Published 12:30 IST, September 23rd 2020
Why Turkey strongman Erdogan's swipe against India at UNGA is plain political opportunism
While Erdogan didn't hold back from commenting on issues he has little understanding of, he remained abjectly quiet when it came to condemning terrorism
- Opinion
- 4 min read
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is no stranger to making spiteful comments when it comes to India-Pakitan relations. He sparked off a new controversy on Tuesday after he addressed the 75th annual session of United Nations General Assembly where he called Kashmir a 'burning issue' in South Asia.
Erdogan weighed in on the Kashmir issue at the virtual conference on September 22 and targeted India's decision to scrap Kashmir's special status and revocation of Article 370, calling it a 'burning issue' that 'further complicated the problem' both countries faced.
Pakistan's ally needles India
While Turkey's strongman leader didn't hold back from commenting on issues he has little understanding of, he remained abjectly quiet when it came to condemning terrorism in other parts of the world or the terrorism directed against India from across the border.
This is not the first time the Erdogan has expressed his views on the matter, and it is imperative to note there is a sinister logic behind his sustained aggression towards India and its govt, as opposed to his stance with China despite plenty of documentation existing on its unfair treatment of minorities, especially Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Similarly, at 2018 UNGA meet, only Erdogan and Malaysia's former Prime Minister Mahatir Mohammed joined Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan to talk about Kashmir when all other countries voted in favour of India on the issue.
Erdogan's outreach to India and China is almost unrecognisable, the rationale behind the two distinct approaches are simply trade and seeking cultural, religious and political validation from his conservative votebank in Turkey.
Self-styled conservative champion looks the other way
Erdogan criticised revocation of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution and urged the international community to pay closer attention to Kashmir's plight, but just three months before that, he met Xi Jinping and he was seen to willfully ignore the actual crimes committed against minorities there. He even opined that 'people in Xinjiang are living happily.' However, he didn't always cosy up to China — in fact, he was seen as a global leader who could stand up to the might of the red dragon and call them out for their State-sponsored genocide.
His position on the issue changed after 2013 when Xi came to power, and the only rationale behind this turnabout is trade. Expanding economic relations with Beijing meant that he had to toe China's line and turn a blind eye on human rights issues and he does just that. Whilst Erdogan uses communal politics as a convenient tool to bolster his position at home and attack India without knowing the facts, on the same balancing act, he also ignores the real crimes Chinese authorities seem to commit on a daily basis against the same marginalised community of which he pretends to be the saviour.
Leading a sagging economy and an increasingly strained relationship with its western allies, Erdogan is forced to strengthen its engagement with countries like China and Pakistan. Pandering to Islamabad's desire to demonise India, however, is only pushing it further away from a possible strategic alliance to any reasonable sovereign on either side of Turkey.
India hits back
Hitting back at Erdogan for his remarks on Kashmir, India has said that the Turkish President's speech constitutes "gross interference" in New Delhi's internal affairs and is "completely unacceptable".
Taking to Twitter hours after Erdogan raked up the Kashmir issue in the UNGA, India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, TS Tirumurti, said Ankara should learn to respect the sovereignty of other nations and reflect on its policies more deeply.
Notably, in the last few years, Turkey has grown closer to Islamabad and has been raking up the Kashmir issue at international forums, likely due to a rumoured possibility of transfer in nuclear capability and technical know-how.
(Image Credits- AP)
Updated 14:02 IST, September 23rd 2020