Turkey, currently navigating a turbulent, elite-driven "peace process" with Kurdish factions, has allowed representatives from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party to visit Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the PKK, an armed Kurdish group active in Turkey for over four decades.Important note:&nbsp;Öcalan has been serving a life sentence on Imralı Island, south of Istanbul, since his capture 25 years ago. The visit is the first of its kind in over a decade. Turkey and its Western allies designate the PKK as a terrorist organization.The Quote:&nbsp;"I have the competence and determination to make a positive contribution to the new paradigm started by Mr Bahçeli and Mr Erdoğan. In light of this, I am ready to take the necessary positive steps and make the call." Öcalan said, according to a DEM statement Sunday.The backstory:&nbsp;The new paradigm refers to an unexpected call by Devlet Bahçeli, the ultranationalist government partner, inviting Öcalan to parliament to renounce terrorism and disband the group. The so-called "peace process" seeks to build on past failed attempts, addressing decades-long grievances and current practical concerns regarding Kurds in Turkey.Recommended read:&nbsp;<a fr-original-style="" href="https://aposto.com/s/kurdish-problem-on-the-eve-of-a-new-peace-process" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">'Kurdish problem': On the eve of a new peace process?</a> | Aposto World

Aposto World

The peace process now has the support of Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed PKK leader. A rare visit by leaders of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party to Öcalan paves the way for further dialogue.

Latest in the 'peace process': PKK head allowed visitors

<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2024/9/0/1729457261758.jpeg" style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" width="550" ratio="1.51" fr-original-style="display: block; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Provided by the government of North Korea, the picture is said to depict a South Korean drone in Pyongyang. Journalists were not given access to the site to verify the claim | Korean Central News Agency<span fr-original-class="customBullet" fr-original-style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 12px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline-block;" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 12px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline-block; box-sizing: border-box;">•&nbsp;&nbsp; Drone escalation:&nbsp;North Korean officials say that they found the remains of a South Korean drone in Pyongyang, the capital.<ul fr-original-style="padding-inline-start: 20px;" style="padding-inline-start: 20px; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; box-sizing: border-box;"><li fr-original-style="" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Why is it important? North Korea says the footage is proof that South Korea’s military was behind the alleged drone infiltrations over the city’s skies earlier in the month. Pyongyang had <a fr-original-style="" href="https://apnews.com/article/north-korea-south-drones-attack-threat-border-d1b2e42665fba63dbf4cf2f36a96f5f5" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="color: rgb(9, 9, 9); text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">said</a> that if there is another infiltration, their “frontline troops are ready.”</li></ul>

Foreign policy in the AKP programThe AKP states in its program that Turkey's location is a magnet for many collaborations and that the use of this potential ‘depends on the wise use of geopolitics.’ Turkey needs to reorganise its relations with power centres in an ‘alternative, flexible, and multi-axis’ manner while claiming that ‘the quality of military alliances and blocs as the determining factor of international relations has significantly diminished’, even though the opposite is true today, especially after Russia invading Ukraine and the NATO’s role getting bigger.The governing party promises ‘a realistic foreign policy based on mutual interest relations.’ Instead of relying solely on the bureaucracy for foreign policy decision-making and implementation, the party also aims to involve parliament and society. Turkey, ‘an element of regional stability with its democracy, economy, and respect for human rights,’ will take more initiative to resolve crises and increase efforts to maintain good relations with its neighbours, based on dialogue.Good relations with European countries and the European Union will be established, ‘the conditions for EU membership will be met as soon as possible, and the agenda will be prevented from being occupied with artificial problems.’ It is stated that cooperation with the US will continue, with an emphasis on defense, and that there will be more cooperation in the fields of economy, investment, science, and technology, and that ‘friendly relations based on cooperation rather than competition’ will be established with Russia. ‘In addition to the traditional Atlantic and European dimensions of Turkish foreign policy, efforts to develop a Eurasian-oriented policy will continue.’ It is said that closer relations will be established with China and the dynamic economies of Asia.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/0/1670749479822.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.51" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">Daily SabahWith Greece, it is stated that ‘relations based on economic interests will continue to increase, and the environment of trust that these relations will create will prepare the ground for the solution of more complex political problems.’ It is argued that the solution in Cyprus should be based on a compromise between the two states.The AKP advocates the development of relations with the Central Asian Turkic Republics. It is said that ‘special importance’ will be given to relations with Islamic countries and that efforts will be made for the Organization of the Islamic Conference to gain a more reputable place in the international arena.It is stated that new areas of cooperation have emerged in the Black Sea and the Caucasus with the end of the Cold War. Some say that Turkey will try to contribute to the economic integration of the Caucasus, which has underground and aboveground resources, with the Middle East and the Balkans.Efforts will also be made to further protect the rights of Turkish citizens living abroad.Practical differences&nbsp;Although the AKP claimed to have a realist foreign policy vision, it pursued an anti-realist idealist foreign policy at the expense of not maximising Turkey's national interests, especially in the process that started with the Arab Spring. This ‘pan-Islamist’ idealism became unsustainable when the coup that overthrew the Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt turned into a permanent government, and the Assad regime in Syria did not fall. Turkey has become an isolated country in its region due to the AKP's idealistic foreign policy that is detached from reality. It has become so hard to protect its rights and interests, especially in the Eastern Mediterranean.President Erdoğan's demand for a meeting with Bashar al-Assad, whom he criticised with harsh words years ago, and severed all diplomatic relations with, or with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, with whom he recently shook hands, or his role as a mediator in the invasion of Ukraine by differentiating himself from Western countries and pursuing a policy that does not put his interests at risk, can be considered as the clearest indicators of the return from idealism to realism.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/0/1670749512908.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.79" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">BBCTurkey has become the country with the highest inflation rate in Europe under the AKP rule. It ranked 147th out of 179 countries in the latest Democracy Report of the Gothenburg University Institute for Varieties of Democracy. In 2021, 22% of all applications to the European Court of Human Rights for human rights violations were related to Turkey. As a result, Turkey has moved far away from the AKP program's claim to be ‘an element of regional stability with its democracy, economy, and respect for human rights’ and to take the initiative in regional crises.While it is possible to say that the AKP's foreign policy towards Russia, the Caucasus, and Eurasia is consistent in practice, it is impossible to talk about an effort to complete the EU membership requirements. On the contrary, relations between the EU and Turkey are experiencing one of the coldest periods in history. Opposing the program, it is also difficult to talk about an effort to improve relations with the US and Greece. On the other hand, given the attitudes of the EU, the US, and Greece towards Turkey, it would be unfair to the ruling party to explain this situation solely by the AKP's policies.Foreign policy in the MHP program&nbsp;The MHP program also emphasises the importance of Turkey's geostrategic position. It advocates a ‘realistic, Turkey-centred, and multifaceted foreign policy based on a national strategy based on mutual interest.’Addressing the issue of foreign policy in more detail than the AKP in its program, the MHP defines the goal of its foreign policy as ‘protecting and developing Turkey's national security and national interests; creating a belt of peace, stability, and security around us; establishing relations based on mutual respect and mutual benefit with all countries, especially our neighbours; finding fair and lasting solutions to existing problems within the framework of international law by protecting Turkey's rights and interests.’While aiming for Turkey to be a strong, respected, trusted, listened to, and sought-after country, it is emphasised that ‘respect for national culture, territorial integrity, and unitary state structure’ is a red line. It underlines the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states, and demands ‘a foreign policy with personality that takes into account not only commercial but also historical and cultural dimensions’.Like the AKP, the MHP advocates Turkey's leadership in increasing cooperation between the Caucasus, the Balkans, and the Middle East, while opposing ‘global projects that destabilise the region and bring blood and tears.’ What these projects are is not explained in the program.The party advocates a deterrent foreign policy within the framework of legitimacy ‘against countries that carry historical enmities against Turkey into the present and target Turkey's national interests.’ However, the party does not explain which countries are hostile to Turkey, nor what deterrent foreign policy means.The priority area of interest of the foreign policy is defined as the Turkic world, and it is aimed to develop and deepen economic, social, political, and cultural relations with Cyprus, the Caucasus, Central-Asian Turkic Republics, and Balkan countries.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/0/1670749552156.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.79" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">TürkgünUnlike the AKP, the MHP characterises Cyprus as Turkey's ‘most important national cause.’ It argues that the only realistic solution on the island is a two-nation, two-state structure and closes the door to the idea of federation.The party sees the need for a redefinition of relations with the EU but opposes the idea that the issue is a ‘question of identity and destiny’ for Turkey. It underlines that Turkey ‘does not need to be dragged into the EU orbit’. However, if the EU observes Turkey's sensitivities on national unity, terrorism, separatism, Cyprus, Greece, and Armenia; it would be reasonable to continue partnership negotiations.It is advocated that relations with the US should be ‘carried out based on equality and reciprocity in a way to serve the mutual interests of both sides in economic, political, and security dimensions,’ and that joint economic projects should be developed with Russia, Iran, Balkan, and Middle Eastern countries based on peace, stability, and regional cooperation and that a dynamic economic cooperation environment should be created with African, Far East, and South East Asian countries. The MHP calls this approach a ‘multilateral foreign policy.’Special emphasis is placed on the territorial integrity of Iraq, and the importance of ‘protecting the rights of the Turkmen presence in Iraq and preventing Iraqi territory from posing a security threat to Turkey’ are underlined. In the face of the terrorist threat to Turkey from Iraqi territory, it is stated that ‘Turkey will use its rights arising from international law to eliminate terrorist elements.’MHP's decisive influenceIt is evident from the programs of the two parties that the fact that the MHP, which has a comprehensive foreign policy program, has become a partner in the government has led to changes in Turkey's foreign policy. It can be said that the MHP, which emphasises a ‘realist’ foreign policy, has been instrumental in bringing the government back to a realist line.<img src="https://images.aposto.com/2022/11/0/1670749577085.jpeg" style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px; border-style: none; position: relative; cursor: pointer; padding: 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box;" ratio="1.88" width="550" fr-original-style="display: block; float: none; vertical-align: top; margin: 5px auto; text-align: center; width: 100%; max-width: 550px;" fr-original-class="fr-draggable">İHAMoreover, the MHP, whose sensitivity to the Cyprus issue is reflected in its program, can also be interpreted as having played a role in the AKP's insistence on a two-state solution, which had once supported the establishment of a federative structure in Cyprus with the Annan Plan. The MHP also played a role in the AKP's pursuit of a deterrent foreign policy in the Middle East through cross-border campaigns, its failure to advance EU accession negotiations, and its strong support for Azerbaijan in the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.Finally, it is significant to note that neither party has included the Syria policy, which closely concerns Turkey's national security, nor the Libya policy, which concerns Turkey's interests in the Eastern Mediterranean, in its programs. &nbsp;

Spektrum

Bartu Özden

How do the AK Party and MHP view foreign policy?

<h4 fr-original-style="" style="margin: 0px; color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.85); font-weight: 500; padding: 0px; box-sizing: border-box;">Spektrum&nbsp;is a weekly politics publication focusing on Turkey, city agendas and international policy.</h4><hr fr-original-style="" style="height: 0px; overflow: visible; border-bottom: none; clear: both; user-select: none; break-after: page; box-sizing: border-box;">AKP's view on fundamental rightsStating that fundamental human rights and freedoms are ‘the achievement of humanity as a result of centuries-long struggles’ the AKP program indexes the indicator of being a civilised society to the level of these freedoms. It argues that freedoms are also the foundation of democracy. The program states that ‘the most significant element of trust in a society is the belief of the individuals living in it that their rights and freedoms are respected’ and that this respect ensures the adoption of the democratic regime by the society and the protection of social peace.In the field of fundamental rights, the party promises that ‘the standards of international conventions to which Turkey is a party, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Paris Charter and the Helsinki Final Act, will be implemented.’ It promises that the views of civil society will be taken into account, that the freedoms of the press, thought, and expression will be built based on international standards, and that secularism will not be interpreted as hostility to religion. While emphasising the sensitivities of religious people, it states that religion cannot be an instrument of pressure on people who have different lifestyles.<p contenteditable="false" fr-original-class="custom-button-wrapper fr-deletable" fr-original-style="text-align:center" style="text-align: center; margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; box-sizing: border-box;"><a bgcolor="#effe75" color="#090909" contenteditable="false" fr-original-class="custom-button-link" fr-original-style="background-color:#effe75 !important;color:#090909 !important" href="https://apos.to/n/spectrum" rel="noreferrer" style="background-color: rgb(239, 254, 117) !important; color: rgb(9, 9, 9) !important; text-decoration: none; outline: none; cursor: pointer; transition: color 0.3s ease 0s; touch-action: manipulation; user-select: auto; box-sizing: border-box;" target="_blank">Subscribe</a>

Aposto Digest

Turkey is one of the countries where terrorism hurts the most. It is quite normal that society's large part does not sympathize with a party, some of whose representatives declare that they do not see the PKK as a terrorist organization, and from time to time slogans in favor of the terrorist organization are chanted at its congresses. Therefore, I do not think it is a correct approach to explain the inability of the HDP and the opposition alliance to come together on an electoral alliance only with the "divide and rule the opposition" strategy of the People's Alliance.Moreover, the economic program of the HDP, which seems likely to form another alliance with left/socialist parties, is "too far left" for the opposition alliance.On the other hand, HDP received exactly 5 million 866 thousand 309 votes in the 2018 general elections. This number is likely to increase in this election. In other words, HDP has popular support that even the most nationalist government cannot overcome by labeling it as "terrorist". In a country where so many citizens are terrorists or terror sympathizers, it would probably not be possible for anyone to survive. HDP members associating with terrorism or associating the party with terrorism "from the outside" is a grave injustice to the millions of peaceful people who voted for the party by embracing their Kurdish identity.&nbsp;Therefore, it is very significant that Demirtaş underlines the distance between the HDP and the PKK and criticizes his party after criticizing the government and the opposition.Through the rhetoric of its leaders and Demirtaş, the HDP aims for the opposition alliance to recognize its legitimacy. For example, it did not attend the emergency extraordinary meeting of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) to discuss the issue of violence in health care because the CHP did not contact the HDP in its legislative proposal.The six parties adopt a democratic stance on issues such as the legitimacy of the HDP before the law, the constitutional rights of HDP politicians, freedom of expression, and security of life of HDP voters. They promise that governments will create a democratic environment in which the HDP will utilize its constitutional right to dissent.In return, the HDP should not expect that the common pain and anxiety of division caused by a separatist terrorist organization to large segments of the population with different views will suddenly disappear. The HDP should also understand that the parties representing these population segments are not willing to form an open alliance with it, and should not withhold its support at least in the second round.After all, if democracy is to be rebuilt with the "Reinforced Parliamentary System" model, it will open a space for the HDP to take part in democratic politics and voice its opposition. If Turkey is to rebuild democracy, an HDP that has no ties with terrorism and HDP voters who freely express their democratic demands will take their place there. Only in this way will social peace be achieved.

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