Feb. 13, 2012
Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoglu spoke to a packed crowd of GW community members and Turkish nationals at Jack Morton Auditorium Thursday, emphasizing his nation’s role as an advocate for peace in the region, especially in light of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s violent crackdown against his people.
Elliott School of International Affairs Dean Michael E. Brown, who introduced the foreign minister, called Dr. Davutoglu’s foreign policy goal of zero problems with neighbors “creative and ambitious,” especially given the historical problems in the region. “The Middle East can be a tough neighborhood,” he said.
“GW has a deep and abiding interest in Turkey’s role in regional and global affairs. This is reflected in the work of the Elliott School’s Institute for Middle East Studies, as well as our Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies,” Dr. Brown said.
Dr. Davutoglu asserted that in his region of the world, Cold War governing structures must be broken down, and cited three geopolitical “earthquakes” that he blamed, at least in part, on the lack of development of a new world order following the Cold War. These earthquakes were the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the 9/11 attacks in 2001, and the global financial crisis in 2011.
“For me, all these earthquakes are natural consequences of the absence of a new international economic, political and cultural order, which we needed after the end of the Cold War,” he said. “We did not have a new set of norms to respond to these crises.”
Dr. Davutoglu told the audience how he tried several times in 2011 to convince Mr. Assad to make reforms and eschew violence in Syria. “He tried to imply it was impossible,” he said. “I can see one reason for this: the [dictator’s] illusion that the status quo can continue.”
For nine years, Turkey had good relations with Syria, Dr. Davutoglu said, because Mr. Assad was not fighting against his own people. But the time for these good relations between the nations is over, he said. “We wanted him to be the Gorbachev of Syria, but he preferred to be the Milosevic of Syria.”
He and Mr. Assad first met bilaterally for seven hours and laid out a roadmap and timetable of reforms for Syria, Dr. Davutoglu said, but Mr. Assad did not abide by the roadmap. Later, a regional meeting including Arab League nations was organized, again with the hope that the Syrian issue could be resolved without international involvement in the region. That, too, failed. Finally, Turkey and the Arab League went to the U.N. Security Council to take up the issue internationally and create solidarity. But a veto within the Security Council prevented the measure from proceeding.
“Therefore, we are making a new assessment,” he said. “With the Arab League and other leaders from Europe, on Monday, we’ll bring up this issue with the State Department and Secretary Clinton. We want to have an international platform to support the Syrian people and show solidarity with them against this bloodshed, massacre. That will be the substance of this platform. But we cannot let the Syrian people be dying every day.”
Turkey and other members of the region must learn from the 1990s and the massacres that occurred under Slobodan Milosevic, Dr. Davutoglu said. “This is our consciousness, our wisdom, our ethical responsibility.”
Dr. Davutoglu also emphasized Turkey’s dedication to becoming a fully integrated member of the European Union, and, in response to questions from audience members, asserted that Kurdish citizens of Turkey are important members of the country with the same rights as all other Turks.
“There cannot be European history without Turks, and there will not be European history without Turks. We have been part of European history and will continue to be part of European history.”