TURKEY’S PREMIER Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived home to a tumultuous reception after storming out of a debate in Davos over Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
Hours after clashing with the Israeli president Shimon Peres in a cathartic moment for those angry at the Israeli onslaught in Gaza – but an uncomfortable one for those used to the niceties of the World Economic Forum – Mr Erdogan was feted at Istanbul’s Ataturk airport by thousands of supporters waving Turkish and Palestinian flags and chanting “Turkey is proud of you”. Gazans too weighed in with praise, one preacher declaring that Mr Erdogan had “raised the head of the Islamic nation”.
The testy stand-off was over almost before it had begun, but its ramifications could be significant. Turkey is an important go-between for Israel and the Arab world, both of which invested a certain amount of trust in its mediation. But with Mr Erdogan emerging as a hero of the Islamic world yesterday – Hamas officials praised his “brave position” – it remained to be seen how much capital he would have left in Israel.
It all started when, facing criticism from Mr Erdogan during a panel discussion, Mr Peres asked the Turkish prime minister: “What would you do if you were to have in Istanbul every night a hundred rockets?”
Mr Erdogan responded by admonishing his interlocutor for raising his voice, and added: “The reason for you raising your voice is the psychology of guilt. I will not raise my voice that much, you should know that.
“When it comes to killing, you know very well how to kill. I know very well how you hit and killed children on the beaches.”
He then walked off the stage, declaring that he would never return to Davos, after claiming he had not been allowed to speak by the debate moderator, the Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. Mr Erdogan’s wife Emine also became involved, bursting into tears after telling reporters that “everything Peres said was a lie”.
Mr Peres sought yesterday to defuse the row, calling Mr Erdogan to say no hard feelings. “I called him up and said, ‘Yes, I do not see the matter as personal . . . and the relations can remain as they are,” he said. “My respect for him didn’t change. We had an exchange of views and the views are views.”
But Mr Erdogan was unapologetic. “This was a matter of the esteem and prestige of my country,” he said on arriving home. “Hence, my reaction had to be clear. I could not have allowed anyone to poison the prestige and in particular the honour of my country.” His outburst was his most high-profile attack on Israel’s Gaza operations. He had previously called the offensive – in which around 1,300 Palestinians died – a “crime against humanity” and demanded Israel’s expulsion from the UN.
His stance has shocked Israeli officials – used to considering Turkey as their closest regional ally – but played to the pro-Palestinian sentiments of the overwhelmingly Muslim Turkish public. The US embassy in Istanbul called the incident “unfortunate”. David Harris, the American Jewish committee’s executive director labelled Mr Erdogan’s display “a public disgrace”.
“Prime minister Erdogan’s tantrum at Davos throws gasoline on the fire of surging anti-Semitism. Erdogan’s unjustified remarks and disrespect of Israel’s president are yet another demonstration of how criticism of Israel is becoming increasingly virulent”.
Sympathies from the Muslim world have prompted suggestions that Mr Erdogan’s rhetoric has been for domestic political use and aimed at wooing voters at forthcoming municipal elections in March. The row with Mr Peres overshadowed a dispute between the government and the IMF that had seen Mr Erdogan accuse the fund of setting unacceptable conditions, after negotiations were suspended over a proposed loan to help Turkey weather the economic recession. – (Guardian service)
Finance: page 18; Weekend Review: page 4