The World

Turkey and Hypocrisy after Hypocrisy

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 03:06 pm

The Syrian province of Idlib, which is being subjected to massacres and destruction, is only 29 km from the Turkish border, which is closed to women and children trying to flee. On the other hand, the Libyan capital Tripoli, which Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has pledged to defend, is 1,920 km away from Ankara.
In an unprecedented example of hypocrisy, Cavusoglu recently claimed that Turkey will intervene militarily in order to prevent Libya from becoming another Syria, just when 250,000 Syrians — mostly children and women — wait at his country’s border crossings for permission to enter as they run away from devastating Russian and Iranian attacks.
Throughout the years of Syria’s war, Turkey refused to protect its neighbors in Idlib, Aleppo and other Syrian provinces, even when the town of Khan Sheikhoun was hit with chemical weapons. Now, however, Turkey has declared its willingness to intervene in Libya, and before that it sent its troops to fight Kurds in eastern Syria.
It is the ultimate hypocrisy that Ankara warns against Libya becoming another Syria while it sends arms and fighters from Syria to Tripoli, leaving its Syrian neighbors at the mercy of the Iranians, Russians, Hezbollah and others.
The other part of this hypocrisy is that Cavusoglu criticized the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, saying it does not have enough power to solve ongoing conflicts in the Muslim world. But will this new bloc that he wants to found in Malaysia with the Iranians intervene to stop crimes in Syria and Iraq?
Was it not Turkey that contributed to turning Libya into another Syria, when it was one of the first suppliers of weapons and training, and now of mercenaries? Was Turkey not one of the first states to intervene in the war in Syria?
One major difference with Iran is that the latter was at least true to its pledges to its ally, the Syrian regime. Indeed, the Turkish authorities have become known for being merely vocal regarding Palestine, Syria, Myanmar and other countries.
Over the past eight years, Turkey has not fought a single battle against the Syrian regime, nor has it defended by force any Syrian city or village. What Ankara has done is exploit Syrian refugees and turn them into a blackmailing weapon against Europe by threatening to send more than 1 million of them to Greece, Germany and other EU countries.
Ankara is now threatening to send more refugees if the Europeans do not pay up in return for not opening the Turkish borders again. Ankara is using refugees as a bargaining chip, and is angry with the Gulf countries and the US for refusing to finance its project to settle 1 million refugees against their will in insecure Kurdish regions of Syria.
Turkey’s crime is that it has been a cause of the tragedy in Syria since the beginning, for it had promised support to the protesters, yet it is sitting down with the Iranians and Russians to strike commercial and military deals. Even the latest assault on Idlib has been part of the deal, as Ankara consented to remain silent in return for being allowed to fight the Kurds in northeast Syria.

Albert Echetah

Recent Posts

Africa and GCC Trade Doubles to $121 Billion

Trade between African and GCC countries stands at $ 121 billion in 2023, double of what it was in 2016.…

December 21, 2024

Families in Mayotte rebuilding their homes complain of lack of help

Family members struggling after one week after  of Cyclone Chido ripped through the French island territory of Mayotte expressed helplessness…

December 21, 2024

Ethiopian PM Inaugurates UAE-Funded Orphanage in Oromia

The United Arab Emirates has launched its orphanage project in Ethiopia's Oromia region on the orders of President Sheikh Mohamed…

December 21, 2024

A Rising Femicide Threat, Kenya’s Call to End Gender Based Violence

In just four months, 100 women have been killed, the majority by males they knew including spouses. Prime Cabinet Secretary…

December 20, 2024

Actor C Confion has passed away

The Ghanaian entertainment industry is in deep mourning following the sudden death of Bright Owusu, better known as C Confion.…

December 20, 2024

South Africa: 512 Accident Deaths and 941 Arrested for Drunk Driving Just on December Month

Since the beginning of December more than five hundred people have lost their lives on the nation's highways. Barbara Creecy,…

December 19, 2024

This website uses cookies.