Turkey receives mixed reactions for harboring opposition groups from restive countries

Turkey, even if it officially withdrew to the territorial confines of Anatolia after World War II, was constantly interacting with the surrounding region and its hinterlands. Turkey is a country where more Albanians live than in Albania, more Bosnians than in Bosnia and more Circassians than there are in the Caucuses. In this sense, Turkey has been a place of refuge during every crisis in the region.

Due to these longstanding historical and geographical factors, Turkey has moved towards a more proactive, multi-directional foreign policy that incorporates Turkey’s rise as a regional actor and its improving relations with its neighbors. Turkey, which has for a long time preferred to stay outside of developments in the Middle East, has become a country that takes the initiative on many issues and is now a country that adopts particular attitudes to critical regional issues such as Iran, Palestine and Libya.

Turkey has hosted Chechens, Bosnians, Kosovans and Iraqi Kurds, who tried escaping from Saddam Hussein’s regime and immigrated to Turkey in the 1990s. In recent developments in the region, Turkey hosted opposition groups from countries affected by the Arab spring.

Hatay, the seat of one of Turkey’s ancient civilizations and a province that borders Syria, has a few of what Turkish politicians call “guests” from Syria, as five tent cities set up in the area are hosting around 11,000 Syrian refugees as of this week. Yet Hatay is no stranger to such a situation as it was faced with hosting thousands of “guests” of Afghan-Uzbek origin almost 30 years ago when a civil war in Afghanistan was at its peak.

In an interview with Sunday’s Zaman, Bugün columnist Ahmet Taşgetiren stated that the reason for Turkey providing shelter and support to people of neighboring troubled countries can be explained from two perspectives – the historic role of Turkey in the region and the humanitarian side of this support.

Taşgetiren stated that Turkey is like a mother’s bosom for people who live in the lands where the Ottoman Empire ruled for many years, including Balkan, Caucasian and Middle Eastern regions. Conversely, Turkish people have always felt close to people who lived in these regions.

The Bugün columnist added that Turkey’s diplomatic moves in the region in recent years can be described from a humanitarian aid perspective and as an awakening of neo-Ottomanism, which is perceived as a long term plan by Turkey to be a strong and ruling country in the region in the near future. “However, these claims have always been denied by the [Justice and Development Party (AK Party)] government. Middle Eastern intellectuals also look negatively towards an Ottoman hegemony in the region. On the other hand, supporting and hosting people who have trouble in their own country can have a financial burden, but this is not seen as a problem by Turkey as it has a humanitarian support side,” said Taşgetiren.

In recent years, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu had repeatedly stated that Turkey’s strategic perspective is widening. According to Taşgetiren, the foreign policy that Davutoğlu mentions is not only about diplomacy but also humanitarian interests too, and for this reason Turkey accepts refugees from countries in the region and opposition members from these countries to settle in Turkey.

Speaking to Sunday’s Zaman, Star daily columnist Mehmet Altan said with regard to the humanitarian aspect, Turkey is a guest house for foreigners. However, intervening in other countries’ internal politics costs Turkey a lot.

Altan expresses his views by mentioning recent incidents that have occurred in Turkey and in neighboring countries. “Turkey overplays its hand. It acts like it has more power than it does. Recently three Chechen fighters, who had immigrated to Turkey, got killed by Russian agents, and these agents escaped from the country before police find out who murdered the Chechens.”

According to Altan, the recent terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack in Hakkari’s Çukurca district that killed 24 Turkish soldiers is the result of the wrong foreign policy of the government.

Allegations regarding Iran’s capture of Murat Karayılan, the PKK’s acting leader, recently emerged as a further bit of controversy between Turkey and Iran, when it was speculated that Karayılan was captured but released due to a deal with [Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan] PJAK.

In a way reminiscent of the role historically played by Turkey, and especially İstanbul, Turkey has become one of the most important places for discussing the region’s key issues. Such a status is of course positive, though there will be negatives and responsibilities Turkey is burdened with.

The fundamental question of today and tomorrow is how Turkey will develop its relations globally and play its difficult role for its own benefit and the benefit of the region.