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Erdogan feels has upper hand due to NATO support: Analyst

Monday, 07 November 2016 3:52 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 07 November 2016 3:54 PM ]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey has been censured over its recent arrests of several leaders and lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on charges of membership in and promotion of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which is considered as a terrorist group by Ankara. However, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that he does not care if he is called a dictator over his crackdown on the PKK militant group and its sympathizers.

President Erdogan feels he can get away with anything because the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is totally dependent on Turkey as its second largest military force, says an analyst.

“He [Erdogan] has the upper hand in a certain way. It is very deplorable that there is nobody who can stand up and say norms are norms in Europe and in NATO and we have to talk seriously with this member,” Jan Oberg, founder of transnational.org, told Press TV.

He noted that the more authoritarian attitude Erdogan displays, the more Europe will have problems with the accession talks with Turkey.

Oberg further said Erdogan is trying to “fight back” Europe for its criticism of his undemocratic methods against his opponents, adding that he is seeking to “cover up” his own doings by attacking Europe for abetting terrorism.

The analyst further argued that most problems in Turkey have to do with its early support for terrorism in Syria and its stand against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is now coming back as a “boomerang”.

He also opined that the flow of weapons and ammunition in the Middle East has made any kind of conflict resolution, reconciliation, dialogue negotiations, and peace in the future “virtually impossible.”

According to the analyst, the largest problem in the Middle East is not the political boundaries or aspirations, but it is the belief in the power of weapons.

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