An opinion poll conducted by İstanbul-based Bahçeşehir University that was publicized this week revealed that 86 percent and 76 percent of the pollsters believed that Turkey's long-time ally, the US, and the European Union, which Turkey seeks to join, respectively, want to disintegrate our nation.Another result of the opinion poll reveals that even though one of the characteristics of Turks is believed to be their tolerance and affection to others, 64 percent and 52 percent of the pollsters did not want to see Jews and Christians, respectively, as their next-door neighbors.
The underlying reason, I believe, for this problematic mindset of Turks dates back to the period of the Ottoman Empire's decline in the early 19th century and the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres between Turkey and its allies. Sèvres was replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, which restored Turkey's sovereignty.
However, the Treaty of Sèvres has left in the minds of a majority of Turks a deep mistrust felt toward both the Western and Middle Eastern neighbors.
“This worldview is mirrored by the narrow notion of security -- limited to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state -- that characterizes Turkish politics,” says Dietrich Jung in his book, “The Sèvres Syndrome: Turkish Foreign Policy and Its Historical Legacies.”
The Turkish establishment over the years has exploited and used the Sèvres syndrome to maintain its power and the status quo at the expense of the people through various means, such as staging military coups, to interrupt the political process and through an anachronistic education system.
The ongoing bitter debate among Turkish lawmakers over the demining of the Turkish-Syrian border and their cultivation by a winner to be selected later through an international tender, has set the latest example in reflecting the ongoing Sèvres syndrome at work, as well as the reasons why Turks are intolerant and that they believe that the US and the West seek to disintegrate Turkey, as the Bahçeşehir University poll has revealed.
Almost two weeks ago, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in response to criticism leveled against his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that it has been committing a crime of treason through the mine draft bill, said those from different ethnicities were kicked out of Turkey and this was, in fact, the result of a fascist approach. This has opened a debate in Turkey, breaking some of the taboos.
Erdoğan continued his harsh criticism last Tuesday of the opposition over the demining draft bill when he said, “ We should first clear the mines in our heads.”
During a speech last Tuesday at his party's parliamentary group, Erdoğan criticized the opposition for morphing the situation into national fear.
Opposition parties claim that if companies from foreign countries, particularly Israel, were contracted to do the mine clearing, this could pose a threat to Turkey's border security, as the bill also includes the leasing of cleared land for a specified period to the contractor, with the understanding that it will be used for agricultural purposes. Opposition parties cite national security concerns as the basis of their opposition.
“Before we clear the mines along the border, we must first clear the mines in our heads. Opposition parties have planted so many mines on the borders of their own mind that they can't walk past them,” Erdoğan noted.
Above, I quoted Jung describing the Turkish worldview as mirrored by the narrow notion of security -- limited to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state -- that characterizes Turkish politics.
Doesn't the Bahçeşehir poll confirm both Jung's and Erdoğan's thesis on this dangerous Turkish worldview that hinders Turkish progress?
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