaten the achievements of Turkish diplomacy in recent years.
Encouraging the international community to engage with Hamas and to pay attention to an unfair blockade most Western governments had hitherto ignored is fully in keeping with the role Turkey has crafted for itself as a pro-active actor in the region, capable of helping bridge differences between East and West.
Casting Turkey’s lot with the hard-line group currently ruling Gaza to the detriment of other players in the area and allowing emotions to define official policy, on the other hand, would cancel Turkey’s image as a responsible player and would inevitably raise concern in Western capitals, which may explain why religious leaders like Fethullah Gülen are now urging caution.
And if the Arab street today welcomes Turkey’s pro-Gaza stance, some Middle East governments, which have traditionally been wary of the waves of protests that the Palestinian cause can ignite at home, may be not approve of Ankara’s activism.
The Turkish leaders’ fiery calls for justice and fairness abroad could also expose Turkey to unwelcome international scrutiny. The government could usefully address homegrown issues that have been waiting in its in-tray for a long time.
Chief among them and casting a long shadow over claims of compassionate policy is the plight of thousands of minors charged under anti-terror legislation for throwing stones, taking part in demonstrations or chanting slogans. Despite promises to amend the law, the practice is continuing.
Charity begins at home -- so the saying goes. The protesters who expressed rightful concern in recent days for the children of Gaza could also spare some empathy, if not sympathy, for youngsters who face a disproportionately harsh punishment for minor offenses in Turkish jails. Aside from depriving these teenagers of the normal education they need to become responsible citizens, this approach will end up creating a new generation of hardened Kurdish militants and will have long-term consequences.
Another issue -- less egregious perhaps, but one that regularly lands Turkey on lists of intolerant governments -- is the absurd ban on YouTube, in place for over two years. Its application has now begun affecting Google applications widely used by commercial websites. The blanket prohibition is preventing Turkish Internet users from accessing millions of clips available on YouTube, including educational material and videos praising Turkey’s regional leadership, for the sake of “protecting” them from content arbitrarily deemed to be harmful to Atatürk’s legacy by a few individuals. In the digital age, it does not befit a democratic country. That the government has not seen fit to lift a ban that even Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has admitted to bypassing is hard to fathom.
The tragic events that took place on board the Mavi Marmara have made headlines around the world for the past week and captured the attention of the Turkish public and its government. They should not be allowed to derail government policy nor divert the ruling party’s attention from its job at home and in particular its pledge to push forward with Turkey’s democratization.
