I participated recently in a conference about the Eastern Mediterranean at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies; and because Tel Aviv is the diplomatic center of Israel, its events attract a good number of diplomats. This conference was no exception, attracting a foreign minister and other diplomats from several Eastern Mediterranean countries, including Albania, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey. My talk surveyed the role of Islamism in the region. In the question-and-answer portion, Turkey's newly appointed ambassador Kemal Okem vigorously protested points I had made about his country. I defended these, then challenged Okem (in a video that can be viewed here. Pipes: "I started going to Turkey in 1972. I studied Turkish, not very successfully, but I did study it. I've gone back many times. And at this point, I dare not go back to Turkey because I am critical, as you may have heard, of the government and, in particular, I supported the July 15th coup, [a position] which is absolutely an outrage in Turkey. And so, I dare not go back to Turkey. And so, let me ask you, Mr. Ambassador, would it be it safe for me to go to Turkey and spend some time there or just go through the airport? You have a great airline that I would love to use but I dare not use it. Would I be safe going to Turkey-" Okem: "If you say that you support the failed coup attempt that killed 250 Turkish civilians and if you that say you support the kind of organization which we call a terrorist organization, which is a religious cult by the way, and trying to export something, if you say that, I would rather advise you not to go there because you be an accomplice, considered an accomplice. [laughter]" Pipes: "That's what I was expecting." Okem: "It's an expected answer but it's a legitimate answer. I mean, I would advise you to find good legal advice before you travel to Turkey." The name of that "terrorist organization" was not spoken, but Okem was referring to the so-called Fethullahci Teror Orgutu (Fethullah Terror Organization), or FETO. To the rest of the world, it is known as the Hizmet movement, founded by Fethullah Gulen, a former close and important ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's, before the two had a falling out. No one else sees it as violent, much less terroristic. Erdogan's accusation that it organized the July 2016 coup attempt is noxious and absurd. Okem's statement, however, has several interesting implications:
I have visited Turkey, one of my favorite destinations, 10 times over 45 years, with the final trip in 2012. I shall miss the country. Like tens of millions of Turks, I look forward to celebrating the early termination of the Erdogan regime.
Daniel Pipes (DanielPipes.org, @DanielPipes) is president of the Middle East Forum.
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