Turkey, Symbol of Seeking Modernization and Transformation

25 February 2011 | 00:38 Code : 10468 Europe
By Mohammad Sadeq Kharrazi.
Turkey, Symbol of Seeking Modernization and Transformation
IRD: The fifth in a series of monthly meetings to review foreign policy issues such as “Turkey, a New Actor in the Region" at the premises of IRD has been held with professors, students, ambassadors and foreign policy issues followers, as well as general audiences. Mohammad Sadeq Kharrazi, Iran’s former ambassador to France underlined Turkey’s new role in the region: "Turks have weathered crises of the mind. The Turks, under serious laic pressure over the decades, have learned how to include a self-discovered intellect in the national interest. Turkey’s progress can be considered as a suitable allegory. The Turks believe in team-work. The will and coherence among decision makers and leaders of Turkey is praiseworthy. In today’s Turkey, any of the leading figures accept responsibility. The Turkish Prime Minister, Ragab Tayyeb Erdogan, is the symbol of management and leadership of the government in connection with the masses and a realistic and true orientation toward the people. President Abdullah Gul is the symbol of the philosophy ruling over the Justice and Development Party and economic development, and Foreign Minister Ahmed Daoud Oglo actually is the strategist of the country. He explicitly insists that the Turks are in pursuit of promoting their ranking position in global politics and the global economy.

Saeq Kharrazi continued, “The size of Iran-Turkey financial deals had increased substantially, but the Turks have explicitly stressed that the international sanctions against Iran undermine Turkey’s political and economic stability. It has been a long time since the Turks have come to a new understanding of the international system and like many Middle Eastern countries, they have nothing to do with East-West conflicts. Turkey is determined in facing toward Iran, becoming its strategic partner in progress.

Kharrazi argued that many Turkish issues analysts believe that the ties between Tehran and Ankara have never been as strong and they have turned regular and targeted in recent years: considering the economic, political, commercial, currency and border relations of the two countries endorses this view. The In the period of the last few decades, we have witnessed verbal and diplomatic clashes between Turkey and Iran, but managed with mutual tact. Today’s Turkey is determined to offer rational Islam as a basis for its doctrine through providing an Islamic management model and combating Islamic extremism and radicalism. Turkey has now been introduced in many of intellectual schools of the Islamic world as a symbol of seeking transformation, modernization and Islam, and that of safeguarding of the values and the ancient heritage of the Islamic civilization. The purposeful diplomacy of Turkey can be traced back to acting and role-playing. Turkey plays a role in the Muslim world, the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and beyond Iranian borders, i.e. between Pakistan and Afghanistan and this is a milestone in the transformational history of Turkey. The diplomatic system in Turkey has gained a kind of wisdom. On the issue of Palestine, the Intifada and resistance, Turkey has acted with tact and Erdogan has become the symbol of resistance, gaining immense popularity in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. In such an atmosphere, the Turks have found the love of the broken hearts and Arab and the Islamic world’s militants; it demonstrates how the Turks are smart time-managers, seizing opportunities.

On the new developments in the Middle East, Iran’s former ambassador to France argued, "Iran, Egypt and Turkey are three important countries of the region: three civilizations that had, have and will have unparalleled capacity and potential. Turkey eagerly resisted the obsoleteness of Ataturk-ism. Some claim that there is a kind of opposition in Europe to accept Turkey into the EU, while Turkey has been an active member in the EC, the EU and NATO. But due to their traditional views, some countries such as France, Germany and England oppose Turkey’s membership, but I predict that the EU will eventually invite Turkey to join. Turkey now has some ideas and influences in the subcontinent and the Middle East. In the discussions on the Iranian nuclear issue, it still plays the role of a mediator. Turkish officials in extensive consultations with Iranian officials seek serious opportunities to gain legitimacy and acceptability for Istanbul as a mediator. Turkey benefited easily from Iran’s absence, surpassed us and mediated in the conflict between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Once in the past decade, Iran played an active role in arbitration between Syria and Turkey, but now the Turks play the same role more extensively.

Kharrazi, mentioning the role of Turkey in the Middle East’s new developments pointed out, “In the case of Egypt, It was the Turks who gave the most advice to Barack Obama. Obama had continuous daily phone calls with Turkish authorities. Now, a new reality has emerged: from traditional Ikhwan children, a new Ikhwan is born which has a modern view. The Ikhvan that was once the hometown of and camp to political egoism and took on the doctrine of ultra-radicalism as its basis, now has become the speaker of modern Islam in Turkey. Ikhawan itself confirms that the only remedy in providing security is taking advantage of democracy.

Sadeq Kharrazi also discussed Turkey’s role in energy security in the region. “The energy security cooperation that Turkey offers to Russia, China and India is quite strategic,” he pointed out. “Iran closed its eyes to the Nabakov project and It was the Turks who smartly pushed the project forward. Today, there are new opportunities emerging in the region; opportunities that deal with a few large regional unions, even cyber or virtual ones. An alliance between Iran, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq is not a far-fetched idea. Turkey, China, India, Iran and Syria can take steps for energy security, such as forming a new union.