Turkey after the parliamentary elections
The Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies and Turkologist Ruben Safrastyan considered the winning of Erdoğan’s “Justice and Development” party in the early parliamentary elections on November 1 in Turkey and receiving about fifty percent of the votes a victory, but a defeat for Turkey. In an interview with “Aravot”, he explained that this defeat refers both to Turkey’s domestic and foreign policy. “With regard to the foreign policy, we can say that Turkey is so deep immersed in the affairs of the Middle East that I no longer think that it would be able to come out,” says the Turkologist.
He believes that there will be no fundamental changes in Erdoğan’s foreign policy after these elections. “In my estimation, Turkey’s geopolitical position is weakened because apart from the occurrences in Syria, Turkey is in a different situation now. The Russian forces are deployed on its northern and southern borders,” said Mr. Safrastyan, noting that Russia president’s congratulation and speeches about cooperation after the elections carried a formal nature, the relations between these two countries are still tense.
Our interlocutor does not consider Europe’s concern about Erdoğan’s dictator politics formal. “It is apparent from the responses of the European politicians and media that they realize very well that Turkey is in the deepening pressure on human rights, Erdoğan’s party winning means that this politics would deepen and Erdoğan wants to become a president with great powers, says Mr. Safrastyan, noting that at the same time, now Europe is dependent on Turkey. This is due to the fact that a large number of refugees penetrate to Turkey and Europe is interested in cooperating with Turkey and offers a big support.”
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According to Mr. Safrastyan, Erdoğan is seeking a sole power to “carry out his rave-resembling dreams.” “He is trying to see himself in the history equal to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, like Ataturk established the Ottoman Empire on the ruins so as he aims to create a new Turkey based on his vision.” Now, according to the Turkologist, Erdoğan’s plans will not be so easily executed because deliberately creating anti-Kurdish sentiments and hysteria in the meantime, he has worsened the situation and made it uncontrollable.
The issue of the Armenian genocide as in the past so as now will not be included on the agenda. “For the Turkish ruling circles, no matter what political party is introduced, both the current ruling party and the opposition parties, Armenian genocide issue does not exist. They do their best to deny and do everything for the world to forget about it, they will do their best for the issue not to be on the political agenda of Turkey,” says Mr. Safrastyan, adding that “Mainly intellectuals, students and representatives of some NGOs that are mostly centered in big cities in western Turkey are talking about Genocide, which. They think that that Turkey as a country can develop only reckoning with its history, particularly condemning the dark pages of its history, including the Armenian Genocide. They are talking only about the Armenian genocide. On the one hand, they need to take into account that they are a very small number of people, just a few percent in the whole Turkey, which at this stage is unable to effect the Turkish politics.”
Hripsime HOVHANNISYAN,
“Aravot” daily
