generalspeaking

"We too say 'Never Again'"

Quite incredible, the profound change that has taken place in Turkey, where Ankara has seen fit, under Islamist Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to lay waste to a relationship between his country and Israel that was useful to both for a prolonged period of time. An oasis in the direly violent and traditionally dysfunctional relationship between the Arab world and the Jewish State.

The new Turkish administration has neutered its once fiercely secular armed forces leadership. Accusing and arresting high-echelon armed forces leaders, on the charge of plotting to overthrow the government. His government. His ferociously Islamist government. A government that has turned on a one-time ally, and who most latterly involved itself in accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing in Gaza.

And which challenged Israel by sending a Turkish-led flotilla of 'humanitarian aid' to Gaza, with its lead vessel including identified Islamist thugs associated with a Turkish terror group, IHH. The fallout of that flotilla's having been stopped and boarded by Israeli marines who were ambushed and beaten, the resulting melee causing the deaths of 9 Turks, enabled Erdogan to garner international outrage against Israel.

This is the Turkey that of course, knows something about ethnic cleansing. Armenians suffered just that when Turkey felt it would be better off eliminating them, and which it did, spectacularly successfully. Denying that Armenian Holocaust ever since. And Israel delicately stepped around that issue, cautious lest it enrage its ally. This is also the Turkey that embarked on a colonization of Northern Cyprus, uprooting hundreds of thousands of Greeks.

How peculiar it is that events follow their destined courses. Greece, with whom Turkey enjoys atrocious relations, and whose history in some ways parallels Israel's, is now moving toward a close political, economic and social alliance with Israel, filling a very needful gap for both countries.

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou stated as his mission "forging closer ties with Israel...". Opportune, at the very least, given the yawning gap left by Turkey's new and growing hatred for the Jewish State. And Turkey's re-alignment with Syria and Iran, and its defence of Hamas.

Prime Minister Papandreou stated a consolidating assurance in moving to cement a closer relationship: "We too say 'never again'."

Labels: Human Relations, Israel, Middle East, Political Realities

posted by Pieface @ Friday, July 23, 2010