{"id":28036,"date":"2016-04-15T22:44:53","date_gmt":"2016-04-15T22:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/?p=28036"},"modified":"2016-04-15T22:44:53","modified_gmt":"2016-04-15T22:44:53","slug":"time-for-a-reality-check-on-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/time-for-a-reality-check-on-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Time for a reality check on Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"
For too long, Turkey\u2019s foreign policy has been conducted on the basis of delusions of grandeur.<\/p>\n
First, embraced by the west and the Arab world alike as a beacon of Islamic democracy in the Middle East, later as an indispensable ally and gate-keeper for keeping refugees away from Europe, Turkey has had an easy ride.<\/p>\n
Pragmatic leaders of Europe and the USA, in pursuit of short term political and security goals, have chosen to turn a blind eye to warning signs of Turkey\u2019s authoritarian drift.<\/p>\n
The more they indulged, the more unpalatable and costly their co-operation with Mr. Erdogan and his AKP government has become.<\/p>\n
But gone are the days when public opinion was easily swayed with justifications of trade and security interests taking priority over core values.<\/p>\n
Governments may not acknowledge the depth of the moral swamp they found themselves in. Their voters are increasingly becoming questioning and sceptical of those policies.<\/p>\n
In Germany, Angela Merkel is facing strong opposition for allowing an investigation into satirist Jan B\u00f6hmermann for writing an insulting poem about Mr Erdogan. The private defamation case launched by the Turkish president has stirred strong resistance among parliamentarians and the media.<\/p>\n
The controversy gains an additional poignancy thanks to stern warnings given separately to Turkey by The European Parliament<\/a> and the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Mui\u017enieks<\/a>\u00a0 over deterioration of rights and democracy.<\/p>\n