Erdogan’s tour of Arab Spring nations
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s tour of Arab Spring nations and the messages he gave during these visits continue to echo in the Turkish media. There is no doubt that these visits, which have further boosted Turkey’s international standing and Erdogan’s popularity, will play a major role in the shaping of the future of these nations, which are trying to rise from their ashes.
According to Star’s Fehmi Koru, Erdogan’s tour of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya, the countries that experienced the Arab Spring, was very successful as the messages Erdogan sent during these visits made their way to the world media. Koru thinks this tour helped strengthen Erdogan’s image as an “international figure.” In his view, Erdogan’s message on secularism left an indelible mark on the tour, giving the peoples of Egypt, Tunisia and Libya the opportunity to debate the issue of secularism and find the most suitable system for their own countries.
“Individuals cannot be secular, only states can. A devout Muslim can successfully govern a secular state,” Erdo?an said in one of his speeches on secularism, showing himself as an example of a Muslim leader of a secular state.
Erhan Ba?yurt of the Bugün daily, one of the journalists accompanying Erdo?an, focuses on the huge interest shown in Turkey and Prime Minister Erdo?an by the peoples of the Arab Spring nations, saying that the amount of interest was really eye-catching. “There was huge interest in Erdo?an in Egypt and Tunisia, but the situation was a little different in Libya.
Erdogan addressed people in four different places in Libya. He spoke to the people in Tripoli twice, in Misrata once and in Benghazi once. The crowds there were really striking. Interest shown in Erdo?an was higher than interest shown in French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Premier David Cameron, who visited the country one day ahead of Erdogan,” says Ba?yurt.
Yeni Akit’s Hasan Karakaya, who also accompanied Erdo?an during his five-day visit, talks about what an energetic person the Turkish prime minister is, which he thinks is a result of his love for the job.
Having held four events in Libya in one day, Karakaya says all the journalists accompanying Erdogan hoped they would go and sleep on the plane as they flew back to ?stanbul from Libya; however, Erdogan called on the journalists to exchange their views about the trip at 2 a.m. on the plane. “We were trying to keep our eyes open at such a late hour, but Erdo?an was still energetic and lively. It is very clear that he loves his job,” says Karakaya.
F Disli Zibak reported for Todays Zaman..
