Despite fallout, Turkey seeks to 'inspire' Arab revolt

ANKARA: The turmoil may have strained ties with allies and led to a mass influx of refugees but Turkey sees the Arab uprisings as an opportunity to showcase its successful marriage of Islam with democracy.

While dictators such as Egypt's Hosni Mubarak have been toppled and other regimes in the region have used brute force to retain power, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has never been so secure after winning a third successive election last weekend.

And rather than feel threatened by the wave of revolt in its backyard, which began six months ago when a Tunisian trader set himself alight, Turkey has welcomed the idea that it can act as an inspiration to pro-democracy activists.

"We are not seeking to be a (role) model, but we can be a source of inspiration since Turkey has shown that Islam and democracy can co-exist perfectly," Erdogan said in an interview with AFP in February.

"Having religious beliefs does not prevent one from having a democracy and democracy does not prevent one from having religious beliefs. And in this country, we have had both for years."

The Islamist-rooted leader, a hero of the Arab street with his frequent outbursts against Israel, lent vocal support to anti-regime protests in Egypt that forced Mubarak to quit in February.

More recently, Erdogan infuriated Moamer Qadhafi by saying that the veteran leader "has no other option but to leave Libya" -- even offering to help him find a safe landing place if he bails out.

And his traditionally good relations with President Bashar Al-Assad have not precluded him from berating Syria for its crackdown on anti-government protestors, even accusing security forces of perpetrating an "atrocity".

More than 8,000 Syrians have crossed the border to Turkey in the last few days, many of them fleeing a major army operation on a town known as a hotbed of opposition to the Assad regime. The Turks have put them up in tent camps.

There is little doubt that Turkey has suffered more than most from the fallout of the Arab uprisings.

Around 25,000 Turks were based in Libya before the revolt against Qadhafi's four-decade rule for example and some 200 companies -- mainly specialising in construction -- had set up in business there.

The government had previously courted regimes such as Qadhafi's, with Erdogan drawing flak from the opposition last November when he travelled to Tripoli to collect a human rights prize from the Libyan leader.

Both Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul had carefully cultivated their personal relations with Arab leaders and lobbied to build up trade links.

The number of flights by Turkish Airlines to Arab countries has multiplied under Erdogan with particular efforts being made to attract high-dollar Arab tourists.

But while the revolts may have swept away old contacts or soured relations with others, Turkey has nevertheless shown its adaptability.

Ankara has forged contacts with Libya's rebel National Transitional Council (NTC) while Gul was the first head of state to visit Cairo after Mubarak's downfall in February.

During that visit on March 4, Gul not only met with the leaders of all the main political parties but he also touted Turkey as a "model" when he spoke with youths in Tahrir Square -- the epicentre of Egypt's revolution.

That role model description also resonates in Tunisia, the first of the Arab dominos to fall.

"The Turkish model is successful because it combines modernity, with the foundations of Islam and respect for the identity of Muslim society", Ali al-Aryadh, spokesman for Tunisia's Islamist Ennahda party.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011