I read what Mr. Efraim Inbar wrote in The Turkish Hurriyet Daily News titled: “An Open Letter to My Turkish Friends.†Mr. Inbar is professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University and the director of the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies. Mr. Inbar wrote his message to his Turkish friends to warn them from the AK party’s plans to Islamize Turkey! Mr. Inbar accused the AK party of having relations with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, defending Hamas and sympathizing with Iran by hosting Ahmedinejad in 2008. For me, it’s clear that Mr. Inbar has some concerns over Turkey’s stance in support of “justice†and its absolute value. Turkey supported the just Palestinian case, Iraqi liberty and cases around the world related to justice and human rights. Supporting justice by the Turkish government that has embraced Israel more than once, especially after the repeated violations of human rights, which clearly emerged during the war in Gaza, and is confirmed by Goldstone’s Report that Turkey strongly supported discussing before the UN, should not be demonized. It’s also clear that Mr. Efraim is afraid of Turkey’s accession to the European Union, especially during the AK party’s rule. In that, the accession of Turkey – led by its respected government – to the EU will pose a threat to the credibility of the State of Israel's occupation. He criticizes Turkey, especially because of Turkish support to establish a Palestinian state, and the integration of Hamas into the political process, and to remove the blockade imposed on Gaza Strip since June 2007, and above all, to hold Israel accountable for war crimes. The letter by Mr. Inbar affects Turkey’s internal affairs, but I want to say that the achievements of the AKP in Turkey has proven their worth and they deserve to continue in power in the country, at least into the next decade, until Turkey's accession as a member of European Union. On talking about Iran, Mr. Inbar wants Turkey to abandon its neutral stance and as a perpetrator as a critical intermediary between Iran and Western countries. Maybe this is because this would support the Israeli point of view to start the war on Iran? On the other hand, Mr. Efraim trivialized the case of Ergenekon, (As he said: “it seems to play a role in intimidation of political opponents tooâ€) and this is reflecting a frightening reality that many of the external parties would benefit from the fall of the Justice and Development party (AKP), and would welcome their fall, even by non-democratic methods or by a military coup, as in the Ergenekon case. The AKP, which has allowed more freedom and democracy in Turkish society, opened the door to real freedom of expression (by the testimony of the latest report of the European Union), reduced the Turkish debt to a minimum, and established many of the reforms in the infrastructure of Turkey, which has given Turkey back its regional and international position as an active player in Middle East politics, and not only as a bridge between East and West. And because I also know many friends in Turkey, including journalists, academics, economists, and even students, my message to them is that I'm sure that it is in the interest of the Turkish people to keep the AK party in power in the coming period, which undoubtedly will be – as expressed by Mr. Inbar – “a historic crossroads,†not only to the Turkish nation, but the entire world. BM The beliefs and statements of all Bikya Masr blogumnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect our editorial views.
