TURKEY’S PRIME minister has called for the Palestinian flag to be raised at the United Nations, insisting that international recognition of the state was now an obligation, not an option.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan used a much-anticipated speech to the Arab League in Cairo to rally opposition to Israel, and promised that Turkey would stand in solidarity with those struggling for political change in the Arab world.
“Freedom and democracy and human rights must be a united slogan for the future of our people,” Mr Erdogan told an audience of Arab foreign ministers and millions more watching on television. “The legitimate demands of the people cannot be repressed with force and in blood.”
He was speaking at the start of a four-day tour of revolutionary North Africa, which analysts believe is designed to strengthen Turkey’s influence within the Middle East and isolate their one-time ally Israel. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, who is also in Egypt, has announced that he will be pressing ahead with Palestine’s bid for full recognition from the UN security council, despite the fact that it will almost certainly be met by a US veto.
Mr Erdogan is embroiled in a diplomatic crisis with Israel over the latter’s refusal to apologise for the killing of Turkish activists by Israeli soldiers on a Gaza-bound ship last year. In his address, he accused the state of acting like a spoiled child and building a blockade around its own people.
He added: “We must work hand in hand with our Palestinian brothers. The Palestinian cause is the cause of human dignity. It’s time to raise the Palestinian flag at the United Nations.” The 33-minute speech was interrupted several times by applause.
Mr Erdogan’s visit has been a media circus, with thousands greeting the Turkish leader on his arrival at Cairo airport on Monday night. With his strong rhetoric on Turkish-Arab unity, high-profile satellite TV chatshow appearances and photogenic walkabouts in the capital – including a meeting with street protesters campaigning for change in Syria and Yemen – Mr Erdogan did little to hide his intention of positioning Turkey at the heart of the Arab Spring.
“He’s a media star, and he’s making the Arab leaders look bad by going to their own home and criticising them,” said Sultan al-Qassemi, an analyst of Arab affairs. “It feels a opportunist, particularly as it’s only Israel’s refusal to apologise that has given him the space to do this. But he has the credibility because he’s done so well in his own country, and he can talk from a position of strength. The question remains, will he prove to be a shining star, or just a comet that will crash and burn?”
Egyptians are looking to Turkey for political support and economic aid as the country begins to rebuild following the toppling of former president Hosni Mubarak in February. Mr Erdogan arrived with 200 Turkish businessmen, and has announced plans to increase investment and establish a formal strategic co-operation council between the two nations.
“Right now, every country is trying to advance its own agenda in Egypt,” said Mr Qassemi. “Turkey can’t match the billions of dollars being ploughed in by Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, but it can use cheap media events like this to raise Turkey’s profile. “The Egyptian military won’t necessarily appreciate all this, but Turkey is an important ally and so they’re letting him get away with it.”
Mr Erdogan also opted to make a direct intervention into some of the key internal debates currently raging over Egypt’s long-term future.
"Do not be wary of secularism," Mr Erdogan told private television channel Dream on Monday. "I hope there will be a secular state in Egypt." – ( Guardianservice)