A 'Çatladıkapı' country and we've been disgraced!...

When challenging the world, Erdoğan often says; "Is this a 'Çatladıkapı' country? This is Turkey. We are not a 'Çatladıkapı' country, not a 'Çatladıkapı' neighborhood headman's office."

Let's look at what has happened in the last few days.

German President Steinmeier came to Turkey. But what a visit. First, he went to Istanbul and Gaziantep. Then he visited Ankara.

The discomfort felt by the pro-government media, especially regarding the German President's doner kebab show in Istanbul, was quite a spectacle.

The reason for the discomfort was that former President Abdullah Gül and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu took front-row seats at the reception hosted by Steinmeier.

WHAT IF THE GERMAN PRESIDENT IS INSPECTING THE OPPOSITION?

A very popular columnist claimed that in the 90s, there was a festive atmosphere whenever a foreign head of state visited Turkey, which stemmed from an "inferiority complex," and that this complex had ended after years of struggle under Erdoğan; however, he argued that what happened during Steinmeier's visit showed that this complex had not ended for everyone, and suggested that the German President was inspecting the opposition in Turkey.

It was noteworthy that the same columnist overlooked Feridun Sinirlioğlu, who was standing right next to Gül and İmamoğlu.

He was the "black box" of AKP governments in foreign policy for decades... After serving as Undersecretary and Minister of Foreign Affairs, he was appointed by Erdoğan himself as Turkey's Permanent Representative to the UN in 2016... When he had to retire due to the age limit in 2021, he was made Chief Advisor to the President to continue the same duty... Finally, just 2 months after being removed from this post in February 2023, he was appointed as the UN Secretary-General's Special Coordinator for Afghanistan.

Why was there no discomfort about such a name being at the forefront there on behalf of Turkish foreign policy? Or was there, but they didn't want this resume to be remembered?

Another pro-government columnist reported that the photo taken at the German Consulate General residence in Istanbul was interpreted as a "sign of preparation for the future" and was dubbed the "Postmodern Table of Six." In plain Turkish, he was implying it was a "design job for Turkish politics."

If we are not a "Çatladıkapı country," as Erdoğan puts it, then surely every step of this visit was coordinated with Ankara, and Germany informed the President about who he would meet and who would be invited.

If so, isn't Ankara the one that allowed Steinmeier to "inspect the opposition in Turkey" and form a "Postmodern Table of Six"?

YOU SHOULD HAVE ASKED FOR ADİL ÖKSÜZ AND ZEKERİYA ÖZ AT LEAST

Yet, what problems do we have with Germany?

They don't deliver the tanks for which they received payment, saying "you will use them against the PKK"... They impose an embargo on Eurofighter sales... They protect PKK members and spies like Adil Öksüz and Zekeriya Öz... They support Greek-Cypriot policies, and furthermore, they support Israel's massacres, contrary to the AKP's supposed sole red line...

Instead of asking "What is such a person looking for in our country, why is he being hosted like this?" and discussing these, look at what they are worried about!

So, what came out of the Erdoğan-Steinmeier meeting?

Erdoğan spoke about the goal of increasing our 50 billion trade volume with Germany to 60 billion, as well as the fight against terrorist organizations and the arms embargo in place. Wasn't the agreement we made for the membership of Sweden and Finland, which stipulated "counter-terrorism and the lifting of the arms embargo," binding on all NATO countries?!

What was Steinmeier's agenda? In public, he used very diplomatic language; he touched upon "making concrete progress on the principles of press freedom and the rule of law, Cyprus, and NATO." Who knows what he said in the closed-door meeting?!

FOR THE SAKE OF TWO PHOTOS WITH BIDEN

Another important agenda item this week was Erdoğan's US visit; there were debates about whether it was "canceled" or "not canceled."

We know that Erdoğan has been waiting for an invitation from the White House for years. Most recently, last November, he wrote a desperate letter, saying, "I suppose Biden will host us from now on. It wouldn't be elegant for me to call Biden."

Before that, in September, Abdülkadir Selvi, the spokesperson for the government in the media, voiced that Erdoğan was expected to be invited to the US to meet with Biden after Sweden's NATO membership was approved in Parliament.

Again, Selvi, last February, based on the NATO membership of Finland and Sweden, gave the message, "Will the spring atmosphere in Turkey-US relations be crowned with President Biden's invitation of President Erdoğan to the US? Why not?" but the US did not pay attention.

That was until the visits of MIT Chief İbrahim Kalın on March 4 and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on March 9.

Just a short time after these visits, shortly before the March 31 elections, it was claimed that Erdoğan would go to the US on May 9 for the first time as Biden's guest.

This was not an official statement, just a Reuters report. According to the report, the invitation was confirmed by officials from both countries, and even an unnamed Turkish official described Erdoğan's visit as a "window of opportunity" for bilateral relations and said they expected "counter-terrorism" to be on the agenda.

While almost a month passed and there was still no official confirmation from either Ankara or Washington, suddenly it started to be talked about that this visit was canceled or would be canceled.

Could it be that we got our hopes up and canceled an invitation that never came?!

Sir; it is said that Erdoğan canceled or is thinking of canceling this visit, which he has been waiting for for years, because Biden approved the new aid package for murderous Israel.

Not just that, other things happened too. The Human Rights Report published by the US State Department again protected the PKK/YPG and Fethullah Gülen.

Moreover, Biden again accused the Ottoman Empire of committing "genocide" in his "Armenian Remembrance Day" message the other day.

Even though the "domestic and national" government's most "domestic and national" media described this as "the same old story every year," it is clear that we have been insulted and slandered once again.

Okay, the government hasn't cared about the US protecting the PKK/FETÖ or the genocide slander until today.

But shouldn't they seriously care now and—in response to these developments—cancel the US visit without waiting any longer?

The government's only "red line" is Palestine, and all their hearts are burning for Gaza, right? Also, look at what Abdülkadir Selvi wrote:

"US aid to Israel is no secret to us"... But "while there is a negative issue, it shows that it is useful to hold this meeting [with Biden] on at least 10 topics that are vital for us"... We should think about the positive reflections of this on our economy... We could hardly catch this conjuncture... His wish was that Erdoğan's US visit should not be postponed!..

I had ended this article by saying, "Of course; in this conjuncture, what value could the reputation of the Republic of Turkey and the honor of the Turkish Nation have?" when White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby announced that no program had been made regarding Erdoğan's visit, didn't he?

With the government that remained silent about the invitation lie for 1 month and its media that fueled it; it is the picture of a "Çatladıkapı country," and on top of that, that we have been disgraced!..

Müyesser YILDIZ

April 26, 2024