BY FERAI TINC
HURRIYET- We flew from Sudan, one of the poorest and most troubled countries in Africa, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the night before. The reason for the visit to Jeddah, which was added to the program at the last minute, was the Organization for the Islamic Conference (OIC). Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's advisors said that for the first time a Turk, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, was the OIC's secretary general and that Erdogan had wanted to visit him for a long time. Ihsanoglu was appointed at a time when the OIC was planning institutional reforms, and he's actively working on the issue. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) wants to draw a new profile for Turkey firstly with this week's Arab League summit and then with the visit to the OIC. Erdogan explained this profile to the Islamic media at a press conference at OIC headquarters yesterday as follows: `On the one hand, there is a Turkey which started membership talks with the European Union, and on the other, there is a Turkey which undertook the secretariat general of the OIC.'
Is the government expanding a new area of ties just when its relations with the EU are being left aside as if only a process of a technical relationship had started? Erdogan answered reporters' question on the issue sharply, as follows: `It's an insult to the government to say that the government is slowing down on its path to the EU.' When we tried to ask questions about reforms and the steps expected by Brussels, Erdogan only said that the regulations on the issue of mother tongues on local TV stations had gone into effect. Maybe he only wanted to mention this because other issues aren't on his list of important things yet.
Nobody can reject the development of Turkey's relations with Arab and Islam countries. The AKP government's insistence on this issue is positive as well. However, this isn't the first time that Turkey has embraced neighboring countries, and the Arab and Islamic world. They are so convinced about it that Erdogan said that our relations with Arab countries are developing in a way which was never been seen before and that when the AKP came to power, Turkey's relations with its neighbors were broken. It would be a lie for me to say that I don't know a leader who thinks that everything started with them in Turkey. The AKP government needs the message that it plays a special role in Turkish-Arab relations due to the party's religious orientation. The reason for this is the approaching election atmosphere. Although it failed to keep the promises it made to its grassroots, it wants to show that it moved Turkey closer to the Arab and Islamic world. For this reason, it gives importance to drawing Arab and Gulf capital to Turkey. For example, he blames the media for objecting to the Dubai Towers project, but not the Hilton or Sheraton. He considers the objection to the towers an anti-Islamic capital stance and doesn't want to see that the objections come from concerns over the environment, feasibility, methods, etc. He also says that he would establish an investment agency attached to him. So, what about the issue of transparency? If the media falls silent, rich Gulf capital will flow to Turkey. He believes this.