The “Turkish” Zelensky

By Bessam Abu Abdullah *

The presidential and parliamentary elections in Türkiye also concern the unity and sovereignty of Syria, the laws regulating the marriage, family and property laws of the Islamic, Messianic, Jewish and Druze communities, and the future of the secular and unitary state structure. They are also about whether the ethnic and sectarian separatist goals of the Greater Middle East Project (BOP), which the US and Israel have put on the agenda as the project of the century, will be achieved. Who in Türkiye will be the carrier of this fundamental and dangerous project, which has turned into an open and clear project with US-Western support and even direct protection? It is very obvious that the quadrilateral agreement (Russia, Syria, Türkiye, Iran) reached on Putin’s initiative and the possible involvement of Saudi Arabia, Egypt or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be a serious obstacle to the project of Syria’s partition.

Saudi Arabia stated they “want foreign armies and armed organizations, including the United States, to withdraw from Syria and we want the Syrian state and army to be sovereign over all of Syria”. The country also launched activities to bring Syria back to the Arab League. Considering these tendencies, which are the forces in Türkiye that can reverse this process? At times there was a Russia-friendly government in power in Ukraine, an operation led under the headline of “more democracy, more freedom, more harmony and more welfare” was put in place that carried Zelenksy and his entourage to power. This led Ukraine to civil war, internal partition and economy bankruptcy, while converting the country’s territory into a space where international terror organizations come and go. Can such a process also be started in Türkiye? If so, which “Turkish” Zelensky would be placed in charge of it?

Erdoğan guided by necessities instead of choices

The political programs of the 6-party table, which is the closest candidate to becoming the ruling party, and its components, particularly the Green Left Party (formerly HDP) and the Workers’ Party of Türkiye (TİP), which is swimming in its waters, are closely related to Syria. In many of our articles, we have underlined the fact that the AKP and Erdoğan government’s obligations in the BOP in 2011, its siding with the opposition in the international war imposed on Syria, and its active participation in the war politically, militarily and economically have had a role and responsibility in the current situation in Syria. If Erdoğan, who was forced by necessities instead of preferences, had continued to cooperate with the HDP and FETÖ, and if he had succeeded in dividing Syria on ethnic and sectarian grounds, the “yes but not enough” masses who are in the opposition against him today would have continued to support Erdogan.

Will Kılıçdaroğlu become the Zelensky of Türkiye?

The international community has united so different political actors under the same roof that appear to be on such different tracks. They believe that Erdogan, with whom they have problems on many issues, whom they do not trust and over whom they do not have absolute control, is trying to buy time by moving forward with Putin, getting closer to China and Iran, seeking different solutions with Moscow and Tehran in Syria, and that his “positive” approach and desire for cooperation on NATO, the US and Israel are “tactical”. For this reason, in order to be on the winning side, they take into account the possibility that Erdoğan gets reelected as President. For that case, the so-called international community is mobilizing all its means to ensure that the opposition gains a majority in the parliament so that Erdoğan remains a “lame duck”. So, if the opposition candidate Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu wins the presidency, will he become the Zelensky of Türkiye?

1- On March 20, 2023, CHP Chairman and main opposition candidate for the presidential elections Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu met with HDP co-chairs Mithat Sancar and Perivan Buldan to win their votes. “We presented the agreed draft constitution to the HDP and confirmed the impartiality of the judiciary, the rule of law and rights. We discussed local autonomy and the invalidity of imposing judicial guardianship over their municipalities,” Kılıçdaroğlu said in a statement after the meeting. Kılıçdaroğlu was referring to municipalities in the southeast of the country that the government placed under judicial guardianship (trusteeship) after it was proven that they had ties to the PKK, which is classified as a terrorist organization in Türkiye and many other countries.

2- Kılıçdaroğlu’s statement that the parliament is the place for the solution of all problems, including the Kurdish problem, without elaborating on what the problem is, aims to legitimize the European Union’s demand for local autonomy and governments imposed on Türkiye and Syria. A future majority represented in the parliament shall recognize these demands, which are the first step of the HDP and its representative in Syria’s desire to establish a state. It is left to European and international arbitrariness to close down these autonomous administrations and appoint trustees, even if they are separatist or affiliated with terrorist organizations.

3- It is aimed to put into effect the project, which the international community has partially succeeded in Syria by using military force but has not yet finalized, through the elected parliament representing the “national will” in Türkiye. Among other things, the HDP is demanding from the parliament the release of Öcalan and Demirtaş and the prevention of the HDP’s closure and the denial of state funding. Those who oppose this decision will be portrayed as marginal and lawless individuals who do not obey the decisions of this “legitimate national will”. The issue will not be limited to Türkiye; this ethnic-based division that will be put into effect in Türkiye will also extend to Syria. HDP co-chair Pervin Buldan, who openly declared that this would be the case, said in Diyarbakir: “Our project has succeeded in Syria and now it is Türkiye’s turn”.

4- The strangeness here is that this project is being carried out by those at the head of the CHP today. The CHP, the founding party of Türkiye and the party of Atatürk, who was the symbol of the war of independence against imperialism, the party that has been the most fierce opposition to the teaching of the Kurdish language and Kurdish media for decades, is today the most eager to hand over autonomy, immunity and even the most national issues of the country to Europe and its institutions. On the other hand, despite the fact that the Erdoğan government has given legal status to the Kurdish media, including the teaching of the Kurdish language, the opening of Kurdish language, history and literature institutes in universities and TRT Kurdish, the HDP is an opponent of Erdoğan and an ally of the CHP. The most important reason for this is that the main goal of the HDP and its international masters is not just cultural rights. The goal is to establish a “Kurdistan” detached from Türkiye and Syria, under the auspices of the US, Israel and the EU, with the aim of perpetual crises and wars between the Turkish, Pharisee, Assyrian, Armenian, Kurdish and Arab peoples of our geography who have lived together for hundreds of years.  

5- According to the information we have presented, it is clear that there is an overt and hidden agreement between the Turkish opposition and the HDP as a secret partner of the opposition. The aim is to establish autonomy – self-government – in the southeast of Türkiye, exactly similar to what is happening in the northeast of Syria. The equivalent of the HDP in Syria is the so-called Syrian Democratic Council (SDF). Its military wing is the militia of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The military, civilian organizations, media and intelligence that run all these organizations in Syria and Turkey are under the absolute control of the US.

6- The upcoming elections in Türkiye are not only a power struggle between Erdoğan and his opponents. They are also a struggle to determine the future of the political system within Türkiye and which plans will be pursued in the countries of the region through the country. Due to the close connection between the two projects of the autonomous administration or the so-called “Kurdish project” at the regional level, it will have direct reflections on the future of Syria. The biggest threat facing this project is therefore the Syrian-Turkish reconciliation, which Washington sees as a grave danger for the rest of its project in the region. The US embassy in Ankara, as well as other Western embassies, is busy arranging the cards of the Turkish opposition. It will take a great deal of ingenuity to achieve this unity, which is very difficult to realize even in a dream.

Russia and China recognize that the U.S. is investing in the six-party alliance

During his presidency, Bill Clinton said: “One of the most important issues of our hegemony and world leadership is to complete in the 21st century the projects that were incomplete in the 20th century. Türkiye and who controls country will be decisive in this goal.” A few years ago, Biden told us that they would work with the opposition against Erdogan, whom Washington has used for years against the countries and peoples of the region, and whom it considers “our ally and our man”. The bottom line is that the US wants a “Turkish Zelensky” who will sacrifice himself for the US and the BOP, who is more obedient than Erdogan and more daring than Zelensky. On this basis, and to prevent this from happening, Moscow, Tehran and Beijing prefer to work with Erdoğan. Given the current picture, for these states, Erdogan is “better off” than Davutoglu. This is because Russia and China, in particular, recognize that the US Six-Table is holding the reins of NATO-Leftist parties such as the HDP (Green Left) and TİP, and that the Turkish Zelensky they are investing in is Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu.

* Syrian political scientist