Erdoğan finally attained his desire; he met with his “friend Trump.” During his administration, Biden never invited Erdoğan to Washington. No matter what Erdoğan did, he couldn’t arrange a meeting or an appointment. But Trump is not like Biden. Concepts such as democracy and human rights are of no importance to him. When he received tips from Erdoğan on billion-dollar purchases, the roads to Washington opened up.
Erdoğan is someone who has made pragmatism his political line rather than principles. Since the war began in Gaza, US administrations as a whole have supported Israel. In Netanyahu’s words, “Trump is the US president who has helped Israel the most.” Erdoğan, who says that a genocide is being committed against the Palestinians, calls Trump, Israel’s biggest supporter, “my friend” when speaking to him. How can Trump, who supports the genocide of the Palestinians, be Erdoğan’s friend? Erdoğan tries to present himself as one of the strongest advocates of the Palestinian cause. What is the source of this friendship with Trump? Clearly, Erdoğan does not see Palestinians and their freedom as a priority issue for himself. For him, power and authority come before everything else. Erdoğan himself knows very well that without the US backing Israel, Israel could not wage war at this level and change the maps in the Middle East. He says, “We defend the oppressed against the oppressors.” So, in which category does he place his “friend Trump”? Since he calls him a friend, Trump must be seen as one of the oppressed! After all, those who attack Palestine are the oppressors. Since Trump is his friend, he must be counted among the oppressed!
This issue clearly reveals the reality of Erdoğan. There are many people in Turkey who are aware of this. Still, Erdoğan’s policies and personality are not adequately explained to the peoples of Turkey. Erdoğan’s lust for power and pragmatic attitude are already inured. Erdoğan’s style of governance is crisis-based. He cannot govern Turkey normally within the rule of law or win elections. For this reason, he prefers to maintain power by constantly creating crises in the areas of governance and politics.
Erdoğan lost the 2015 elections. He lost his majority in parliament. Since then, he has been trying to govern Turkey by dragging it into multiple crises. He ruined relations with all his neighbors and Arab countries, pursuing sovereignty. However, his economy and power were not enough to bear this burden. Then he began to improve relations with countries such as Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, and to change his stance.
Erdoğan launched an attack to eliminate all the gains of the Kurdish people and their leading organizations as part of the “Collapse Plan.” He put the peace process “on ice.” He waged uninterrupted war until 2025. They had convinced him that they would win this war. He carried out invasions and ethnic cleansing operations in Syria and Rojava. He deployed a large military force to Syria and Iraq to suppress and control the Kurds, resulting in heavy human and material losses. However, he did not win the war as he had hoped. The Kurdish freedom movement and the people resisted. After the Baathist system collapsed, the balance of power shifted. Erdoğan and his administration became emboldened, directing their attacks against the Kurds and the Autonomous Administration regions. They calculated that they would “crush Rojava and disperse the Kurdish population.” However, this did not happen. A new balance of power emerged. Israel came to the fore in the region and began to exert influence. The Middle East began to be designed according to Israel’s security. Turkey could not bring Syria under its control as it had wished. Concerns arose that the situation would become even more costly if Israel supported the Kurds. For this reason, Bahçeli appealed to Abdullah Öcalan. The Kurdish leader took the initiative and made a call, and the decision was made to end the PKK’s existence and armed struggle.
This year, clashes have stopped, and loss of life has been prevented. An environment for discussion and resolution has been created in Turkey. Expectations for democratic steps to be taken have increased. Despite this, no concrete and serious steps have been taken on this issue so far. The commission established in Parliament has done nothing beyond listening to certain circles. They have still not listened to Abdullah Öcalan, who is the main party to the problem and the key to its resolution. The right to hope has not been brought up to the agenda despite the ECtHR ruling. There has been no change in Öcalan’s status; he is still being held hostage.
Erdoğan has high expectations of Trump. He wants to convince him to exclude the SDF and eliminate the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. Turkey is bringing the March 10 agreement to Turkey’s agenda more than the HTS itself, seeking to turn this agreement into a tool for conflict, not to resolve the problem. He wants the SDF to be disbanded under the guise of “integration into the army.” The Kurds and the autonomous region will thus be left defenseless and at the mercy of the rigid central government branded by HTS. The meeting has not yet been fully reflected in the press, but the Kurds and democratic circles should know that this issue is one of the main agenda items of the meeting and negotiations with Trump. If Trump has agreed to what is being demanded, neither the Peace and Democratic Society process nor efforts in this direction will endure. Disrupting the process is no problem at all for Erdoğan!
Source: Yeni Özgür Politika