Ragab*!

By Dr Bassem Hassan**

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is undoubtedly the man of the moment. Headline grabber par excellence. I think the man is a very good strategist and knows exactly what he is doing.

Erdogan’s public political behavior is probably motivated by three issues. First he has more "eastern" leaning tendencies than the traditional political establishment in Turkey. Second, he, like most Turks by the way, is frustrated- more like sick and tired- of the constant delays and obstacles that the EU keeps erecting in the face of Turkish accession to the union. One should note here that Erdogan has done more than any other Turkish politician in terms of economic, democratic and human rights reforms in Turkey in order to meet EU standards. Third, Erdogan- in fact like most Turks also, except he has the courage to say it- has this deep gut feeling that he is the heir to an Empire that used to rule half the world and he believes that Turkey's current position as a "bridge between east and west" does not do justice to its size and its history, especially, when one understands this "bridge" from a political (as opposed to cultural) perspective. A bridge, after all, is something you just step on and go through to get somewhere! And that is exactly how the west and more particularly the US see Turkey. From an American perspective Turkey has- like Israel- for a long time been a great stick used to keep the region under control and ensure access to the region's (the near and middle east) natural resources. The loss of Iran from this western alliance after 1978, gave even greater importance to Turkey's role as a US ally.

So, the bottom line is that Erdogan has apparently decided, for a while now probably, that Turkey should wield its power in the region in a way more consistent with its own national interests, and his party’s Islamic ideology. In other words, why be the small (economically and culturally) fish in the big EU pond (especially that that pond keeps getting more and more difficult to jump into) when you can be the big fish in the considerably smaller middle eastern pond, which is your natural habitat to begin with.

This policy began openly in earnest when Turkey in the person of Erdogan, started mediating the peace negotiations between Syria and Israel and- if the man is to be believed- a deal was really close to being struck. And what does Israel do? Launch a cowardly, savage and barbaric attack on Gaza killing more than 1500 people in 3 weeks and injuring over 5000 with 1/3 of the dead and injured under the age of 12! Erdogan saw this as not only a crime against fellow Muslims and a personal insult but also, simultaneously, an opportunity. Notice that his outrage was delayed by about a week, and his government had sent mixed signals calling on Hamas, for example, to lay down its arms. Erdogan knows full well that his verbal onslaught against Israel is a winning strategy both abroad, and more importantly, at home. Israel's savagery has been met with world-wide popular condemnation and- aside from the cowardly Europeans- to quote Karel De Gucht, the Belgian foreign minister- who don't matter anyway, also world-wide official condemnation. Coming out as its most ardent and passionate critic makes him look like a decent, moral and courageous politician from a country whose population has a deep rooted and historical sympathy with the Palestinian cause. Israel today is politically weak and divided, and it certainly cannot afford to displease its largest and strongest regional friend. Erdogan’s verbal assault also positions Turkey- in the eyes of the fabled Arab street- firmly as a fair mediator for Arab-Israeli peace and fills a gaping political void that the Arab regimes actively created and that Iran is actively trying to occupy. On this point, the Sunni-Shiaa issue in the Arab world is important, by the way, but I will not get into it. Of course the new US administration would be happy with that, because Turkey after all is an ally, a member of NATO and a secular quasi-democracy.

Now, on the domestic front, the timing of the Gaza onslaught could not have been better for Erdogan. Mired in corruption allegations by several members of his party, and facing a looming economic crisis, the upcoming municipal elections could not have come at a worst time. Enter Israel's newest foray into war criminality, while Turkey is trying to mediate peace! Suddenly Erdogan has a very crystallized focus for his message of moderate Islamization mixed with Turkish nationalism and- for lack of a better term- imperial pride! If you cannot win elections on factual issues, then by god, win them on emotional ones!! Note, by the way, that the corruption issue is not a distinguishing factor for Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party. Turkey's entire political establishment, starting with the army, is corrupt and the traditional political parties are weak and fragmented. Turkish parties depend on municipalities for political fund raising. A probable calculation by Erdogan is that a landslide win in the municipal elections will ensure the flow of much needed funds to the party and ensures that his people are in the right places throughout the country. By the time the general elections come, the economy would have turned around, Turkey would have become a stronger regional player and Erdogan gets four more years!

Gaza for Erdogan is an issue that he both genuinely believes in and can exploit electorally. For a politician, this is exactly what you call the best of both worlds!

*N.B. Ragab is the Egyptian pronunciation of the Arabic Rajab, and also the title of a song by Lebanese pop super star and sex idol and bombshell Hayfa Wehbe.

P.S. here’s the newest Hayfa joke (I just made it up)

What did Hayfa Wehbe say to Erdogan when Shimon Peres tried to make a pass at her?

She said: “Ragab, 7oush sa7bak 3anni!”

P.P.S. Yes, yes, I confess, I love Hayfa!

**Dr Bassem Hassan is Lebanese and holds a PhD in Molecular Genetics from the University of Ohio,USA He is currently based at the University of Leuven in Belgium where he works as a Professor and Researcher.

The Strange World of the PKK

Picture taken from www.metimes.com
Article can be found on www.kurdishaspect.com

The Worker's Party of Kurdistan better know under its Kurdish acronym PKK has been waging armed struggle against the Turkish state since the 1980s. Its stated aims have changed over time but focus around the recognition of Kurdish rights and a minimum of self-autonomy. Labelled as a terrorist organisation in many Western capitals, it is again the centre of attention following the resurgence of military operations on the Turkish Iraqi border and the threat of Turkish incursions in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan. In her interview of a former militant Deborah Haynes reveals a personal account of life with the militia. As seen in many similar organisations such as the FARC of Colombia, The LTTE of Srilanka or the Moujahideen Khalq Iran, the PKK appears to have achieved an equality between the sexes in life and death. But all at a price. Inspired freedom fighters or Brainwashed fanatic terrorists...You make your own mind.

Arabdemocracy

For her the war is over: the PKK fighter who wants to end killing
Deborah Haynes in Irbil, northern Iraq

With her Kalashnikov folded in half to stop it dragging on the ground and ammunition strapped around her tiny waist, Zerya was 12 when she became a Kurdish fighter in the Turkish mountains after running away from home.
Sixteen years later her body bears the scars of countless battles with Turkish soldiers and her eyes are haunted by the memories of friends she has lost. No longer a guerrilla for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), she is trying to fit back into society, using a mobile phone for the first time and discovering treats such as ice cream and pizza that she never had in the mountains.

Zerya’s experience of fighting against Turkey to secure greater rights for the Kurds, she says, has taught her that the problem can be solved only by agreement between both sides. “If the guerrillas decided to come down from the mountains and disarm, then Turkey would kill all of them,” she said, speaking to The Times at a secret location in the Kurdish north of Iraq.
“When it comes to Turkey you either submit or you fight – there are only two options,” said the 28-year-old, who has shed the dark green fatigues of the outlawed rebel group for a smart trouser suit and heeled shoes.
The PKK offered a new way for both sides to step away from confrontation yesterday. The group said that it was open to dialogue with Turkey that could lead to it laying down its arms, thus avoiding a war across the border of two of America’s strategic allies in the region.
Zerya’s life as a teenage rebel fighter began when she first heard about the PKK as a ten-year-old growing up in Hamburg, where her Kurdish family were asylum-seekers from the mountains of southern Turkey.
A talented musician and dancer, she became attracted to the organisation because it ran clubs that taught Kurdish songs and history. “Every song or poem taught us something about the Kurdish cause,” she said in a hushed voice to avoid drawing attention to herself. The PKK is now classed as a terrorist organisation by much of the international community.
Captivated by the plight of the Kurds in Turkey, Iran, Syria and Iraq, Zerya yearned to help: “It was like an illness for me. I just wanted to go to Kurdistan and fight in the mountains.”
After a year of pestering PKK leaders in Hamburg she was given permission to travel on a fake Turkish passport to Syria, where she was meant to stay until she turned 16 and was deemed old enough to learn how to fight. She left Germany aged 12, without telling her parents. But instead of waiting in Syria she secretly followed a group of PKK trainees to Lebanon, literally tracing their footprints until she arrived at the Bekaa Valley.
There, she was allowed to join a six-month political and military training course with 300 recruits. “I remember walking along a path with a Kalashnikov over my shoulder but it was too long for me and would hit the ground,” Zerya said, recalling the day her training finished and she was sent to the mountains to fight. “That first day I felt I was free and in my home for the first time in my life.”
Instead of studying, gossiping about boys and listening to pop music, Zerya spent her teenage years fighting Turkish soldiers, living off scraps of food and sleeping wherever she found shelter. “We lived in caves or just used plastic sheets for cover. Sometimes if the weather was kind then we would live under the stars like birds.”
By the time she was 14, Zerya was commanding small groups of rebels on operations. Equality is a principle cherished by the PKK, which divides responsibility evenly between men and women fighters.
She recalled one occasion when her unit became encircled by Turkish soldiers. “I spotted a weak point in the Turkish line and started to lead my colleagues out but one young man panicked. I had to slap him to calm him down.” On another occasion, aged 16, a Turkish grenade exploded close by, sending a chunk of shrapnel deep into her left knee. “In the heat of the fight I did not feel the pain, but then I had difficulty moving so my male colleagues took me to safety.”
The guerrillas had nothing to treat Zerya with other than water and thread to stitch up her knee. She was forced to shelter in a cave for two months until she was strong enough to walk again. “It was winter and bitterly cold. It was too dangerous to light a fire because that would have drawn attention to our position.”
Sexual relationships, and certainly falling in love, are forbidden between PKK fighters in the mountains because the group feels that such a bond would distract a couple from the battle. Zerya spoke of one young man she grew close to. “He liked me and I liked him but we never told each other,” she said. The man was killed during a fight with Turkish troops.
Zerya had her fair share of injuries after 13 years in the mountains, including shrapnel wounds to the chest and thigh. She began to feel a burden on her fellow fighters so decided three years ago to leave the armed struggle to seek shelter in the Kurdish north of Iraq. Returning to civilisation was like stepping out of a time capsule.
Life is hard after the PKK because her past means that she has no official identity or nationality and no passport. “I would like to settle down and do some work to help women and children,” she said. She is trying to return to Germany, where her family is still living. Asked whether she would ever return to the front line for the PKK, Zerya says that her fighting days are over. “From my time in the mountains, I have understood one thing: killing is not the solution to this problem.”