Medya News
Subscribe
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • More
    • Audio Articles
    • Economy
    • Culture & Art
    • Ecology
    • Newsletter
    • Daily Review
Youtube
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • More
    • Audio Articles
    • Economy
    • Culture & Art
    • Ecology
    • Newsletter
    • Daily Review
Youtube
PODCAST
No Result
View All Result
Medya News

Experts say Erdogan hopes Syria invasion will save election campaign

Ankara has threatened to launch a new incursion into northern Syria with the professed aim of defending itself from groups it views as terrorists, but analysts say Turkey’s ruling party is using military action to shore up support at home.

4:23 pm 18/08/2022
A A
Experts say Erdogan hopes Syria invasion will save election campaign
Share this
FacebookTwitterRedditEmailLinkedInWhatsApp

Turkey’s Syria policy, after a long involvement in the country’s 11-year conflict, has shifted focus from toppling President Bashar al-Assad to seizing control of territory from Kurdish-led groups on the Turkish border. But regional experts say Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s recent drive for a new military incursion in northern Syria and attempts to build bridges with his Syrian counterpart are actually all about his floundering domestic position ahead of the 2023 elections.

Erdoğan condemned Assad’s violent suppression of protests in 2011 and called for the Syrian President’s resignation. In the decade since, Turkey has been the main supporter of the Syrian rebels, training and arming groups such as the Free Syrian Army.

However, Assad’s forces have clawed back control of most Syrian territory, forcing most rebels and opposition civilians back to an enclave in the western Idlib province. As the rebel cause floundered, Turkey turned its attention to Kurdish-led autonomous administrations in North and East Syria, launching a series of military offensives against them since 2016 and seizing large areas south of the Turkey-Syria border.

Özgür Politika columnist Zeki Akıl said Turkey’s plans to launch a new cross-border offensive this year are motivated by domestic concerns, with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) facing economic woes and a slump in popularity at home in the run-up to crucial national elections in 2023.

For Akıl, the planned operation against Kurdish-led groups aims to harness widespread nationalistic sentiment in Turkey during the run-up to the election. Groups from Turkey’s Kurdish community – the country’s largest ethnic minority – have struggled for decades for self-rule, and hard-line Turkish nationalists fiercely opposed Kurdish calls for autonomy. Ankara views the Syrian-Kurdish organisations as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey defines as a terrorist organisation and Turkish nationalists see as a major threat to the country’s integrity.

“The elections are nearing, the economy in Turkey has hit the floor and the AKP has lost the support of the public,” Akıl said in a 13 August column. Thus, the AKP aimed to “whip up racism and nationalism and cover up domestic problems.”

Likewise, some analysts say the sudden pivot toward rapprochement with Assad’s regime is an attempt to assuage voters’ long-running concerns about Turkey’s involvement in the Syrian conflict.

“Erdoğan’s main priority is to win the election,” Syria expert and Chatham House scholar Haid Haid told Deutsche Welle in an article published on Wednesday.

Opening a dialogue with Assad, Haid said, would allow the Turkish president to disarm one of the opposition’s greatest weapons ahead of the election, as voters in the country have long expressed concerns about the economic burden Turkey has borne due to the Syrian conflict and the millions of refugees it hosts.

“Because the opposition parties have promised to establish a dialogue with Assad and send the refugees back home,” Haid said. “But now, Erdoğan aims to deprive them of one of their trump cards by adopting the same rhetoric.”

This desire has led Turkish officials over the past year to attempt to break the ice with Syria after a decade of frosty silence. Last week, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu revealed that he had held a standing meeting with his Syrian counterpart Faisal Mekdad during a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement in October. Çavuşoğlu also expressed his desire to open a dialogue between Assad and the Syrian opposition, remarks that sparked calls for protests among Syrians.

Though the recent moves have been welcomed by Turkey’s electoral alliance partners in the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Haid said the chances of the Syrian side reciprocating in the near future are slim.

“It doesn’t look likely that Assad will agree to starting a dialogue before the elections in Turkey,” Haid told Deutsche Welle. “Because if he does, it will amount to a grand gesture to Erdoğan that will strengthen him in the elections. And Assad wouldn’t want to do that.”

At the same time, while Turkey’s conditions for normalising relations with Assad would likely depend on a stipulation that Kurdish-led organisations were removed from the border, Ankara would be unlikely to reach its goal of eliminating the PKK through such an agreement, said Bente Scheller, the director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Middle East office.

Scheller noted that the PKK and Assad regime have collaborated in the past, likely referring to a notable period in the 1990s when ties became fraught between Ankara and Damascus due to PKK guerrillas entering Turkey from the Syrian border.
“Even if it normalises relations with Turkey, the Assad regime will preserve the PKK as a means to apply pressure on Turkey in the future,” Scheller told Deutsche Welle.

And, while Scheller said that with the world’s attention focused on Ukraine, Turkey would be unlikely to face much concrete international opposition to a possible military operation, the German Syria expert warned that it would not find it easy to control new territories it took under control.

Since militants from armed groups do not limit themselves according to state borders, Scheller also expressed doubts about the validity Turkey’s professed plan to create a 30-km deep “safe zone” stretching along the Syrian side of the border.
“If they want to cause harm, they will,” she said, referring to militants. “We’ve seen this throughout the history of armed groups.”

 

 

Share this
FacebookTwitterRedditEmailLinkedInWhatsApp
Tags: Trending

Related Posts

Democratic Republic Conference discusses a new republic conception in Turkey

Democratic Republic Conference discusses a new republic conception in Turkey

February 4, 2023
PKK commander calls on international powers to change policies on Kurds’ fight for freedom

PKK commander calls on international powers to change policies on Kurds’ fight for freedom

February 4, 2023
Existential Questions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – a weekly news review

Existential Questions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – a weekly news review

February 4, 2023
The Codename is “The Boss”

Journalists from Turkey are under threat, says German intelligence

February 4, 2023
Kurds celebrate traditional fest in ancient Iranian village

Kurds celebrate traditional fest in ancient Iranian village

February 4, 2023
Threat of Syrian rebels the reason behind consulate closures in Turkey, says journalist

Threat of Syrian rebels the reason behind consulate closures in Turkey, says journalist

February 4, 2023

Videos

PKK commander calls on international powers to change policies on Kurds’ fight for freedom
KURDISTAN

PKK commander calls on international powers to change policies on Kurds’ fight for freedom

February 4, 2023

All News

Democratic Republic Conference discusses a new republic conception in Turkey

PKK commander calls on international powers to change policies on Kurds’ fight for freedom

Existential Questions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq – a weekly news review

Journalists from Turkey are under threat, says German intelligence

Kurds celebrate traditional fest in ancient Iranian village

Threat of Syrian rebels the reason behind consulate closures in Turkey, says journalist

Medya News

Impressum

About us

Privacy Policy

Subscribe
Contact
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • All News
  • Opinion
  • Kurdistan
  • Women
  • World
  • Politics
  • Human Rights
  • Ecology
  • Economy
  • Culture & Art
  • Daily Show
  • Newsletter
  • Authors
  • Podcast

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Add New Playlist

Loading
Contact