Are we the only ones left doing the ‘Rabia sign?’

ERTUĞRUL ÖZKÖK

The last support in the Middle East for the “Muslim Brotherhood” ended on May 2. Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal personally declared the new policy document of his organization, announcing that it is not a “branch of the Muslim Brotherhood” anymore. He also declared that Hamas would form better relations with Egypt and other Muslim countries that have problems with the Muslim Brotherhood. It also gave the message it could live together with Israel.  

This decision of Hamas means the end of the “Rabia sign in the Middle East.” 

Everybody is returning to “real politics.” I believe it is only Turkey left in the region that insists on non-realistic policies. 

Well, how long will we be able to continue the policy of opposing even Russia and the United States on our southeast border? I don’t know how logical it is to continue this policy. 

However, when I look from the outside, the only reality I see is that Turkey is being pushed to a huge solitude more and more both in the Middle East and in the world. I don’t know whether or not this is still regarded as “precious loneliness.” It may be valuable for those who insistently follow this policy, but we will all see together whether or not it is valuable for Turkey. 

Moving to 140 letters 

Wikipedia was one of my best information sources. I learned quite a lot from its long articles. Now, access to Wikipedia has been blocked in Turkey. 

I am grateful to the government. I do not need to read those grueling long articles anymore before I write my columns. From now on, I will base my pieces on the deep information provided by the 140-character tweets on Twitter. 

Journalist Dündar writes about Erdoğan 

I read Time Magazine’s May 1 issue. They included President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan among “The 100 Most Influential People” in the world.

The magazine asked journalist Can Dündar to write about Erdoğan, in a decision I thought was not quite correct. Mikhail Gorbachev was also asked to write another influential person, Vladimir Putin. Gorbachev explained Putin’s Russia as this: “Stagnating economy and declining living standards; mass poverty and corruption and illegal enrichment of the few; the degradation of education, health care and science.” 

I looked at the Erdoğan profile written by Dündar. He was so much more lenient compared to Gorbachev. 

Turkey on everyone’s minds in Berlin 

Last week, in one of the most well-known art galleries in the Kudam neighborhood of Berlin, there was the opening of Ahmet Güneştekin’s exhibition. 

Several outstanding faces from Berlin’s culture scene were there. 

With new patchwork pieces as well as paintings, Güneştekin’s exhibition stood out in Berlin. It was widely covered in the German media. With this exhibition, 5,000 new followers started following Güneştekin’s Instagram account. 

Almost every German I spoke to during the opening mentioned the referendum in Turkey. Most Germans argue that this referendum has severely affected Germany’s integration efforts. 

The fact that 60 percent of the Turkish voters in Germany voted “yes” both astonished and disappointed them. A very big reaction against President Erdoğan and Turkey has been formed.  

Meanwhile, some German journalists said Erdoğan would soon be visiting Brussels and Germany.  

I don’t know how much my word counts but if the president is actually going to visit Germany, he’d better have an interview with a popular German paper and talk to a German TV channel prior to his visit and say a couple of words to moderate the environment.