Commissioned with various duties in many regions of the world, from Afghanistan to Kosovo and from Congo to the Gulf of Aden, our soldiers both gain praise with their discipline and contribute to the definition of Turkey abroad with their strong interaction with locals in their places of duty.
We were not only influenced but also felt proud of what we saw in the Turkish military unit which we visited along with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Lebanon. I also need to note that it was pretty meaningful for us to be allowed to visit a military unit without any obstacles of accreditation in a foreign country.
The Turkish Fortification and Construction Union -- located in Es Saatiya, about eight kilometers east of Sur city -- now stands as one of the ideal examples of military units in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Affiliated with the UN, peace forces in various locations around the world are monitored every year by one of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. China was assigned the task in 2009 and monitored the Turkish UNIFIL unit, which has members from 33 countries. The fact that the current commander of the peace force, an Italian, arrived in the Turkish unit with his own helicopter to meet with Davutoğlu is another strong sign of trust in our unit as it is usually ministers of other countries who visit UNIFIL commanders at their headquarters.
Commanders and soldiers at the headquarters are extremely aware of their responsibilities as this is the first Turkish military unit in the region since the Ottoman Empire left these territories in 1917. Soldiers are not allowed to even wear sunglasses in order not to harm the ties between locals and soldiers in the region, which is heavily populated by Shiites.
None of the officers, noncommissioned officers or soldiers of other ranks I talked with complained about the high level of discipline in the unit. They were proud of the prestige they have gained within UNIFIL and spoke enthusiastically about the close ties they had established with local inhabitants. Thanks to those close ties, members of the Turkish unit have so far encountered no negative attitudes from locals, like highway robbery or stone-throwing.
As we were chatting at the headquarters, the mayor of the region paid a visit to the commander of the unit. The commander called the mayor “father,” and the mayor called him “son.” The Turkish unit lends a helping hand to the community whenever they are in need.
Within this context Turkish soldiers provide power plants for many schools, build children's parks in the streets, open computer labs in schools, repair and maintain village roads, repair mosques, provide health checkups, bring successful students to Turkey for visits and offer Turkish language courses to bright, enthusiastic Arab students. A noncommissioned officer from the Turkish province of Şanlıurfa said he has around 20 students, adding that Turks have a great advantage over other nationalities in establishing a strong dialogue with local residents. Officers also conveyed information to Minister Davutoğlu about 68 other similar projects.
As I was listening to all this under the shadow of the Turkish flag, which was flying in a critical region of the Middle East, I remembered what Professor Kemal Karpat said about democracy in Turkey and the role of soldiers in it during the latest Abant Platform conference. Karpat said soldiers should be elite in their profession but added that they should get rid of the “elitist” mindset, which makes them feel superior to the people, for the improvement of democracy. He also said during our one-on-one discussion that one of the factors which make Turkey important and esteemed in the eyes of the world is its disciplined and strong military.
The Turkish military unit in Es Saatiya, which is focused on its real duty and operates peacefully with locals, provides a good example of Karpat's description.
