Is our Syria plan also 'Domestic and National'?!

The day before yesterday, we witnessed another historic photo. Rize Governor Selim Baydaş was driving a vehicle for AKP Rize deputies, the Mayor, and the Provincial Chairman.

The date was November 26, 2013; MHP Leader Devlet Bahçeli, who was heavily criticizing the AKP, warned that “Turkey is shifting gears toward a party-state” and made the following observations:

“Rights and wrongs are determined and assigned not according to the expectations of the nation and the state, but based on party sensitivities. This is a very important problem and dilemma. Prime Minister Erdoğan and his government have forced foreign policy into a template that challenges rather than reconciles, and interferes in the regimes of neighboring countries rather than being a soft power. AKP policies have drifted far away from realities, fundamental principles and goals, rationality, and even more tragically, from common sense.”

Yes, Bahçeli’s predictions came true; the Republic of Turkey has both become a “party-state” and has reached a point where unconditional submission to the AKP’s calculations is expected in foreign policy, an area where we should all be in consensus.

Look at what is happening in Syria!..

A former AKP deputy and writer drew up a huge list of all dissidents under the title “Those who are saddened by the conquest of Aleppo,” and declared, “They are choosing sides based entirely on emotional, ideological, or sectarian motives. They cannot manage to rejoice with Turkey or grieve with Turkey. Fortunately, they do not constitute a significant portion of the total population and electorate.” Another person, who still works as a consultant for the AKP, declared, “Why does the success of Syria’s own children surprise some people?” We just ask: Where did these own children of Syria get those weapons?!..

On the day the AKP figure released that list, another writer in the same newspaper, “starting from the middle of the book,” wrote that this operation was “directly a US-UK-Israel production,” that it “also took into account the Arab world, which has placed its hands on the Crystal Ball, and the Saudis who ultimately desire the crushing of Iran,” and that “the macro-scale target of this development is to eliminate the Shiite crescent.” Adding, “If the Lebanon and Syria wars intensify, it will lead us to a Middle East hell that will make today look like a picnic,” he reminded everyone “not to forget the presence of radical Uyghur and Chechen groups that HTS has incorporated into its structure.” Furthermore, regarding the liquidation of the PKK in the region, he warned, “What will we do if HTS, which does not speak out against the genocide Israel is committing in Gaza, reaches an agreement with the PYD and confronts us? We know that Israel desires this very much and is putting in great effort to bring these two guided organizations together and make them agree. Let us not forget that not only Iran but also Turkey is being targeted for isolation from the Middle East. Be careful.” A few days later, he made the diagnosis: “The rhetoric that caused us major strategic errors in the Syria issue in the past is back in play... One has to search quite hard to find an analysis that is grounded in reality,” but no matter; everyone has set out for the conquest of Syria.

IS OUR TARGET IN SYRIA THE PKK OR ASSAD?

Let us continue with the ups and downs of MHP Leader Bahçeli, who is said to have been voicing the “state mind” since the terrorist leader overture in September.

Seven months ago, on May 28, he addressed the government or the state as follows:

“The Republic of Turkey must never allow the terrorist organization to attempt to surround the areas it has occupied and invaded through democratic means, by joining hands with the Syrian administration in an atmosphere of mutual understanding and reconciliation, that is, by building a bridge of cooperation between Ankara and Damascus. The roots of the separatist terrorist organization must be eradicated through military operations that I propose Turkey and Syria conduct in coordination, at their source and in the swamp areas where they breed.”

Thirteen days later, he said, “The voluntary, safe, and dignified return of Syrian refugees who are in our country under temporary protection status must be ensured in stages, the back of irregular migration must be broken, and the Readmission Agreement must be terminated.”

While there has been no serious initiative other than Erdoğan’s half-hearted calls to Assad, and the Readmission Agreement, which embarrasses us with Merkel’s memoirs, is still in place, proxy forces of various states, primarily HTS, have begun to capture Syria’s critical cities like dominoes.

One of those who rejoiced the most was Bahçeli; he applauded the hoisting of the Turkish flag in Aleppo.

Let us go back 11 years. The same Bahçeli was saying, in summary;

“The government’s Syria policy is entirely tied to anti-Assadism and is riveted by hostility toward Assad. While Prime Minister Erdoğan attacks Assad, he presents almost all opposition elements as pure as driven snow. According to the Prime Minister’s logic and understanding; Assad is bad, but the cannibals who eat human flesh are innocent. Assad is a murderer, but the head-cutting monsters and vandals who spread terror are victims... What disturbs us most is the support and rewarding of terrorist groups that are anti-Assad. The fact that Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra, the PYD, and other opposition elements are being fattened, their needs met, and rewarded through secret negotiations just because of their enmity toward Assad is not something that can be understood, accepted, or considered normal... By taking refuge in virtual excuses and hoping for empty consolations by saying ‘He who is neutral will be eliminated,’ the Prime Minister has proven in every aspect that he has taken a side and whose interests he is positioning himself for. Prime Minister Erdoğan is on the side of the human-resembling executioners and hired hitmen who occupy the area just across our borders, against Assad, who bombs his own people and kills his own citizens... How sad it is that this mentality sees Yazid only in Damascus and looks for him there. Yet the true Yazid is traveling across continents, parceling out geographies, and trying to make people accept scenarios of division. The Prime Minister is also in a unity of purpose and goal with the tyrants of the 21st century... Prime Minister Erdoğan should look at the Yazids in Imralı and Kandil before the Yazid in Damascus, and focus on them.”

Are we going to liquidate the US-backed PKK thanks to this chaos in Syria, is that it?

Just yesterday, why did James Jeffrey, the Syria Special Representative of the Trump era, feel the need to remind us of the agreement regarding our Operation Peace Spring, which Trump stopped by saying, “Don’t be a fool,” by stating, “Since October 2019, we have had an agreement with Turkey in that region that we can basically call a ceasefire. We are happy to maintain this relationship.”?!

WHAT DOES THE GOVERNMENT SAY, AND WHAT TUNE DOES IT PLAY?

While another AKP figure, former Minister Mustafa Varank, counted HTS members as “own children,” the atmosphere in the government was as follows:

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated, “Turkey is not involved in the clashes in Aleppo. Measures are being taken. We will not engage in any action that would trigger a new wave of migration.” A few days later, he said, “We do not have secret operations.”

The government’s unofficial spokesperson, Abdülkadir Selvi, reported that “Turkey neither supports nor consents to these developments on the ground,” and that “on the contrary, it is always trying to prevent the spiral of violence in Syria and the region against the threat posed by Israel’s aggression.”

AKP Deputy Chairman Efkan Ala stated that they are against all terrorist organizations there and announced, “We are ready to help Syria for stability.”

AKP Spokesperson Ömer Çelik denied allegations that Turkey is behind the opposition in Syria.

But the pro-government media announced that “history is repeating itself,” that “the Turkish flag is waving in the Aleppo Citadel,” that “vehicles with Gaziantep license plates were seen in the Citadel,” that “the liberation of Aleppo was celebrated by distributing Turkish delight,” that “the song ‘Fikrimin İnce Gülü’ is echoing in the streets,” and that “a message of thanks to Erdoğan was sent from the Umayyad Mosque in Aleppo.”

A researcher who once worked at SETA, which is close to the government, claimed that “Turkey provided operational information to the opposition.” It was noted that the news was later inaccessible.

This picture must have caused discomfort, as Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun warned the media, “It should not be forgotten that Turkey supports the unity, stability, and territorial integrity of Syria, and that its only goal is to ensure our national security and eliminate terrorists,” but perhaps for the first time, he was not listened to.

After that, the pot boiled over. The coalition president of the Syrian opposition, Hadi al-Bahra, said, “Turkey has played an important role that should be appreciated for years in supporting the Syrian people.” Another Turkey-backed opposition leader, Abdurrahman Mustafa, emphasized that “Turkey prepared legitimate justifications and a political ground for them regarding the operation in areas under Damascus’s control.”

The pro-government media boasted that “the Hama victory was announced with Aselsan-produced radios”... While one writer openly stated that “structures that have passed through the training and discipline of the TSK and are equipped with armed elements have only just descended into the field with all their might,” he also added, “Whatever the scenario, the division of the country can never be allowed. The fragmentation of Syria starts the fragmentation of Turkey.”

COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF: ''TARGET DAMASCUS''

Of course, and once again, Erdoğan put an end to this chaotic environment that has been going on for days yesterday after Friday prayers:

“Idlib, Hama, and Homs, the target is of course Damascus. The march of the opposition is continuing as of now. We are following this through both intelligence and all media. Of course, our wish is, let me say, may this march in Syria continue without any accidents or trouble.”

Everything we have conveyed so far gives the impression that Ankara was caught unprepared regarding Syria and is acting with the logic of “the caravan is straightened on the road,” doesn’t it?

Is it really so, is there a “state mind,” and if so, whose mind is it; let us tell you that tomorrow.

Müyesser YILDIZ

December 8, 2024