Turkish Ambassador Defends Turkey’s government

After writing an article about developments in Syria which was published in our October 30 edition and in this column, Turkish Ambassador to Tehran Dr. Derya Ors in an outspoken letter came to defense of Turkish government and replied to Mr. Hamid Reza Naghashian’s article. Iran News now according to the media law publishes the esteemed diplomat’s letter and the response of Mr. Naghashian to his letter. The full text of Turkish Ambassador’s letter and Mr. Naghashian’s reply is as follows:

IRAN NEWS POLITICAL DESK

I read your article in the Iran News newspaper on 30 October with the title “Erdogan: I Kill and You Do Applaud” with the hesitation that your main objective is not to defend the longstanding ties between Iran and Turkey but to provoke certain sentiments with the illusion that the Iranian public opinion is manipulated.

Unfortunately, most of your remarks seem to originate from your personal and biased anti-Turkish sentiments, which are not apparently described in your article. It would suffice to mention that the Turkish-Iranian relations are deep-rooted and strong enough not to transgress the historically tested principle of mutual respect and not getting involved in the internal affairs of each other.

Even if we don’ t see eye to eye on every topic, the sophistication of Turkish- Iranian relations provides us the basis to respect and defend each other at times  of  international pressures. Turkey’s support for Iran is not a matter of today, but has been a consistent policy since the establishment of the Islamic Republic. It will be enlightening for you to remember that during the Iran-Iraq War, Turkey acted as a neutral neighbor and a life line for Iran.

I guess your main concern is to defend the PK.K’s American-designed presence in the northern part of Syria. Let me be clear about the Turkish policy that is repeatedly underlined by the Turkish authorities. First, providing shelter to more than 3.6 million Syrian brothers and sisters, Turkey is a friend of Syria. Second, Turkey hosts different ethnic groups who have escaped violent terrorist attacks and sought a safe haven in Turkey, including more than 360 thousand Kurds who were unable to return to their lands under the PK.K’s de facto control. Third, we have been in coordination with our Russian and Iranian partners under the Astana process, consistently emphasizing the need for a political solution and our unwavering commitment to our neighbor Syria ‘ s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Last but not least, the disinformation attempt to portray Turkey’s fight against PK.K terrorism as fighting “the Kurds” is utterly wrong and contradicts the fact that Turkey has the biggest Kurdish population in the region. In a nutshell, now that the divisive project for creating a PK.K outlet in Syria is over, everyone would have to reconsider reviewing their illusions about the viability of supporting terrorism at the Turkish borders.

Your article is full of contradictions and the language you use is bordering hate speech. In particular, your manipulative claims about Mr. Erdogan demonstrate your excessive hatred of Turkey and the Turkish government.

It is really disappointing to see this tone and animosity in your article even while in the last seventeen years the Turkish public op inion grew more and more sympathetic to Iran and to the Iranian people. I’m not aware about which interests you serve in reiterating orientalist viewpoints about Turkey and the Turkish democracy, but you might be better served to repair your misguided vision about Turkey if you could join your two million compatriots to visit Turkey and test the perfect blend of freedom, Islam and democracy in your neighboring and brotherly country.

Sincerely,

Derya Ors

Dear Respected Turkish Ambassador H.E. Dr. Derya Ors

With regards and great thanks regarding your letter that I received on November 11 on my article about Turkey which was published in October 30 edition of Iran News. I decided to have a short reply to Your Excellency and to send it to you and I hope this reply would broaden more friendship between the newspaper and that esteemed diplomat in order that we could get acquainted about your and Turkish Foreign Ministry’s viewpoints on the performance of your government and to some extent to bolster sincere ties between two structures of protection (governments) through the eyes of nations of Iran and Turkey.

Your Excellency, due to great experience and academic education, have full knowledge and are also aware of responsibilities of the media and you know well that whatever is published in the media is not essentially a personal view as the media’s mission is to highlight commonalities and differences of the two nations in order that both countries can lay more comprehensive ground for removing hurdles to come closer together day in day despite long physical and cultural borders.

Provocation of emotions is possible to be materialized when, God forbidden, both sides trade accusations without having any information and depth of ties. What I wrote in my October 30 article in the newspaper was kept away from any unfair and biased accusation and was also not aimed at provoking emotions between two nations.

High Excellency Erdogan may have very good relation with the Islamic Republic of Iran’s President and certainly he has and this good relation sometimes has met interests of both countries and it has definitely had. But that he can speak in a free and official tribune and assign the President of the Islamic Republic to silence a nation is considered by us a move out of diplomatic norms. So it was not a personal view. Maybe your dear colleagues can somewhat monitor the climate of Iranian media both official and virtual one. Mr. Erdogan’s behavior has offended Iranian society and actually both nations will remember it.

Perhaps in the friendship clubs, the position of Mr. Erdogan may be higher and his age older than Mr. Hassan and it may be considered a factor for bolstering a bilateral tie and be acceptable. But this bilateral relation between the two nations has not been, is not and it will not common because nations order each other via their representatives. Secondly, after receiving your critical letter, I once again read my October 30 article carefully and I did not find anything contradictory. That we in Iran hate some behaviors of the PKK group does not mean that we ignore behavior of Turkish government and Army. Neither I nor any revolutionary Muslim confirms behavior of the PKK group or any other group which threatens Turkey’s security.

Of course regarding deep relation and letting the U.S. have military base in Turkey, it is unfair to consider the PKK and the likes as U.S.-made groups. The U.S. and UK have never antagonized with Turkey and will never do but their enmity and hostile acts against the Islamic revolution in the past four decades, if to be published, would have exceeded from a bulky volume of book. Of course that some Kurd groups are linked to the Zionist regime’s policies cannot be seen far from mind but it should be first cleared that all Kurd ethnics are acquitted from this charge and I also consider it a “libel”using the word terrorism for the big Kurd community.

In some part of your letter I have been accused of hostility towards Turkish President and government and this claim has not been stated fairly because I am neither enemy of Mr. Erdogan nor enemy of Turkish government and noble Muslim people of Turkey but I have just been critical of some behaviors and demands of your government and esteemed president. In my article I have mentioned that you should not expect Iranians to clap for massacre of the displaced and poor people in the geographical area of Syria’s Kurdistan bordering Turkey. This criticism is like a dot in a book of improper acts. Your government claims it follows Islam but the Holy Quran censures bloodshed. And this criticism why you have spoken in the name of Islam, the religion which promotes expansion of deep and good relations with justice without enmity.

Finally, I call on you to give IRAN NEWS a time for an interview in order to exchange views and even debate to clear the air. Iran News is a fully private newspaper which has no inclination towards any current and group and it is run by its money and revenues from advertisements.

Wish you and your colleagues all the best.

Regards

1. Naghashian

 By: Hamid Reza Naghashian