Let us go back
a bit and remember Turkey and Finland launched the Friends of Mediation
initiative within the United Nations in 2010, to promote and advance the use of
mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention and
resolution, as well as to generate support for the development of mediation. The
group currently has 38 member states along with seven regional organizations,
the UN, and other international organizations. Turkey’s efforts in supporting
peace are well recognized by the international community. Members of the
international community appreciate the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for its
efforts in promoting conflict resolution and peace making.
As Davutoğlu
often stresses, the problems with Turkey’s neighbors deeply affect the country and
Turkey tries to respond to these problems through helping ensure the
independence and the integrity of these countries. The problems emerging with
the Arab Spring put Turkey in a difficult position. Turkey is obviously facing
problems in Syria and Iraq, and these together represent the longest border with
Turkey. What was the response of Turkey to these crises? Davutoğlu argues Turkey
was the only country to initiate pre-crisis and during-crisis action in Syria,
and the lack of support from the international community found Turkey all alone.
Similar developments took place in Iraq. Turkey was the sole country to manage
a pre-crisis initiative for the political integrity of the Sunni leaders and it
was successful in convincing the Sunnis to enter politics. Developments since
then drove the Sunnis out of politics and slowly marginalized a significant
portion of the Iraqi society. Today ISIS has gained ground with Iraqi Sunnis
largely due to the exclusion politics of the Iraqi government. Turkey’s efforts
in pre-crisis and during-crisis management were largely wasted, due to lack of concern
of the international community. Despite all the negative developments, Turkey continues
to be an active supporter of peace and believes conflict can largely be solved
through the negotiation of the domestic actors in Syria, as well as in Iraq.
The Foreign
Ministry of Turkey hosted the III. Istanbul Conference on Mediation on
26-27 June 2014. The conference hosted academia members from different
countries and diplomats from various international and regional organizations.
Various non-governmental organizations, institutions, and foundations also
observed the panels. These series of conferences refer to Turkey’s significant
role in peace building and mediation in conflict regions. The topic of this
year’s conference was the increasing role of regional organizations in
mediation. It is a fact regional organizations play a large role in conflict
resolution and peace making. Many states now recognize that cooperation with
regional organizations is inevitable for healthy functioning of such processes.
Turkey’s active
support in peace is not limited to its neighbors. Turkey is actively supporting
peace in the Southern Philippines and provides assistance whenever needed. The
Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been monitoring the disputes in the region and
contributing for a more healthy peace process through various channels. One of
the main characteristics of the process in the Philippines is there is active
participation of states, regional organizations, and international
non-governmental organizations (INGOs). As it can be derived from the case of the
Southern Philippines, the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is increasing
and it is vital for the regional organizations to work in coordination with
NGOs. Turkey exemplifies a positive example of successful coordination between a
state and INGOs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working in coordination
with The Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief
(IHH), which is the largest INGO in the Philippines. IHH is one of the five
members of the Third Party Monitoring Team founded to observe the transitory period
and make sure the promises are fulfilled. Of course, this is not the only case
where the state organs cooperate with various NGOs.
Mediation has
become an important component of Turkish foreign policy especially for the last
four years. Turkey’s role in mediation is more visible than ever, as Turkey is
pursuing mediation between conflicting parties throughout the world. Successful
mediation depends on being on the ground, knowing the actors, and incorporating
lessons from previous experiences into the current process. All of these form
the main characteristics of Turkish mediation. Despite the difficulties and
failures in the Middle East, Turkey is a partner of a successful peace process
in the Philippines. The credibility of Turkey positions it in a group of legitimate
actors in the region such as Malaysia and Japan.
The
“New Turkey” under Prime Ministry of Davutoğlu will roughly have the same
foreign policy goals. The main characteristics of the foreign policy are
expected to be constant and this means Turkey’s role in conflict resolution and
peace making will continue increasing. Davutoğlu is well aware that Turkey’s rise
in the region depends on establishing a peaceful environment. The first step
towards establishing such an environment depends on solving the Kurdish
dispute. Davutoğlu is aware of this and he is committed to solving the Kurdish
dispute. The New Turkey, which has solved its own problems, will be the rising
peace mediator in the upcoming decades.
___
29.08.2014 tarihinde şu adreste yayımlandı: http://www.turkeyagenda.com/turkeys-rise-as-a-peace-mediator-will-continue-under-davutoglu-1089.html
Published in the following link on 07.042014: http://www.turkeyagenda.com/turkeys-rise-as-a-peace-mediator-will-continue-under-davutoglu-1089.html
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