The high-profile visit by Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to Turkey has put the host country in the spotlight, writes Gareth Jenkins from Ankara At first sight the visit of Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal to Ankara last week seemed to signal another step towards international isolation. But even many supporters of the Palestinian cause in Turkey are arguing that Ankara hosted the visit in the wrong way, at the wrong time, and for the wrong reason. Exiled Hamas leader, Khaled Mashaal arrived in Ankara last week, providing a major propaganda coup for the victors of last month's Palestinian elections who are still regarded as pariahs by most of the international community. But, the furious domestic and international reaction appears to have taken the Turkish government by surprise, with even many Turkish supporters of the Palestinian cause claiming that the visit took place in the wrong way, at the wrong time and for the wrong reason. During the late 1990s, Turkey and Israel were regarded by many as moving towards a regional alliance, as cooperation in military training was bolstered by intelligence- sharing and discussions about Turkey supplying Israel with fresh water. But, the warming of relations at state level never filtered down to the Turkish public at large, where outrage at Israel�s treatment of the Palestinians during the second intifada fuelled a steady increase in anti- Israeli sentiment. Pro-Palestinian feelings have traditionally been particularly high amongst supporters of the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (JDP), which swept to power in the November 2002 Turkish general election. Following Hamas's landslide victory in the 25 January Palestinian elections, there were hopes in Ankara that Turkey might be able to serve as a bridge, not only between Hamas and the Israelis but also between Hamas and the international community, which was refusing to talk officially with Hamas until it renounced violence and recognised the state of Israel. Although they feared that too open an endorsement of Hamas's victory would antagonise both Israel and the international community, Turkish Foreign Ministry officials were privately discussing intensifying behind-the-scenes contacts with Hamas in preparation for more contacts in Palestine. But they advised the Turkish government that it should delay any public contacts with Hamas until it had formed a government. In this way they could argue that they were meeting not with representatives of a group which is included on both the US's and the EU's list of terrorist organisations but with representatives of the democratically elected Palestinian government. While Turkish Foreign Minister, Abdullah Gul left both the Israelis and the EU in no doubt that Ankara would stand with the majority of the international community in demanding that Hamas renounce violence and recognise the state of Israel before it could be accepted as an interlocutor. However, behind the scenes -- and initially without the knowledge even of officials at its own foreign ministry -- the Turkish government was already preparing to host Khaled Mashaal in Ankara. The architect of Khaled Mashaal's visit was Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan's chief foreign policy advisor, Professor Ahmet Davutoglu. In a recently published book, entitled Strategic Depth, Davutoglu argued that Turkey should intensify its long-neglected ties with the Middle East in order to become a regional power. His ideas struck a chord with the JDP, most of whose members are unrepentant Ottoman nostalgists. When Davutolgu suggested inviting Mashaal to Ankara, the JDP government readily agreed. But its motivation appears to have been simply to demonstrate that Turkey is a major player in the region rather than to make any contribution to alleviating the plight of the Palestinians. Last Wednesday rumours about Mashaal's visit began circulating in Ankara. But his arrival on Thursday nevertheless came as a shock both to the international community and to the Turkish public. In order to preserve the fiction that it was not an official visit, meetings with Mashaal were held in a guesthouse belonging to the Turkish Foreign Ministry rather than the Foreign Ministry itself and in the JDP party headquarters rather than a government building. Erdogan appears to have considered meeting with Mashaal before abandoning the idea for fear of the international reaction. While when Gul did meet with Mashaal he claimed, somewhat disingenuously, that he was doing so as a member of the JDP rather than as Turkish Foreign Minister. As the reaction gathered pace, Turkish officials desperately launched a damage control exercise. Government spokesmen even misinterpreted Mashaal's statement at a press conference in Ankara, claiming that the Hamas leader had committed the organisation to respecting "the rule of law"; something which they claimed Hamas had never said before and which alone showed that Turkey was right to invite Mashaal to Ankara. In fact, what Mashaal said was that Hamas was committed to defending the hukuk wataniyya or national rights of the Palestinian people -- something which it has repeatedly declared ever since the organisation was founded. Not surprisingly, the harshest reaction to Mashaal's visit came from Israel. "How would you feel if we hosted [Abdullah] Ocalan?" asked Tzipi Livni, the Israeli Foreign Minister in a reference to the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is also included on the US and EU lists of terrorist organisations. In the following days the relationship between Turkey and Israel deteriorated still further. On Monday the Israeli ambassador to Ankara refused to attend a briefing at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, telling officials that he had been instructed by his government that from now on he was only allowed to speak to Foreign Minister Gul. Any ambitions that Turkey might once have entertained of acting as an honest broker� between the Israelis and the Palestinians have now evaporated. Turkey has also lost credibility with the EU. As a candidate for EU accession, Ankara was expected to act in harmony with EU policy towards Hamas. There will now also be many in the EU who will be less inclined to listen to Turkey's demands that member states crack down on PKK fund-raising activities amongst the Kurdish diaspora in Europe on the grounds that the PKK is included on the EU list of terrorist organisations. And for the Palestinians? The hope was always that Turkey could use its influence with Israel and the West to try to alleviate the Palestinians plight, such as persuading the Israelis not to withhold the transfer of tax revenue to the Palestinian government and the EU not to cut off aid. But in order to act as an honest broker� a country must be trusted by both sides. Although Mashaal's visit has probably boosted Turkey's prestige amongst the Palestinians and in the Arab world, the way in which it was handled by Ankara has seriously damaged Turkey's standing with the rest of the world. And it was they, not the Arab world, who needed convincing that something has to be done to help the Palestinians.
