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Recep Tayyip Erdoanbegan his passionate and wide-ranging speech by highlighting the humanitarian crises, political conflicts, and social tensions plaguing various regions worldwide, emphasizing the difficulty in addressing these issues amid global economic problems.

He expressed grave concern about the use of terrorism as an instrument in proxy wars in regions like Syria, North Africa, and the Sahel, asserting that it was undermining international security.

The President also touched upon the growing threat of xenophobia, racism, and islamophobia, warning that these issues were reaching alarming levels globally. He stressed the importance of addressing these challenges for the sake of social harmony.

On having expressed gratitude to the international community, including the UN, for coming to his countrys aid after it suffered a major earthquake which claimed over 50,000 lives and caused extensive destruction in February 2023, Mr. Erdogan noted, that the friendship shown to our country on that very dark day was an important source of consolation.

Acting in the same spirit, Trkiye, he added, mobilized extensive help to Libya, where 12,000 people lost their lives with thousands still unaccounted for after the recent devastating storms and floods.

Presenting his country as an active international player, President Erdogan outlined multiple contacts Trkiye had developed with lands both near and far. The countrys relations span the whole world from China and South Asia to Africa and Latin America, but the main scope of attention is on its neighbouring region.

Referring to the war on Europe's eastern borders President Erdogan said, Since the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war, we have been endeavouring to keep both our Russian and Ukrainian friends around the table with the thesis that war will have no winners and peace will have no losers, the Turkish President said.

He stated readiness to step up efforts to end the war through diplomacy and dialogue based on Ukraines independence and territorial integrity.

In this context he highlighted the Black Sea Initiative launched together with the UN, which aimed to prevent a global hunger crisis by facilitating the transport of grain through the Black Sea to global markets.

Lamenting the fact that the initiative was no longer in operation, he mentioned a new plan new plan whereby another. Some 1,000,000 tonnes of grain will be released to the countries in dire need around the world.

Mr. Erdogan spoke of the need of the reform of the United Nations, expressing the idea that the institutions established after the Second World War no longer reflect today's world.

The world is bigger than five, he said referring to the five Permanent Members of the Security Council. Advocating for reform, he noted that the Security Council has ceased to be the guarantor of world security and has become a battleground for the political strategies of only five countries.

He urged a re-evaluation of the current international institutions to better reflect the realities of today's world.

He spoke also about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), underscoring the need to eradicate hunger and poverty.

We find it difficult to accept hunger as an issue, as an unsolved problem, here in the 21st century, said the President, urging all countries to demonstrate a strong will to realize Sustainable Development Goals.

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'Peace has no losers', Erdogan says, vowing to step up efforts to end ... - UN News

On September 18, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave an exclusive interview to the U.S. television program PBS NewsHour ahead of his speech to the United Nations General Assembly.

Under Erdogan's two-decade-plus rule, Turkey has become one of the worlds most prolific jailers of journalists and human rights activists.

The interviewer, Amna Nawaz, asked Erdogan if he is threatened by these people.

Erdogan became combative, questioning why Nawaz was interested in the topic and chalking up the prosecutions to the countrys courts, which he implied are independent:

Turkey has a state of law. Such decisions can only be made by the judiciary. And if this is what the judiciary has decided to do, let the decisions or the judgments of the judiciary be respected and executed.

When asked follow-up questions regarding the prosecution of his opponents, the Turkish president became combative:

Don't interrupt. You have no right to interrupt. You're not going to interrupt me. And respect me. And you are going to respect the judgment of the judiciary, as well.

The American judiciary is a full-fledged judiciary. So is the judiciary of Turkey. And you have to respect that. We are a state of law, and inside that state of law, this is how we lived, and this is how we will keep on living.

That is misleading. Despite claims of judicial independence, Erdogan has used Turkeys courts to target dissent.

Following a failed July 15, 2016, coup, Turkish authorities sought to purge followers of Fethullah Gulen, an exiled cleric living in the United States, from the civil service, military and academia. Erdogan blames Gulen, a former ally, for the 2016 coup. Gulen denies any role in the plot.

In July 2022, Turkeys then internal affairs minister, Suleyman Soylus, said authorities had detained 332,884 and arrested 101,000 people following the coup attempt over their alleged affiliation with the Gulen movement, which Turkey labeled a terrorist organization.

Erdogan called the coup attempt a gift from God that allowed him to cleanse our army.

Critics said it gave him a pretext to purge the judiciary of dissenting voices, as Turkish authorities jailed or dismissed thousands of judges and prosecutors from their posts.

The Belgium-based Arrested Lawyers Initiative, which advocates for lawyers and human rights defenders in Turkey, said years of relentless targeting of the independence of the Turkish judiciary has given Erdogan absolute control over it.

According to a May 2020 Reuters investigation, the purge hollowed out Turkeys justice system even as the caseload exploded.

Reuters found that following the purges, 45% of Turkeys roughly 21,000 judges and prosecutors had three years of experience or less. Lacking experience, the loyal and inexperienced judges were tasked with handling a dramatic spike in workload from coup-related prosecutions.

Lawyers interviewed by Reuters also said the increasingly common practice of switching judges during trials was a means for the government to exert control over the courts.

Lawyers who opted to defend individuals in terrorism cases have been targeted with prosecution.

In its 2022 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. State Department, citing human rights organizations, said that as of November 2022, Turkish authorities had prosecuted more than 1,600 lawyers, arrested 615, and sentenced 551 to lengthy prison terms on terrorism-related charges since the 2016 coup attempt.

Authorities have charged people, including members of parliament, with supporting terrorism merely for sharing news articles on social media advocating peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkey.

Turkey Tribunal, a Belgium-based nongovernmental organization set up to adjudicate human rights violations in Turkey, said Turkeys courts have failed to protect fundamental rights, leaving citizens under the arbitrary exercise of power by the Executive.

In February 2020, Dunja Mijatovic, Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, called on Turkey to restore judicial independence, saying the rule of law in the country was severely threatened.

Mijatovic said Turkish authorities needed to reverse the measures implemented under the post-coup state of emergency, which had devastating consequences on judicial independence and impartiality and threatened the rule of law and human rights in Turkey.

Mijatovic further expressed alarm that Turkeys judiciary had displayed unprecedented levels of disregard for even the most basic principles of law, particularly in terrorism-related cases.

During the PBS interview, Nawaz asked Erdogan about the prosecution of Osman Kavala, an activist and philanthropist who was sentenced to life in prison in July 2022 for financing anti-government protests.

Amnesty International said the prosecuting authorities had "repeatedly failed to provide any evidence substantiating the baseless charges that Kavala, who had been involved in civil society projects for decades, was attempting to overthrow the government.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Europes highest court, concluded that the arrest and pre-trial detention took place in the absence of evidence to support a reasonable suspicion he had committed an offense.

The court found that Turkey had essentially prosecuted Kavala to reduce him to silence as a human rights defender.

The ECHR called on Turkey to immediately release Kavala, citing the violations that occurred in his prosecution.

Although Turkey is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights and was bound to follow the courts decision, Turkish authorities refused to release Kavala.

In July 2022, the court, for only the second time in its 63-year history, initiated infringement proceedings against Turkey for not abiding by its ruling.

Helen Duffy of the Turkey Human Rights Litigation Support Project, a New York-based nongovernmental organization, said the ruling is an acknowledgment of Turkeys ever-deepening rule of law crisis."

The World Justice Project, a Washington-based international civil society organization seeking to "advance the rule of law around the world," ranked Turkey 116th out of 140 countries in its 2022 Rule of Law Index.

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Dubious: Erdogan's Claim of Judicial Independence in Turkey - Polygraph.info

NEW YORK

Levels of racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia have all climbed to a dangerous breaking point, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Tuesday.

"Racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia, which spread like a virus especially in developed countries, have reached intolerable levels," Erdogan said in his address at the annual UN General Assembly in New York.

Signs of xenophobia, racism, and Islamophobia spiraling into a new crisis have reached alarming proportions in the last year, he said.

Stating that hate speech, polarization, and discrimination against innocent people hurt the public conscience in all corners of the world, the Turkish leader lamented that populist politicians in many countries continue to play with fire by encouraging these dangerous trends.

"The mentality which encourages heinous attacks against the holy Quran in Europe by allowing them under the guise of freedom of expression is in fact darkening its own future," said the president.

He stressed that Trkiye will continue to support initiatives to combat Islamophobia on all platforms, in particular the UN, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The president also called on world leaders who he said reject such attacks on sacred values to instead support Trkiye's struggle.

Erdogans speech followed a rash of attacks on the Quran such as burnings and other desecrations, particularly in northern European countries, and often committed with police protection.

The attacks have drawn widespread outrage and condemnation.

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Xenophobia, Islamophobia have reached 'intolerable levels ... - Anadolu Agency

ISTANBUL

The status quo established by the first and second world wars no longer serves the world, and a new era is needed, and Trkiye is aiming to be among the leaders of this era, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Trkiye may achieve successful results in the world by benefiting from every development at the global scale, Erdogan said at the opening ceremony of the World Turkish Business Council's (DTIK) 10th Congress, held in Istanbul on Friday and Saturday.

Touching on the Turkish diaspora, he said the number of Turkish nationals living, working, and studying in other countries reaches 8 million.

Turkic states and members and observers of the Organization of Turkic States, Caucasus, Balkans and Islamic world should also be added to this figure, he said.

He said Trkiye is working to improve economic, social and political ties through institutions such as DTIK.

"Thus, we will open a new era together for both our homeland and our brothers and sisters in the diaspora," he noted.

He also said Trkiye has not sufficiently marshalled the power of its diaspora especially in Western countries, adding that weaker diasporas have had more power on the policy side.

Trkiye continuing to develop

Omer Bolat, the Turkish trade minister, said despite devastating earthquakes this year, Trkiye is keeping sustainability and continuing to develop.

While world trade is in a slowdown period, Bolat said Trkiye aims to reach $255 billion in goods and $110 billion in services exports by the end of this year.

He said Trkiye became a hub in trade, investments, and tourism.

Trkiye continues to diversify its trade products and destinations by reaching more trade agreements, he added.

On Thursday, Trkiye signed a memorandum of understanding for easing trade and increasing investments with the Organization of Turkic States, he said.

Nail Olpak, chairman of the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK), said DTIK has two main missions: supporting Turkish people living abroad economically and politically to empower both them and Trkiye, and benefiting from diaspora representatives to promote Trkiye worldwide.

Stressing that the DTIK has six main regional directorates and sub managing offices, he said participants from over 130 countries will elect directors and managers on Saturday in Istanbul.

As part of the ceremony a cooperation deal was signed by Kubanychbek Omuraliev, the secretary general of the Organization of Turkic States, and Olpak, who is also the chair of DTIK, signed a cooperation deal.

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Trkiye aims to be among leaders of new era: President Erdogan - Anadolu Agency

-Analysis-

Not many Turkish people care about the country joining the European Union once such a popular topic of discussion in Turkey. Since the membership process stalled over the past decade or more, Turks have all but given up on this dream, while Europeans perceive Turkey either as a buffer zone keeping refugees out of Europe, or as a holiday destination.

But geography is a real thing, and nothing changes the fact that Turkey is a large country attached to Europe, not only physically but economically and politically, too.

A draft report on this long-discussed problem, produced by Nacho Snchez, Spanish politician and rapporteur for the European Parliament, was delayed due to the Turkish elections. The report is an effort to come up with a creative solution, and aims to offer an alternative to the EU accession process, which seems to have been on the ice for quite some time.

Both sides have legitimate complaints.

Ankara says the EU is discriminating against Turkey, and that the government sees no light at the end of the tunnel, despite waiting 60 years for membership. Even countries which were a part of the Eastern Bloc when Turkey and Europe signed the Ankara Agreement in 1963 have been members of the EU for nearly a quarter of a century now. Turkey, on the other hand, is trying to make do with a Customs Union treaty, which we cannot update, no matter what. All the while, the EU moves increasingly further away in the minds of average Turkish citizens

When it comes to the EUs criticisms of Turkey, the anti-democratic practices that have become more intense in recent years are at the top of the list. Turkeys stance on Cyprus, which both it and Greece claim, is another important agenda item.

In fact, the decline in democracy is more of a real problem for Turkish citizens than for the EU. It would be perhaps more appropriate to criticize the EU for contributing to the authoritarianization of the country by excluding Turkey.

On the other hand, if we look at the situation some other EU member countries, we can also say that membership does not guarantee democratic policies.

The process is gridlocked, no matter how right either side may be. European Parliament Rapporteur Sanchez suggests a creative solution, based on acknowledging that fact. But this is not a new subject: in Europe, some have long argued that full Turkish membership is not a realistic goal, and instead a vaguely defined privileged partnership status would be more fitting. Such theses became more common when former French President Nicolas Sarkozy came into power, but it's fair to assume that Germany tacitly approves of this approach as well.

There may not be any other perspectives left to support Turkey since the UK, which was the country's most vocal supporter, took itself out of the equation via Brexit.

But from the beginning, the Turkish government has strongly opposed the privileged partnership theory, arguing instead that full membership is an earned right via international treaties.

October 6, 2022, Prague, Czech Republic: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan comes to first meeting of European Political Community.

Ondrej Deml/ZUMA

Beyond that, there is also the idea that the accession process was as important as entering the EU itself. Ankara would gain momentum on important matters such as the rule of the law, democratization and a properly running market economy, as long as they remain true to the EU perspective.

But today, we can see that this opinion was not correct. One could argue that Ankara fell behind because they lost the EU perspective regardless, going back to the way things were before is not possible. Even if Turkey does take steps toward democratization and a properly running economy, it wouldnt be convincing to take that path just to satisfy Europe.

If there are those who believe the process would move along if the opposition had won the recent Turkish elections, I have doubts about that, too. A victory for the opposition parties wouldnt untie this Gordian Knot either first, because the problem does not stem only from Turkeys inner dynamics, and also because European policies have drifted further from Turkey's interests.

The refugee issue is becoming the main topic for European voters, and it seems hard to convince the public to support any increase in the asylum system while a recession looms and security fears fuel hostility towards foreigners. This is visible even in Germany, which has been relatively resistant to this concept, where right-wing populist party AfD is on the rise. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for being friendly to the Turkish government, was happy about the election results in Turkey, saying that he was glad that Turkey would remain a buffer zone between Europe and refugees. Even politicians who seem to be closer to Ankara dont want Turkey in the EU, but value the country as a barrier which protects them from the masses at their door.

Obviously, the value of Turkey is not limited to the refugee issue. It is impossible to discard Turkey totally, because it is so integrated into the European economy, and because of its geopolitical importance which became even more visible due to the war in Ukraine. Turkeys stability is directly related to Europes own safety. Add Emmanuel Macrons recently voiced dream of Europe being an independent political actor to all of these, and we can see that excluding Turkey completely wouldnt be a rational move. The EU has temporarily burned bridges with Russia because of the war; it would be too costly to turn its back to Turkey.

Sanchez, the European Parliament Rapporteur, argues for an alternative mechanism, based on all of these facts.

On one hand, there is a need to prepare a framework for countries that arent EU members but are integrated into the continent, like Ukraine or the UK. Of course, there is also the fact that countries which are not involved in the decision-making processes of the EU may be reluctant to harmonize with its policies, and would instead rather take care of their own.

On the other hand, politics is the art of doing whats possible. Creative solutions are required if the EU expansion process has ended for the foreseeable future, but the need for harmony between the sides remains. As Sanchez says, if the paused membership process blocks potential cooperation opportunities between the EU and Turkey, those obstacles should be eliminated. Maybe the process is not as important as membership itself. On the contrary, its a part of the gridlock.

Of course, its still too early to be optimistic, given the lack of a solid framework. Turkey's practical demands have yet to be answered, including issues around the Customs Union and the increased rejection rates Turkish citizens have faced when applying for Schengen visas. If a mechanism could be found to satisfy both the expectations of Turkey from the EU and Turkeys agenda for democratization, political and economic reform, that would be a major development. Otherwise, we seem to be continuing on the path in which cooperation opportunities between the sides are wasted, and we remain stuck with a low-quality democracy and Turkish-style economics, just as it has been for the past 20 years.

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