Whoever has ever been victimized by the state has upheld the fight for human rights to defend their rights. This made the movement quite dynamic, since it provides the strength of emotions, but also made it quite reactionary and weak. Kurds defend Kurds, devout Muslims defend devout Muslims, Alevis defend Alevis and so on.Defending the rights of the victims you identify with is tricky. You cannot be objective, you may not be able to put the distance between them and yourself which will allow you to see the whole picture and possible solutions. More importantly, you cannot be a successful negotiator or lobbyist for the victims you represent. After all, the people you direct your lobbying efforts toward would be the ones who are responsible for the violations. Can you speak to them without feeling anger, or with solid self-confidence? I do not think so.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan identifies too much with the Palestinian victims of Israeli human rights violations. He is a pious Muslim and he cannot accept the terrible treatment of Palestinians at the hands of Israelis. He is right. But he cannot be a part of the solution with this stance. He is absolutely right in criticizing the Israeli government which turned Gaza into an open prison and made Palestinians suffer heinous crimes against humanity. If you are curious as to what these crimes are, just read Richard Goldstone’s report for the United Nations. What the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) did on that Turkish ship is absolutely unacceptable and Israel should definitely give an account for these horrific killings in the open sea.
Erdoğan’s defense of human rights of the Palestinians is based on identification. This makes him reactionary and prevents him from playing a vital role in solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Since he could not rise above the problem, his way of engaging with the Palestinian question has the serious potential of making Turkey a part of the problem, rather than contributing to a solution.
Can we contribute to the solution of this problem if we turn a blind eye to the sins of Hamas, which is responsible for grave human right violations, has created an oppressive regime in Gaza and has killed many innocent victims in its endless suicide attacks? Can we seriously and effectively defend the rights of the Palestinians while we are turning a blind eye to human rights violations in Darfur and in Iran?
Can we be taken seriously when we try to draw attention to the war crimes Israel has committed in Gaza while we still refrain from endorsing the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court?
Erdoğan and his government could be a perfect mediator between Israelis and Palestinians if they end this identification. I cannot imagine any other government in the world which could show Hamas that their obsession with the extinction of Israel is actually one of the biggest obstacles to the solution of this problem. I cannot imagine any other government which could convince Iran and Syria that they could peacefully coexist with a peaceful Israel in the region.
But instead we will witness the dance of anger for a while. Erdoğan’s comments in the face of the flotilla incident will be met by many publications in the West claiming that Turkey is Islamizing, Turkey’s Ergenekon investigation is just a pretext for weakening the secular foundations of the regime in Turkey and so on. Watch out for the Western newspapers, you will see all of this soon. And because of the selective and reactionary human rights advocacy this government is conducting in the region, they will be vulnerable to this black propaganda. And of course, seeing who is behind all these publications, this government will attack the Israeli government fiercely. I really hope we can stop this vicious circle.
While we are about to get into this vicious circle, the message coming from Fethullah Gülen, the spiritual religious leader of millions in Turkey and around the world, was really reassuring. Mr. Gülen suggested that the activists who were trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza should have tried to get prior permission from the Israeli authorities. I believe he wanted to warn all of us, especially this government, about the vicious circle we are about to embark on. Reading his last message together with his prior criticism of Hamas, Hizbullah and other extremist groups in the region, I believe Mr. Gülen provides a perfect example of how a pious Muslim can fight for everyone’s rights without falling into the trap of identifying with any of them. I hope his message will reach Erdoğan and everyone in Turkey and the region soon.
