6 hours agoSerwer comments Erdogan's threats to Haradinaj
Periskopi(8 years ago)
(8 years ago)Analyst Daniel Serwer, a researcher at the Johns Hopkins University Centre for Transatlantic Relations, told the Voice of America today that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's reaction following the deportation of Turkish citizens from Kosovo, is disturbing, but is in the wake of his trends within and abroad. Serwer said that in terms of circumstances [...]
Analyst Serwer said Erdogan is a concern for many Americans, not only for this reason but also for others, including an increasingly autocratic behaviour, which is not at all appropriate for a country that has seen aspirations for membership in the European Union and still aspires to be democracy.
So it's disturbing, but to tell the truth from the American perspective is a matter of relatively small importance, compared to other concerns, regarding Erdogan, whose security guards beat demonstrators in Washington. There are many things wrong in the way Turkish authorities are behaving”.
Serwer said Turkey has played a positive role in the Balkans, especially in the 1990s and 2000s, but...
My concern is that more and more Turkey seems to be exercising its influence through ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and that worries me. There was a time when Turkey wanted to have good relations with everyone in the Balkans and on those grounds did commercial business. What I see now is a different behavior of Turkey that worries me”.
Analyzing the recent event in the context of Turkey's measures, following what Erdogan has considered a coup attempt by Fetullah Gulen's movement, Cerwer said measures against his supporters are excessive.
“I'm not very sure about these individuals in Kosovo, but the moves following the coup attempt are disturbing Washington and anyone who believes human rights are important”.
Serwer says the West should carefully follow developments in Turkey and criticise Erdogan for many aspects, including this issue. He adds that the lack of attention from the West is part of the reason, which Erdogan is not afraid to act strongly inside and outside Turkey.
“But I also think that his behaviour, is appreciated within Turkey, that Turkish politics views this as a challenge to foreigners, as a return to Turkey's greatness, as punishment for Gulen, who was once very popular in Turkey, but is now scorned by many Turks, so I think there is an internal element, besides the one from the outside”.
American analyst said the OSCE, the European Union itself and NATO must all be concerned about the direction Erdogan is following and the direction from which he is leading Turkey.
As for the deportations, Mr. Serwer said President Hashim Thaci has made it clear that, according to him, they have been expelled because of illegal activities within Kosovo and adds that before providing a final trial, he would like to wait for the outcome of the investigation and an official report, especially in the conditions when Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj says he was unaware of what was happening.
“won't judge what Prime Minister Haradanaj does. According to him, it was the right action and we will see from the investigation what the basis for the move was. But if I get it right, at least for the intelligence service, we need the president's firm”, he said.
Turkish President Ramush Haradinaj has attacked Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj for his stance on the deportation operation of six Turkish citizens and the dismissal of Interior Minister Flamur Sefaj and Intelligence Agency chief Driton Gashi. Erdogan thanked President Thaci.
On Saturday Haradinaj gathered the Security Council, after which he said he has requested investigation and reporting from security and justice institutions in the case, while re-exerting that he has not been informed of the actions of institutions.
