Turkey in International Media

Pope Francis calls 1915 genocide and starts a diplomatic furore.
During a service in St. Peter’s Basilica last Sunday Pope Francis referred to the 1915 mass killings of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians in Turkey as “the first genocide of the 20th century” equating it with the destruction of life orchestrated by the Nazis and the Soviets under Stalin.  The leader of the Roman Catholic faith spoke on the eve of this grim centennial in the context of recent persecutions of Christians in Muslim-majority countries. The result has been a diplomatic row between the Vatican and Ankara.

President Erdoğan as prime minister took a reconciliatory step last year towards by offering condolences to Armenians over 1915. However, his government still resists designating the killings as genocide and summoned the Vatican’s ambassador on Sunday to express Ankara’s “grave disappointment and sadness” over the pontiff’s remarks. The Turkish ambassador to the Vatican has been recalled to Ankara for “deliberations”. On Twitter Turkey’s Foreign Minister Cavusoğlu accused Pope Francis of not being in possession of historical and legal facts while Prime Minister Davutoğlu went even further by accusing the pontiff of having joined an “evil front” against Turkey.

This year, Turkey rescheduled the anniversary of the 1915 Gallipoli campaigns from March 18 to April 24 – the day Armenians commemorate the beginnings of deportations. This, to many minds cynical distraction, caused an outcry in Armenia. On Wednesday, the European Union adopted a nonbinding resolution to commemorate the Armenian genocide and urging Turkey to recognise the atrocities as such.

Journalist Mustafa Akyol, a liberal Islamic commentator, wrote in Al Monitor that “ethnic cleansing” rather than genocide better describes the events. In a brief overview of the fall of the Ottoman Empire he argues that the modern concept of nationalism and not – as widely believed – religion were the reasons for the mass killings.
 
The trial over Soma coalmine disaster postponed almost as soon as it begins.
The trial of 45 company officials, nearly one year after the 13 May fire in the Soma coal mine in western Turkey where 301 workers died was immediately adjourned. Relatives of the killed miners delayed the proceedings in Akhisar with demands that the main suspects to be present.

Eight of the defendants – among them the chief executive and the general manager of the mine company – are charged with probable voluntary manslaughter and can face up to 25 years of prison for each victim. For their own security they were allowed to given evidence via videolink.

Last year, the mine disaster protests all over Turkey criticised the government’s close links to the mine owners. US-based Human Rights Watch called for an investigation into state responsibility for failing to oversee safety measures in the mine. 
 
Turkish journalists complain about growing press censorship under the regime of President Erdoğan.
In German daily FAZ Hidayet Karaca, general manager of Samanyolu Media Group writes from prison bemoaning the restrictions of freedom of expression Turkish journalist face in their own country. The media group is associated with the “Hizmet”-movement of Erdoğan critic, Fethullah Gülen. Karaca among other employees has been charged that a TV soap opera script was part of a political conspiracy. He says he is a victim to a government’s “witch-hunt” against oppositional media and accuses Erdoğan of destroying democracy.

P24 co-founder Yavuz Baydar in The Guardian lists more cases of journalists detained for their critical attitudes towards the government. Referring to the newsroom as an “open prison, he concludes that Turkish journalists – out of fear of losing their jobs – self-censor their articles. He cites as a landmark in this practice the media self-imposed boycott in  011 after the military caused the deaths of 34 Kurdish villagers in Roboski.

 Dutch journalist Frederike Geerdink became among the first non-Turkish journalist to be charged with terrorist propaganda. She was charged for posting photos on Facebook showing her shaking hands with Kurdish leader Cemil Bayik. However, her trial was dropped after the public prosecutor in the judicial investigation asked for her acquittal.
 
President Erdoğan’s visit to Teheran but Turkey stands accused of building a “Sunni axis” in the Middle East.
On a visit to Iran the Turkish President and his counterpart, Hassan Rouhani shook hands and smiled for the cameras in an attempt to smooth over growing differences between the two countries. Turkey has tried in the past to broker a deal between Teheran and the western powers over Iran’s nuclear program and is involved in substantial purchases of natural gas. However, the nations are at loggerheads about regional issues, particularly the civil wars in Syria and Yemen. In public, both leaders stress this disagreement is unconnected to a sectarian strife between Shiites and Sunni Muslims.

After a meeting last month in Riyadh between President Erdoğan with King Salman, Turkey joined the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis in Yemen – followers of Shia Islam associated with Iran’s geopolitical engagement. This and  a military alliance to oust Assad in Syria occurred despite bitter disagreement regarding the Muslim Brotherhood and the Iranian nuclear program.

However, Turkey expert Aaron Stein doesn’t expect Ankara to break with Teheran to build a “Sunni axis” due to its economic interdependence with Iran and a common interest in preventing Kurdish separatism.
 
Turkish troops clash with Kurdish militants and the peace process totters.
Five Kurdish insurgents of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) were killed last Saturday in Ağrı province close to the Iranian border. The rebels opened fire, provoking retaliation, according to Turkish military. President Erdoğan accused pro-Kurdish politicians of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) of using insurgency as campaign tactic.

Peace talks begun in 2012 between Ankara and the PKK’s imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan resulted two years later in a ceasefire – promising to bring to an end nearly four decades of conflict in which 40,000 died.  In this week’s Financial Times special report on Turkey Aslı Aydıntaşbaş argues both sides want peace but profit from accusing each other of bad will.

In upcoming June 7 general elections the HDP could play a crucial role. The party is fielding candidates for the first time in the hope of overcoming the 10 percent national threshold it needs to qualify for seats in parliament. If it succeeds, the party could deprive the ruling AKP of the large majority it seeks to amend the constitution into a “Turkish-style presidency”.
 

Tags: erdoğan, genecide, hidayet karaca, pope francis, soma