What Does Peacekeeping in Lebanon Mean for Turkey?
For all the pejorative pundits salivating to create an “us” “them” relation between the Muslim nations and the rest of the world, I’d like you to meet Turkey. During this present crisis between Israel and Lebanon, Turkey sits as uncomfortably as a 500 pound hippo in an economy airline seat. It is not so easy to dismiss Turkey as a “them” state, especially as the country considers the decision to send peacekeeping troops into Lebanon in the name of the United Nations (and a possible EU bid).
On Monday, August 21, Israeli and Turkish Ministers met in Jerusalem to discuss the possibility of Turkey sending peace keeping troops to Lebanon. The Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told reporters that it depended on Turkey sending its peacekeeping troops to southern Lebanon. Yet, what would the deployment of these troops mean for Turkey?
First and foremost, Turkey has been fighting to become a member of the European Union. The only Muslim NATO member, Turkey has achieved feats of wonder, such as overhauling their entire currency, to further their bid to enter the European Union. Let’s face it, Turkey is like a woman CEO in a predominately male corporation. She must not only be good, but she must be better than the others. Turkey must prove its alliance with Europe, by going above and beyond what most other European countries have had to accomplish to gain admittance. Many Turks fear that the European Union will never accept a Muslim country into its “Christian Club.” However, the country’s capital, Ankara, has not cooled its attempts to win admittance, even as the EU members have been putting on the heat in regards to Lebanon. On August 19, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Teyyip Erdogan , spoke on the phone with Italian Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, who urged Erdogan to send Peace Keeping troops into Lebanon. Following Prodi’s phone call, Erdogan received two other separate calls from the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and French President Jacques Chirac, both urging similar support from Turkey.
Though Turkey’s Red Crescent, a form of the Red Cross, has been sending waves of humanitarian aid to Lebanon, it has been lukewarm about sending troop. Gul stated in mid-August, “We will act only by taking in consideration the wishes of the Lebanese government, people and Lebanese groups.” Gul then stressed, “This should be a peacekeeping force under a UN umbrella. It should not be given any other responsibility. It should not be seen as a force against the Lebanese people.” These words of caution were a way to pacify not just other Muslim countries, but the citizens of Turkey as well. As a rule, many Turks do not like Hezbollah. However, after watching the destruction in Lebanon on their televisions, most Turks would rather provide humanitarian aid than troops-even if in the name of peacekeeping. In fact, so far the waves of trucks Turkey has driven into Beirut have amounted to over $2,048,000 worth of food, water, cleaning materials, and medicine. Most articles I’ve read in Turkish newspapers indicate that most Turks would rather the Turkish support go no further than the Red Crescent. The day before Erdogan visited with Israeli officials, about 10,000 Turkish citizens took to the streets of Kadikoy, a city in Northwestern Turkey, to protest Turkish troops in Lebanon. Not just Turkish citizens, but most Muslim countries do not like the idea of Turkey bringing troops into this arena-even in the name of peacekeeping. This means that by sending troops-even under the umbrella of the United Nations – the Turkish government could make itself very unpopular with other Muslim nations and its own citizens.
Not even the Turkish government is united in providing support to Israel. Positioned between Europe and the Middle East, Turkey’s citizens reflect a broad spectrum of beliefs from both sides of this divide. This disconnect between the conservative Islamic population and the more moderate Islamic population of Turkey can be seen in the voices off dissent in Ankara right now. On Sunday, August 20, Conservative Saadet party’s, Numan Kurtulmus, urged Turkey to withdraw its ambassador in Israel saying, “If Turkey withdraws its ambassador, all Arabic countries would be expected to follow suit.” He closed his argument by stating, “The government, which sends troops to Lebanon before peace is ensured in the Middle East, will have to pay retribution for the continual betrayal of the Lebanese people.” Even Erdogan, now supporting peace keeping troops, spoke out openly against the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. “I invite all those who hold responsibility – prime ministers and heads of state – to take a joint stance against these actions that have escalated almost to the level of state terror,” Erdogan had stated.
As this time, I think I’d rather be that 500 pound hippo squeezed into an economy-sized airline seat than Turkey. Turkey’s government will anger an ally and inevitably a good portion of its citizens, whether Turkey sends peacekeeping troops or not. The decision Erdogan and Gul must make now: which ally to anger? Which citizens to alienate? West. . .East. . .or in between?
