Turkey criticizes US envoy’s comments on domestic politics

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has criticized the U.S. ambassador to Ankara for making comments on Turkey’s domestic politics during an interview. The ministry says diplomats should refrain from making comments on the domestic politics of the countries to which they are posted.

Comments regarding Turkey’s domestic politics made by the United States’ ambassador to Ankara during an interview drew criticism from the Turkish Foreign Ministry over the weekend.

“Ambassadors, in accordance with diplomatic traditions, are expected to refrain from making comments on the domestic politics of the countries to which they are posted,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Özügergin said in a written statement.

U.S. Ambassador James Jeffrey, in an interview with daily Sabah last week, responded to questions about coup allegations in Turkey as well as the civilian-military relationship.

“To this regard, Mr. Jeffrey should have approached this issue with more sensitivity and refrained from making statements over the Turkish domestic political life,” said Özügergin in the statement.

One of the questions posed to the U.S. ambassador during the interview was why “the coup syndrome” is not changing in Turkey.

Jeffrey said: “I think it has changed. When I came to Turkey first in 1983, it was ruled by a military administration. Wherever I went and spoke to people, particularly in the Southeast where I spent most of my time, they were happy to see the 1980 military intervention. A new Constitution was introduced in 1983. It legitimized the army’s internal power against internal enemies. The Constitution was accepted by a referendum, so it is an important document. It gave broad authority to the [military].”

Asked to comment on the current picture in Turkey, he said: "The roots of democracy in Turkey and for tolerance in resolving internal problems stand differently. There is a clear democratic transformation (Ambassador pronounced “demokratik dönüşüm” in Turkish) that has been created by the AKP government and other elements. Under these circumstances, the need for the military to control and watch over the internal situation has strongly diminished. This is clear. There are, of course, conditions required by EU integration."

He continued: "The intervention of the military in civilian life must be decreased, even abolished. It makes a necessity the reduction or abolishment of the intervention of the military in shaping politics. Europe goes way further than we do in the U.S. In the U.S., generals speak their views and play a role in shaping foreign policy."

While commenting on the current state of the civilian-military relationship in Turkey, Jeffrey said: “Turkey has now become a more stable country. There is no widespread violence in the country, as seen in the 1980s. Laws are not violated as it had been in that period. Rightists opposed leftists, Alevis opposed Sunnis, Kurds opposed Turks, and labor unions opposed labor unions. Criminals were wandering around. There was multi-sided violence.”

On the coup allegations, the ambassador said: “We don’t understand what is going on. In order to understand, we must follow the media and wait for the conclusion to be reached by the judiciary. Who did what, what was legal or illegal? What was right? What was wrong? We are at the beginning of all these questions.”

When daily Sabah asked, “Maybe it is a weird question, but do you think a military coup could happen in Turkey?” Jeffrey said: “I've listened to [Chief of General Staff] Gen. [İlker] Başbuğ’s comments. Başbuğ is an extraordinary, democratic leader. The [ruling Justice and Development Party] party has been ruling for seven years. If you look at the ties between the party and the military, which has a different worldview from the party, then you’ll be able to come to some conclusions [that a coup is not possible].”

/Hurriyet Daily News/