Almost all of Turkey’s problems in foreign affairs that are a “pain in the neck” are extensions from the period when the Ottoman Empire was being purged. The continuation of these problems, in a sense, shows that the purge of the Ottomans is still going on.

Established upon the purge of an empire, the Republic had no choice but to take over these problems. The problem here is that while taking on the burden of the inheritance left by the elimination of the Ottoman Empire, until now we have kept our distance from the advantages left by that heritage. It is a fact that while purging the Ottomans, the world system “suggested” that republican groups keep their distance from every kind of initiative, cooperation and communication that would transform that inheritance into wealth. Permission was not given to Turkey to renew relations with the elements of the Ottoman heritage and its hinterlands, and the new regime also preferred this line as a foreign policy strategy until the end of the Cold War. It can not be said that the Turkish elite were very uncomfortable with this new foreign policy cut out for Turkey. This period was considered an opportunity for Western groups for a voluntary change of civilization axis.

If such a purge of an empire is still continuing, then it is inevitable for there to be problems around us and different “inheritance disputes” with our neighbors. Turkey has not even been able to face up to its Ottoman heritage itself. Aren’t the problems experienced closely related to rejecting this heritage and not constructing anything in its place?

Moreover, imagining that we can be problem-free with our neighbors who were once a part of the same state means playing with the impossible. Or it can mean to accept a rejection of inheritance. It is obvious that escaping from shouldering the weight of the past does not mean escaping from the problems. History confronts you in some form.

The problems encountered in concrete examples of this like in relations with Armenia, Syria and Serbia are a process from which many lessons should be learned. The relationship carried on with Armenia is the most vivid example of carrying all the problems of the Ottoman purge to the present. Even if you completely dismiss history, in fact, even if you erase your one-sided memory, it is impossible for Turkey to establish a “problem-free” relationship with Armenia.

A similar experience occurred with Syria. Our borders with the Middle East were perceived more as a wall separating us from one another than as common borders. The reason for this should be sought as much in “rejection of the past” policies that were imposed on both sides as in problematical borders.

Both sides have grasped the unsustainability of this form of relationship that has continued for eighty years. It is better understood how artificial and unsustainable the balances are that were imposed in the Middle East and that it was a relationship of self-interest which was turned over to the Cold War imperialist powers by the victors of World War I. Even if the point we have come to shows that these deviant relations can not continue as before, it is a mistake to perceive this as a return to this geography’s own spirit.

In a sense, history has been returned to.

The problem with Turkey’s developing relations with its neighbors is a matter of vision and perspective more than technique. Actually, it is how it sees itself, how it sees the universe it belongs to.

When history’s shadow falls on today, one of the most striking examples appears in the relation we have established with Serbia. While forced to stand up for the Bosnians because of what happened in Bosnia, Turkey could not follow up events with a broader vision. Regardless of what happened, in the end we are a NATO member country that has established relations with Serbia via America.

If you enter the region from a field opened by the USA sitting in the Balkans or any other power, this means you have denied yourself. If you do not even feel the trust of sharing the same history with Serbia, then there is no meaning in your being a regional power. You will only play the “regional role” you have been given.

It is possible to increase the number of these three countries. A Turkey that enters the Middle East via Israel and enters the Balkans and Circassia via the USA, while resolving problems today, will have laid mines that will produce tomorrow’s problems.

The purge of history was never problem-free.

�lgili Yaz�larDüşünce, English