“FETO’s presence in the Balkans seems to be centered in Albania. Currently, this presence seems to be the biggest barrier for the bilateral relations to improve further,” said Professor Huseyin Alptekin
By Genc Mlloja
Senior Diplomatic Editor
Over the past few years, most prominently since the summer of 2015 in the case of the PKK and the summer of 2016 in the case of FETO, Turkey is taking preemptive measures with regard to terrorist organizations, has said Assistant Professor at Department of Political Science and International Relations of Istanbul Sehir University Huseyin Alptekin.
In an exclusive interview with Albanian Daily News the researcher at SETA Alptekin, who received his PhD degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014 and among his academic interests are comparative political institutions, ethnic politics, nationalism, politics of Turkey, and the Middle East, dwelt on Turkey’s motives for its military involvement in Syria. “Turkey believes that Assad cannot provide what is needed for a peaceful and stable Syria. For this reason, Turkey backs the opposition for the future of Syria,” he said.
Professor Alptekin was in Albania in February 2019 attending a conference on “Regional Perspective and Challenges in the Fight Against International Terrorism” organized by SETA Foundation in cooperation with the Turkish Embassy in Tirana on February 12, 2019.
In a comment on Turkey’s cooperation with Balkan countries the researcher said Turkey believes that deepening relations with the Balkans can provide opportunities for mutual interests.
In the meantime Mr. Alptekin believed that FETO’s presence in the Balkans seems to be centered in Albania. “Currently, this presence seems to be the biggest barrier for the bilateral relations to improve further,” he said.
Asked about Erdogan’s effort for a revival of Turkey’s EU accession process, Mr. Alptekin is pessimistic saying that the EU seems to have no interest in the inclusion of Turkey because nowadays it suffers from its own problems. “Turkey, on the other hand, is trying to learn to be an autonomous power center in the region,” he said.
In a comment on the impact of coronavirus pandemic on global world order Professor Alptekin said all the past plagues have created opportunities for the reshaping of the global and domestic structures. In the case of the Covid-19, there seems to be two opposing ways: the first is further closure of nation states and the second is increasing level international cooperation and the creation of a global preventive healthcare regime, according to him. “Time will show which direction the world will take but for today, the former direction seems to be more probable,” the Turkish researcher at SETA Huseyin Alptekin said in the following interview:
– Mr. Alptekin, Turkey says that it is faced with concrete and longstanding worries with regard to its national security, and two of them are paramount: the PKK and FETO. Given this, do you think that the country is in process of a redesign of its overall position in international politics?
-Turkey’s position with regard to the terrorist organizations is no longer merely reactive, but proactive. In the past, Turkey used to wait for the terrorist incidents to occur in its territory and only after that it used to chase and punish the perpetrators. Over the past few years, –most prominently since the summer of 2015 in the case of the PKK and the summer of 2016 in the case of FETO—Turkey is taking preemptive measures too. This is most visible in Turkey’s cross-border operations against the PKK camps in Syria and Iraq.
-It’s more than nine years that Syria continues to be a battleground in which besides the local opponent forces foreign powers, including Turkey, are involved. Strategically speaking which are the motives behind Turkey’s military involvement in that bloody conflict with immense human losses and fatal destruction of Syria?
-Turkey’s motives are twofold. One motive is to eliminate terrorist organizations in Syria. Turkey’s operation against ISIS in 2016 and its operations against the PYD/PKK in 2017 and 2018 are such operations. This way, Turkey cleaned its borders from such imminent threats. Turkey’s second motive is to stop the humanitarian catastrophe and stop the refugee inflow into Turkey. For that, Turkey has created safe-zones in Syria across the Turkish border. Turkey keeps terrorist organizations (previously ISIS and then the PYD) and the Assad forces off these safe zones. Hence, Turkey provides shelter to the people within Syria. Turkey also provides public services (schools, hospitals, post offices, etc.) in these safe zones to create habitable environment.
Given that
(1) Syrians in Turkey-administered safe zones are not going to the Assad-ruled areas and refugees in neighboring countries are not going back to Syria; and
(2) Assad is continuing his despotic rule with his torture-centers and aerial bombardments
Turkey believes that Assad cannot provide what is needed for a peaceful and stable Syria. For this reason, Turkey backs the opposition for the future of Syria.
– The Western Balkans seems to be one of the key areas of interest of Turkish foreign policy, and evidence of it are the varied relations with the regional countries. What makes this region so important for Turkey’s politics, and which countries are its major attractions?
– Turkey has long-lasting cultural ties with the Muslim communities of the Balkans. Apart from this, Turkey has also initiated good relations with the central governments in the area, particularly with Bulgaria and more recently with Serbia. Turkey believes that deepening relations with the Balkans can provide opportunities for mutual interests.
-Turkey is considered by Albania as a strategic ally and the traditional friendly links between the two people are deeply rooted. What does Turkey expect from Albania regarding FETO’s presence in the country?
– FETO’s presence in the Balkans seems to be centered in Albania. Currently, this presence seems to be the biggest barrier for the bilateral relations to improve further.
– In a meeting with EU officials in early March this year President Erdogan raised with Union’s officials the issue of the revival of Turkey’s accession process. Do you think that EU is interested in such a step and how will the delay of the accession process affect the Turkish-EU relations?
– The EU seems to have no interest in the inclusion of Turkey. This was the case in the 1980s when the EU accepted recently democratized countries to the union and it still is the case. Nowadays, the EU suffers from its own problems (inability to help the member states like Italy and Spain in their struggle against Covid-19, rising nationalism in the member states, and Brexit’s spillover effects). Asked about Erdogan’s effort a revival of Turkey’s EU accession process, Alptekin is pessimistic saying that the EU seems to have no interest in the inclusion of Turkey because nowadays it uffers from its own problems.
Turkey, on the other hand, is trying to learn to be an autonomous power center in the region. In such a context, Turkey’s willingness to join the EU might continue but its hopes are realistic and it does not expect admission in the near future.
– As a follow up, Albania and North Macedonia have recently got the green light on the opening of the EU accession talks. How do you asses such a development?
– The EU might play a stabilizing role in Albania and North Macedonia. Nevertheless, this comes with a price: Germany is the boss of the union and all the members need to accept this implicit rule.
– In your view will the impact of the coronavirus pandemic bring about a reshaping of the current global economic order and the creation of new alliances on a strategic plan?
– All the past plagues have created opportunities for the reshaping of the global and domestic structures.
In the case of the Covid-19, there seems to be two opposing ways: the first is further closure of nation states at the expense of the international organizations with rising nationalism and populism, and the second is increasing level international cooperation and the creation of a global preventive healthcare regime. Time will show which direction the world will take but for today, the former direction seems to be more probable./ADN
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