The Legacy of the Ottoman Empire, the Future of Türkiye: Turks, Kurds, Arabs

Humanity has never faced a greater calamity than modern Western civilization. Western colonial empires have used knowledge, technology, politics, media, and all their resources for the prosperity of their own nations at the expense of the suffering of other nations.

Not content with exploiting the territories they occupied, they destabilized these countries politically and even planned wars to be fought within their borders a hundred years later. Some of the problems created for this purpose include:

- The existence of the state of Israel, which was thrust like a dagger among Arab countries.

- The Kashmir issue between Pakistan and India.

- The dispute over islands in the Persian Gulf between Iran and Arab countries.

- The Hatay issue between Türkiye and Syria (fortunately, this matter is resolved).

- The direct occupation and relentless exploitation of African territories.

- The centuries-long occupation and exploitation of Asian countries in their entirety.

So much oppression, cruelty, and cultural imperialism can only be concealed by a grand illusion. Positive elements such as democracy, economic development, growth, and modernity, while directly related to their own well-being, have brought no change to the suffering of colonized countries.

Looking at the issue from our perspective, the imperialists, with two centuries of effort, not only destroyed the Ottoman Empire but also imposed cultural imperialism on our country by preventing the revival of this Empire as a great Türkiye. The British and other elements of the colonial empire knew that the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled over different races and religions for centuries, could not fit into the mold of a nation-state reduced to a single race. Of course, every nation has its own value, but the real power of the Ottoman State came from the Turks, Kurds, and Arabs. The greatest success of cultural imperialism was making Arabs and Turks enemies after World War I.

The Republic of Türkiye is a nation-state, and every nation-state has a hinterland. Today, thanks to the Commonwealth, England is like the homeland for one-third of the world's population. The aristocrats, wealthy individuals, and politicians of these countries live in London. What's strange is that the same situation applies to our Arab brothers. Recently, Istanbul has become a similar hub for Arabs, just like London.

Today, in terms of the breadth of its hinterland, Türkiye is more advantageous than England. England represents the old and outdated ideas. They have nothing to say to the world except their own interests.

In recent years, significant developments have taken place for Türkiye to rise strongly from where it has fallen. Türkiye has been developing independently from Western states and completing its infrastructure. In terms of development, it surpasses many European countries. With a strong economy, it can sustain this development.

However, just at this moment, the century-old efforts of the British are coming into play: to heighten Turkish-Arab hostility and Turkish-Arab animosity. The goal is to directly impact the Turkish economy. Trabzon and its surrounding cities have turned into a tourism paradise for Arab tourists. The contribution of Trabzon alone to the Turkish economy is 1 billion dollars. So, who would undertake such a job to harm Türkiye's economy in the UK? Some destructive practices following events like this are also appearing in the malicious Arab media, not falling behind ours. No one has anything against oppressed refugees. The Turkish economy is the one suffering. Investors and tourists are getting anxious.

British imperialism couldn't make Kurds and Turks enemies because these two nations have been like flesh and nail throughout history. Of course, they have a formula: the PKK terrorist organization. PKK has been striving for forty years to detach the Kurds, whom Western colonialism could not alienate from Türkiye through racism.

Last week, during a debate program about refugees, migrants, and tourism, the subject of employment came up. I said that children of developed countries do not work in heavy jobs, just like foreigners work in sub-sectors in the UK, France, and Germany, it will be the same here. I mentioned that the influx of several million Syrians to Türkiye due to the Syrian civil war is a temporary situation. I talked about the needs of sectors. During the program, each panelist received dozens of messages from sector representatives, but of course, no one mentioned it on the program.

Imagine a country where the entire Arab geography, African countries, the Balkans, member countries of the Organization of Turkic States, Baltic countries, Ukraine, etc., constitute your hinterland. For 100 years, the riches of the Arab geography have increased the share of the West's prosperity. People with no political sensitivities whatsoever, dressed up in the guise of nationalism, are damaging the country's economy, diplomacy, future, and influence.

The age of imperialism is coming to an end. While the Great Türkiye is shaping the future step by step, trying to make Arabs hate Turks and Turks hate Arabs will serve no purpose other than to harm our future vision.

It is no coincidence that Western states unanimously support the PKK. Let's take away this old toy from the hands of the British. We are a nation with the legacy of an empire. At certain times in history, we embark on long journeys. Let's not sacrifice this grand expedition for small steps.