BY TAHA AKYOL
AKSAM- Israeli Land Forces Commander Maj. Gen. Avi Mizrahi has lost his senses. Following Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's cutting remarks to Israeli President Shimon Peres in Davos, Mizrahi said that Erdogan should look in the mirror, because Turks massacred Armenians and now they're doing the same thing to Kurds, and they also invaded Cyprus. The Foreign Ministry gave Israel a note branding Mizrahi's statements 'ravings' and requested an explanation. 'Ravings' is a very harsh expression in diplomacy, but Mizrahi deserved it. The General Staff also said that Mizrahi had gone beyond his duties, authorities and responsibilities and that his statements would damage national interests. The Israeli chief of general staff should know how serious this warning is! I'll criticize Erdogan's remarks, but first let's look at what Mizrahi said.
First, since 1968 Israel has been the 'invading country,' and has committed barbaric massacres in the territories it invaded. This is no mere claim, but a reality under UN resolutions. On the other hand, Turkey is the legal inheritor of the Ottoman state, the legitimacy of which is accepted by European law. Turkey hasn't taken one inch more Ottoman territory than was recognized by international law in 1914! These territories have been part of Turkey for 1,000 years! Consider these historical and legal realities: there is no comparison between the problems which the Ottoman government faced in its defense after the Armenian committees allied themselves with the Russian Army during World War I, with Israel's barbaric treatment of Israel of civilians living in the territory it invaded; nor is there anything in common between Turkey's legal fight against terrorism and Israel's violence against civilians who lived in the territory that it invaded; and failing to see that Turkey's 1974 Peace Operation was conducted to stop the massacres in Northern Cyprus and that security and peace prevails throughout Cyprus today, while calling Turkey an 'invader country,' isn't a problem with reason, but a display of enmity against Turkey. Turkey can't tolerate such a hostile stance. I don't care if Turkish-Israeli relations suffer or not. The Israeli government is responsible for setting things right.
I've previously written that Erdogan was right in his statements in Davos, but the style of his remarks was problematic, because I'm bothered by the reactions to such statements as 'you know very well how to kill people.' Similarly, diplomats anticipated this and scolded Erdogan, who said his reaction wasn't against Peres or the Israeli nation, but the moderator of the Davos panel. But his words are what will be remembered. I wish Erdogan had criticized Peres in a more diplomatic language, saying something like, 'Mr. Peres, you're a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, so it's improper of you to defend blood and death,' and then left the panel. This way Turkey would have won the heart of Middle Eastern nations and the praise of the international community, and people like Mizrahi would have nothing to say, and there would be no unfair accusations against Turkey. Leaders should be careful and control their reactions so as not to cause unfair accusations against their countries."