A man who has a problem with the Qatar crisis

I am constantly talking to you about strategy, politics, plans and programs in this column like I have nothing else to do. I am asking the position taken by institutes in crises, the strategic moves they will make and their global game plans, et cetera.

Actually, I don't think anybody is busy with strategic planning or anything. They are busy.

If there is anyone who thinks about how we will overcome this crisis, how we can get out of it with the least damage, what tasks need to be taken on by which institutes, who lays this out in the form of a strategic plan, I would personally like to thank them whole heartedly.

But I have great hope.

I hadn't been writing "What is our strategy?" kind of articles for a long time. I wanted to be like those who think, "We have somebody to solve it all anyway," and sit back and enjoy myself. However, I received a phone call and once again, I couldn't stop myself.

The phone call that came around morning

The day before, it was almost sunrise when an old friend messaged me. He asked if I was available to talk on the phone. So we talked. He works at a state institute in Saudi Arabia.

He called to say that in the period that started with the Qatar crisis, Saudi-Turkey relations are headed in a very bad direction. He said the campaign started against Turkey in Saudi media as well as other Arab media outlets is growing like an avalanche and urgently, something needs to be done against this.

He said, in the event the two big states of the Muslim world fight, a great chaos will emerge between Muslims and that this will inflict great harm on Islam.

He said, thousands of Saudis are doing trade in Turkey and tens of thousands of Turks are doing trade in Saudi Arabia, that they buy homes, that they are in a trade relationship and that the crisis may strike a very heavy blow to this.

He explained that even though the governments may be in dispute, this should not reflect on the people of the two countries, that this incites intense anti-Arab, anti-Turk sentiment, that something must be done to prevent this.

He said we need sensible articles, messages that do not spill fury and hatred, people who are going to explain the matter well. We can spread them everywhere throughout the Arab region.

He said a lot more.

I said, “Fortunately we still have state officials who are troubled [by the problems].” How many people do we have left around us that call a journalist at 4 a.m., seeking a solution to the country’s problem? I admired very much my friend’s efforts and desire to find a solution to the country’s problem with his heart and soul.

I am writing this article to join in his sincere effort, to support him and reach his voice to you, to Ankara. The rest is up to the reader.

We need a plan

After the Qatar crisis, it really isn’t east to look at the field of communication. You too are probably seeing that anti-Arab sentiment is being fueled, that enmity toward the Saudis is at the lowest level.

Despite the crisis being a political one, there are interesting people who start from Wahhabism and end with Shiism, start from Daesh, go on to al-Qaida and then reach the Hashd al-Shabi. The ideology in everybody has surged so high that they forgot Qatar and started to fight for their ideologies.

All the dark types of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Fetullahist Terror Organization, Daesh followers, sectarians, who say, “The opportunity is now, let me strike a couple blows amid all that is happening,” added insult to injury.

Don’t worry, none of these discussions, social media posts or television programs are going to waste. Some take them and translate them in to Arabic and then use them in the Arab-Turk fight, in the Shiite-Sunni war as ammunition.

Arab media is acting like it has gone mad – similar to Turkish media. They are going nuts mostly when giving a reaction to the discussions here.

Let’s say they are carrying on this crazy campaign with orders from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia, somewhere. But what is happening to our “free” press? Is someone telling them “Charge, toward the Arabs”? No. Then why are we so eager to get carried away?

State policy will not endure emotiveness

There is need for those who know how important, how sensitive and fragile Turkey’s ties with the Muslim world are, to explain the matter with common sense. Those trying to catch lightning in a bottle do more harm than good to the country.

Ankara needs to step in and do something about this matter. State policy is one thing, giving a personal reaction is another. However, personal reactions have started to dominate the crisis.

If state institutions have any communication plan, a strategy, a crisis policy concerning this crisis, then there is benefit in sharing it. Let everybody know and write and talk accordingly. It will be of benefit for the country. Otherwise, we will continue to read foreign policy analyses through caricatures of camels with keffiyeh wrapped around their head and the janissary (mehter) march, and continue to export this to the Arab world for a long time to come.

I received my friend’s efforts with appreciation. He increased my hopes. I hope it finds a response. It was my duty to write this. And I did.

#Turkey

#Qatar

#Crisis