From: Biniam Haile \(SWE\) (eritrea.lave@comhem.se)
Date: Sat Aug 16 2008 - 16:21:54 EDT
US must share power in new world order, says Turkey's controversial
president
In his first interview with a foreign newspaper since becoming head of
state, Abdullah Gül tells Stephen Kinzer of his vision for his country
as a bridge between nations
Stephen Kinzer
Saturday August 16 2008
Days after Russia scored a stunning geopolitical victory in the
Caucasus, President Abdullah Gül of Turkey said he saw a new multipolar
world emerging from the wreckage of war.
The conflict in Georgia, Gül asserted, showed that the United States
could no longer shape global politics on its own, and should begin
sharing power with other countries.
"I don't think you can control all the world from one centre," Gül told
the Guardian. "There are big nations. There are huge populations. There
is unbelievable economic development in some parts of the world. So what
we have to do is, instead of unilateral actions, act all together, make
common decisions and have consultations with the world. A new world
order, if I can say it, should emerge."
Gül, relaxing in a hotel suite with a spectacular view of the glistening
Bosphorus, spoke just hours before meeting with the visiting president
of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
He rejected the idea, promoted by the United States and Israel, that the
best way to deal with Iran was to isolate, sanction and punish it.
"There are so many important issues, like the nuclear issue, Iraq, the
Caucasus, Afghanistan," he said. "Iran is definitely having some
influence of these issues, so we are talking."
Gül said Iran had a right to develop nuclear energy but not nuclear
weapons. "We don't want to see weapons of mass destruction in this
region," he said. "If it's in our neighbourhood, we definitely don't
want to see it."
Asked about the possibility of an American attack on Iran, Gül replied:
"I don't want to think about that. Everybody should take a lesson from
what happened in Iraq," he said. "Diplomatic solutions are always better
than hard solutions."
Few countries in the world have changed as dramatically as Turkey over
the last decade, and Gül is among the most intriguing new political
leaders to emerge here during that period.
When first elected, he seemed to be part of a new Islamic wave that was
challenging the entrenched secular elite. He is a practicing Muslim who
married his wife when she was 15; she wears the headscarf that some
secular Turks consider a badge of reactionary Islam. Yet he and his
closest political ally, the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have
led a political revolution that has brought Turkey closer to democracy
than any regime in the modern state's 85-year history.
Gül said Turkey could play a decisive role in bridging the chasm that
separates the west from more turbulent regions. His country's effort to
join the European Union, he said, was its "main agenda".
"I wish to see Turkey as an island where the European standard of
democracy is being fulfilled and the free market economy is functioning
very well," he said. "This will be a real gift to the region, to the
world, for peace. And this Turkey will be a source of inspiration for so
many.
"As we are transforming ourselves in that direction, we will not forget
our natural links and relationships and advantages with other countries
- Muslim countries, central Asian countries, Caucasus countries, Middle
Eastern and other countries," he added, speaking in fluent English.
"Turkey is having a positive impact on them, spreading the values of
democracy, freedom, rule of law. Also, the economic changes here ... are
admired. Maybe that is the indirect influence of this country."
For much of this year, political life in Turkey was frozen as the
constitutional court considered a prosecutor's charge that the ruling
Justice and Development party should be banned because it was a "focus
of anti-secular activity". Last month the court rejected that argument.
Now, Gül said, Turkey's priority must be to resume its stalled progress
towards political reform. "In the last two years, we spent our energy on
domestic issues, and the reforms slowed down," he said. "Now, after the
court case, there is a new era. This is a big opportunity for Turkey.
Everybody realises that reforms are necessary."
Some European leaders, Gül said, fail ed to recognise the contribution
that Turkey was making to stability in the world's most volatile region.
"This is a big asset for Europe," he said. "Turkey has great capacity to
influence the region, indirectly, very peacefully, being an inspiration
for changes. Turkey has been playing this role already. This has not
been appreciated enough."
Opposition to Turkish membership in the EU was for years based on the
country's failure to meet democratic standards. More recently,
politicians in some European countries have sought votes by bashing
Turkey and pledging to keep it out of the EU regardless of its progress
toward democracy. These campaigns, Gül said, harmed Europe's long-term
interests.
"Europe should realise that Turkey can do more for the stability and
security of the region," he said. "Start with the Caucasus; last month,
the problem was not serious, but suddenly we found ourselves in a war
situation.
"Europe should encourage Turkey, and not create some artificial problems
during the negotiation process with us. Some member countries or some
politicians should not mix domestic issues and strategic issues.
Domestic issues are conjunctural; today it's there and tomorrow it's
not. But the strategic issues are always there, and we cannot sacrifice
strategic issues for domestic issues. Unfortunately, nowadays we see
this kind of shortsighted policies in some countries."
Gül repeatedly returned to the importance of Turkey's democratisation
process. He said it would ultimately resolve all of the country's
domestic problems, including the long-festering conflict with Kurdish
nationalists in south-eastern provinces. "Some call it terror, some call
it the south-east problem, some call it the Kurdish problem - whatever
you call it, we will find a solution," he said.
"There are other problems - secularism and anti-secularism - those
things will also find solutions in this climate. That is why I focus on
the reform process. The problem was this: the lack of democracy, the
standard of democracy. That was creating problems, not only in the
south-east but in other issues. That is when we upgrade the standards,
these problems will find solutions."
With that, Gül was off to meet Ahmadinejad. "Our values are different,"
he said with a smile, "but having a good relationship helps the
stability of the region."
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