Turkey’s “zero problem” policy with neighbours, as articulated by its “scholarly” foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu, has come crashing down to earth against the hard reality of events in Syria.
Turkey has become trapped in the Syrian quagmire as a result of misguided policies pushed by the US and the Arabian rulers. But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan cannot escape responsibility and he must take steps to rectify this by making amends with Russia and Iran, rather than spoiling them.
Egypt may yet take its rightful place in the Muslim world after the election of Mohamed Mursi as president.
As leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dominated Turkish politics for many years.
The Fall season is here, and Ankara is somnolent with the dreams of Rome. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan recently completed his Arab Spring tour over North Africa, including the recently despoiled Libya, delivering his trademark no-holds barred rhetoric that has won the hearts of the Arab street.
A large percentage of Muslims worldwide have become quite enamored with the phenomenon of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the political party — the Development and Justice Party (AKP) — he leads in Turkey.
When voting ended on the night of June 12, most people in Turkey did not have to wait for official results of the general elections. Turkish and foreign experts had already anticipated that Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) would win a third consecutive victory. A few hours later when early results came in, a landslide victory was confirmed for the AKP.
Even as US-Zionist agents were attacking ‘Ashura ceremonies in Pakistan and Iran, in Turkey something remarkable was taking place. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s appearance at an ‘Ashura commemoration ceremony of Imam Husayn’s martyrdom sent a powerful message of Muslim unity.
In order to get a balanced view of the nature of the AKP agenda, one should understand the dynamics of the movement in light of its eight-year performance in both domestic and foreign policies.
Receb Tayyob Erdogan, the ‘Islamist’ mayor of Istanbul, was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment on April 21 after being convicted of inciting ‘hatred based on religious differences’ by a special security court sitting in Diyarbakir.
