Fréderike Geerdink
It looks like recently, protests have significantly influenced Turkey’s policies on subjects that are very controversial in the country. First, there was the large-scale protest of people in Van against the refusal of the authorities to make the election of co-mayor Abdullah Zeydan official: it forced the election board to give Zeydan the keys to the municipality anyway. Then, a not too big but attention-drawing protest happened against Turkey’s trade with Israel and it was like magic: the government announced trade with Israel was largely suspended.
Almost sounds too good to be true, right? Well, usually when something seems too good to be true, is actually is too good to be true.
I’m sure as a reader of Medya News you followed the story of Abdullah Zeydan. Despite a convincing victory in the 31 March local elections, Zeydan didn’t get his official certificate that made his election official. The AKP candidate, who lost 27% to 55%, was going to be mayor instead. Huge protests broke out among people in the city. After two days of protest, the election board bowed to the pressure. Zeydan’s victory was officially recognised and he was installed as the mayor of Van.
Saga
A huge win for the people, definitely. But wariness is crucial. The government hasn’t backpedalled on suppressing the Kurds, it just realized the way it handled Zeydan wasn’t smart. Two days before the elections, he was stripped of his right to run for office, even though he had been accepted as a candidate earlier. The government allowed him to be mayor for now, but has more cards up its sleeve: an investigation was opened into the decision to let Zeydan run in the elections in the fist place. So, the saga hasn’t ended.
You know what also hasn’t ended? Turkey’s trade with Israel. I can’t prove it because there is no transparency, but Turkey’s claim that it has imposed ‘export restrictions’ on 54 product groups makes no sense at all. I think the announcement is a way to distract attention, to sooth the (many) people in Turkey who care for Palestine and to try to throw a spanner in the works of the protestors.
President’s son
Just days before Turkey’s announcement, an exiled Turkish journalist, Metin Cihan, had broken a story about a parliamentarian for AKP’s coalition partner MHP, who turned out to be the owner of Agrosel the Turkish branch of Israel’s giant agricultural company Haifa. Earlier, Cihan had revealed that ships associated with Burak Erdoğan, one of the president’s sons, have continued trading with Israel after the onslaught on Gaza started and while Bilal, his brother, called for a boycott against Israel. Also, the DEM Party has criticised the government, claiming that materials for the walls encircling Gaza are supplied by Turkey.
And all this trade has suddenly stopped after a protest by, amongst others, brave young women in İstiklal Street? Really? The women sure voiced a demand that is gaining traction in Turkey. The government’s handling of the crisis in Gaza was also one of the reasons a significant portion of AKP voters switched to the more conservative YRP in the elections, contributing to the AKP’s demise. By saying trade in a whole list of trade segments has been halted, voters can be pleased, while corruption and total lack of transparency allow for the trade to continue.
On social media, I saw somebody cynically say that trade between Turkey and Azerbaijan must have sky rocketed since Turkey’s trade with Israel ‘stopped’. Meaning: Turkey is now sending its goods for Israel via Azerbaijan.
Flock
Again, there is no proof, but Erdoğan would be killing a whole flock of birds with that stone. Relations with Azerbaijan had been souring since the genocide in Gaza started. Turkey criticised Israel fiercely, while Azerbaijan has very good relations with Israel but is also historically ultra-close with Turkey, as ‘Turkic brothers’. How to balance that while also taking protests in Turkey, which expose the government’s rhetoric as hypocritical, into account?
You claim to stop trade, but actually send (part of) it via Azerbaijan. This smothers Azerbaijan’s criticism – after all, the country has become more dependent on you to maintain its relations with Israel while it can also say relations with Turkey remain good, which Azerbaijanis like. Also smothered: domestic criticism on trade relations with Israel – while that trade can just continue! Brilliant!
As icing on the cake, the whole show is also good for your image as ‘democratic leader of the Islamic world holding Israel to account’. And that’s a plus after the worst election outcomes ever, with an economy in shatters and the confidence of civilians that you can actually solve their problems at an all time low. It’s a policy directed at winning back the hearts and minds of YRP-voters. Those may be crucial in the presidential elections of 2028.
Local journalists
And with that, we are back in Van, and back to the official installation of Abdullah Zeydan as mayor. The manipulations about trade with Israel confirm that Erdoğan is not listening to Kurdish demands or democratically listening to protests, he is just playing his dirty games as usual to try to stay in power. He has chosen conservative Muslims as the voters he wants to win back over, not the Kurds. The latter know him too well by now anyway to be fooled by him again.
You know what is really very, very cynical? That not only Erdoğan, but also Netanyahu is using this for domestic purposes. The presidents openly express their anger at each other, and now Netanyahu has targeted two local journalists in Gaza who work for Turkey’s (read: Erdoğan’s) state channel. The leg of one of them had to be amputated.
Those with the least power pay the price, while the fascists-in-chief give each other metaphorical high-fives behind the scenes and continue to fill their corrupt pockets.
*Fréderike Geerdink is an independent journalist. Follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her acclaimed weekly newsletter Expert Kurdistan.
