We cannot ignore yesterday’s speech by Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of the de facto second ruling party in Turkey, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Why we cannot will be discussed later, but for now let us provide excerpts from that speech:
«The reports of mass killings of peaceful and innocent people that allegedly took place in the Ukrainian city of Bucha is a matter that needs to be examined from all sides, both from the front and from the back. All of this requires careful analysis. It has been claimed that the bodies of 410 civilians were found in a mass grave allegedly discovered in the churchyard in Bucha and that it was a military crime, even a massacre, committed by Russia. As expected, the mass burial and other atrocities that were uncovered had a significant impact on public opinion worldwide and provoked a serious reaction. In addition, the published images of peaceful residents killed with their hands tied behind their backs and shot at point-blank range, at first glance, caused outrage in the consciousness of humanity. It is still unclear whether the tragic and heartbreaking scenes that occurred four days after the withdrawal of Russian troops were fiction or a real massacre. We can’t hide or accompany someone’s miserable propaganda, we can’t be instruments of black campaigns and division-supported psychological operations… The administration of the Russian Federation declared that the accusations of mass killings in Bucha were a fabrication and a lie and, as expected, refuted them. However, from the United States to France, from the EU to NATO, countries and organizations familiar and unfamiliar with the situation hastily declared that military crimes were committed in Bucha… Unfortunately, during wars and conflicts there is a constant need for false and distorted news. We can’t hide or accompany someone’s miserable propaganda, we can’t be instruments of black campaigns and division-backed psychological operations».
Of course, all of this evokes very strong emotions that must be contained during Ramadan, considering that we are talking about a Muslim who has had a reputation as a defender of Muslims for many decades. But this raises the question — why expose yourself in such a light, broadcasting to the Muslim country and the whole world the theses of the most vile and pitiful Kremlin propaganda? If Devlet Bey doubts the reports of atrocities committed by Orcs against the inhabitants of Bucha, couldn’t he go there himself and talk to them? Or at least talk himself or ask his assistants to talk to the residents or their relatives from that town, who are present in abundance online? After all, in reality, what happened in Bucha, Irpin, Borodyanka and other places around Kiev that came under Mordor’s occupation was known several weeks before the world saw the horrifying footage. People who managed to escape from there told all of this. But the world ignored these stories until after the liberation of these places, when video evidence appeared that confirmed what people were saying. And what other versions can there be, what other positions than truth and lies?
And the question we ask ourselves is why the leader of a party that for decades has put the issue of protecting Turks and Muslims on the agenda, first denouncing the USSR and then Russia during the first Chechen war, has to defend it in its most unseemly political aspect at the end of his glorious political career. After all, the MHP supports the Crimean Tatars and the Turkish government and the ruling coalition condemn the occupation of Crimea, i.e. they support Ukraine on this issue. By the way, there is a Crimean Tatar Muslim unit fighting for Ukraine near Kiev under the leadership of Isi Akaev, who could personally inform Devlet Bey and his assistants about what is happening there.
Why did it become necessary in old age, at the end of a glorious political career, to disgrace oneself in this way?
And here we come back to the fact that prompted us to comment on this speech. Because unlike the «Muslims of the Moscow Patriarchate», we do not accuse Devlet Bey of working for the Kremlin under duress — it is obvious that he is a political actor with his own position.
But the core of this position in this case is clearly of a secondary nature, when you base it not on your own views, but on hostility towards others, in this case, as it seems to you, towards the West, so that you begin to defend Putin’s Russia in its most unseemly aspect.
And this syndrome is characteristic of many Muslims today, whose attitude towards the West is blinding them. And instead of being guided by what is good for Muslims and even for their direct allies, such as the pro-Ukrainian Crimean Tatars who are Ankara’s allies, they think about how to harm the West.
As a result of this position, in recent years the MHP is no longer perceived as the party of the old Bozkurts who defended Turkish Muslims. On the contrary, whether it is China or Russia, it increasingly praises those who oppress them and focuses on confronting not this specific and obvious dhulm, but the machinations of the West.
Against this background, it is not surprising that the party’s electoral support has decreased significantly and that it is losing its voters to Meral Akşener, who left the MHP and founded her «Good Party» (Iyi Parti). She openly denounces the Kremlin’s dhulm against Turkish Muslims and their allies and speaks of the threat of its vengeful ambitions for Turkey itself.
This is how proactive Muslim politics should be on such issues (at the moment we are only talking about these issues, as we do not praise this party in general). And not like this, which makes you want to grab your head.