Erdogan-Style Victory

Erdogan-Style Victory
November 2, 2021, 6:00 am

Jwan Dibo

On October 20, the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, boastfully proclaimed that he would eject the ambassadors of 10 western countries, including the US, for calling for the release of philanthropist Osman Kavala. One week later, Erdogan, withdrew his empty threat pretending that he has done another ‘delusional’ triumph.

When Erdogan became a Prime Minister in 2003, the lira rate was 1.6 to the dollar - now it is almost 10, and Erdogan considers this a victory. Erdogan, since taking power in Turkey, has called for a policy of zero-problems with neighbouring countries, but now Turkey suffers from zero-friends, and Erdogan interprets this as an achievement.

According to many reports issued by human rights and humanitarian organisations, Turkey is deemed one of the worst countries in the world in terms of human rights and the lack of freedoms and democracy. Turkey's economy has suffered from a stifling crisis. Investors flee the Turkish markets due to the absence of political stability and the collapse of the Turkish currency.

Turkey occupies large parts of northern, north-eastern Syria and northern Iraq. The Justice and Development government is fighting Kurdish aspirations to obtain their rights inside and outside Turkey. Ankara has turned tens of thousands of Syrian opposition fighters into mercenaries using them in Libya, Azerbaijan and elsewhere to implement Turkish agendas. Poverty and unemployment are at their highest levels in Turkey for decades. All of this is considered victories in the eyes of Erdogan and his party, which has suffered from several splits due to Erdogan's tyrannical and ossified mentality. Simply, moving forward against the logic of the times is considered a success in Erdogan's eyes.

When Turkey occupied many Kurdish areas in Syria, the Turkish army and the pro-Turkish Syrian mercenaries displaced tens of thousands of Kurdish civilians from their areas in Afrin, Serêkaniyê and Geri Spi. The only fault of the victims was that they were born Kurds. Nowadays, Erdogan threatens to occupy new Kurdish areas in Syrian Kurdistan and to commit new massacres against them to take more revenge on the Kurds, who have become a phobia for Erdogan as they were for his ancestors. According to Erdogan and his followers, all these actions are considered victories.

Erdogan's delusions remind me of those of Don Quixote, the fool who thought he was on a sacred mission until he ended up insane and then died after suffering a high fever. The Islamic world and the Middle East are replete of models that achieve victories in the manner of Erdogan. Saddam Hussein believed he had defeated the Americans in 1991 and described his defeat as the mother of all battles. Bashar al-Assad believes to have won in Syria after killing hundreds of thousands of Syrians, displacing millions of them, and splitting Syria into several parts. The Lebanese Hezbollah asserts that it has defeated Israel. Iran and the Houthis affirm that they have triumphed in Yemen.

These are some examples of victories in the Middle East and the Islamic world. Erdogan and his ilk in the Muslim world and the Middle East, who are wallowing in despotism and corruption, have only triumphed over their own peoples after they assassinated their simple dreams and forced them to taste misery and torment.

by: Jwan Dibo