İbrahim Karagül, who for eight years has been editor in chief of Turkey's Yeni Şafak daily, which is a mouthpiece of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ruling AKP, recently expressed an example of AKP perceptions of the protests and riots in the U.S. and Europe following the May 25 killing in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd.
In a column titled "As Angry Masses Hit Western Capitals, We Bid Farewell To The World We Know. The Fight In US, Europe Is Not About Racism! It's The End Of The Road For The Enslaving Western Order. Turkey Is Now A 'Superpower,' Whatever We Say, Goes In Libya And The Mediterranean," Karagül wrote: "People no longer believe in the Western world order... Turkey had started to act not like a front country but a superpower... Turkey will never withdraw from Libya."[1]
İbrahim Karagül and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (source: T24.com.tr).
Concerning what he views as the end of the U.S.-led world order, Karagül wrote in his June 9, 2020 column: "The looting in NATO capital Brussels cannot be considered as a temporary social wave... Those who destroyed Muslim countries, ancient cities until now have started to sense similar events in their own cities... The Atlantic axis is no longer going to be able to rule the world... It's the end of the road for the enslaving Western order... They are no longer unrivaled in technology. They are no longer unparalleled in wealth. They are no longer incomparable in military power. They are no longer unmatched in space research or anything else."
On the growth of Turkish power, he wrote: "We need to comprehend what we are doing in Syria, why we have a presence in Libya, and the depth of the fight in the Mediterranean... The true endurance and power of countries that seemed to be weak – like Turkey – have also been revealed." While a last section of Yeni Şafak's English translation of the title of Karagül's column reads: "Its Words Carry Weight In Libya, The Mediterranean," the Turkish version of that section reads: "Whatever We Say, Goes In Libya And The Mediterranean."[2]
Following is Yeni Şafak's translation of Karagül's column.
"The World As We Know It, The Order We Have Adapted To, The Western-Eastern Power Balance... Are All Going To Be Topsy Turvy"
"We are now going to redefine all the problems and crises in the world. Countries, societies, maps, and powers are going to be reevaluated.
"Colonialism, racism, injustice, income disparity, identity, geopolitical struggle, power struggles, social values, and regional ties are going to take on new forms.
"The world as we know it, the order we have adapted to, the Western-Eastern power balance, the discrepancy between 'developed' and 'underdeveloped' countries are all going to be topsy turvy.
"The fight in US, Europe is not about racism
"We are soon going to comprehend that the black fury onset by white supremacy goes beyond being about racism, that the dunking of racist slave trader Edward Colston's 1895 statue into the river in the U.K. is not an ordinary reaction, and that the looting in NATO capital Brussels cannot be considered as a temporary social wave.
"People no longer believe in the Western world order. We are going to see the most dramatic results of this end within the West –they are already starting to unfold. The tremor expected to occur after the epidemic has started to terribly hit the Atlantic circle, its shores.
"Same things are now happening in their own cities."
"Those Who Destroyed Muslim Countries, Ancient Cities Until Now Have Started To Sense Similar Events In Their Own Cities"
"Those who destroyed Muslim countries, ancient cities until now have started to sense similar events in their own cities. Those who organized uprisings in Muslim cities have started see similar movements in their own cities.
"Those who used ethnic, political and religious identities as means of conflict have started to experience similar situations in their nations.
"Those who crippled numerous states, including Turkey, to this day have started to experience the pains of their own systemic bottleneck. Tensions in the U.S. between the secretary of defense and President Donald Trump is only an example of this.
"The Atlantic axis: New worlds rising
"The ongoing transformation, power shift, rise of new power in the world, and the weakening of the Atlantic axis for the last three decades is not periodical.
"It cannot be determined as transpiring within a specific time range such as after World Wars I and II. It is a much deeper, much more radical, and longer-term power change."
"The Atlantic Axis Is No Longer Going To Be Able To Rule The World... It's The End Of The Road For The Enslaving Western Order"
"The Atlantic axis is no longer going to be able to rule the world. Therefore, we need to discuss even the most ordinary event based on this reality. We need to comprehend what we are doing in Syria, why we have a presence in Libya, and the depth of the fight in the Mediterranean.
"It's the end of the road for the enslaving Western order
"It is now the end of the road for the Western order that initially started with the lie of expeditions, wreaked havoc on earth with waves of colonization, killed hundreds of millions of people, sucked the blood of nations, humiliating and enslaving masses.
"They are no longer unrivaled in technology. They are no longer unparalleled in wealth. They are no longer incomparable in military power. They are no longer unmatched in space research or anything else.
"Therefore, everybody is going to prepare for this turn of events – and so is Turkey. This is what Turkey is already working on. It is working on it despite all the internal and external obstacles.
"Collapse of civil governments. Is Turkey a 'superpower'?
"While discussing 'the shape the world will take after the pandemic (COVID-19),' we talked a great deal about the collapse of states, central systems and civil governments, social uprisings, weakening of the belief in the state, and identities turning into means of conflict."
"Turkey Had Started To Act Not Like A Front Country But A Superpower"
"We had said: The world was already changing. The existing global system was collapsing. The discussion of the 'end' of capitalism, Western imperialism had begun long ago.
"For example, for the first time since its founding, Turkey was coming to the fore as a 'major power' and intensely preparing for this. This is the reason underlying the conflict surrounding it, this is why fronts were built around it – because Turkey had started to act not like a front country but a superpower.
"Power, wealth, reputation, all gone. Helplessness, desperation, disgrace
"The pandemic is not starting a new era. It is vertiginously accelerating the ongoing radical change, the power shifts. It is reaching unstoppable speed and becoming irreversible.
"The veil over powerful and rich countries has been lifted. Their weaknesses have been exposed. Nonetheless, the true endurance and power of countries that seemed to be weak – like Turkey – have also been revealed.
"Power, wealth, reputation, progress, whatever comes to your mind in relation to the West, they have all been exposed. What remains is nothing other than a profound weakness, helplessness, inhumane situation, desperation, and disgrace. They no longer have anything reassuring, convincing or sympathetic to say to the world."
"Turkey Will Never Withdraw From Libya"
"What is going to change in the world, our region, in Turkey?
"1- Globalization is going to be fiercely questioned. We are waiting for countries to withdraw and concentrate on political and economic defense.
"2- States are going to eliminate supra-national structures, intermediary institutions and give prominence to state-to-state relations. As states become more centralized, regional blocs are going to come to the fore.
"3- Financial, technological, and digital networks are going to be under state control rather than companies. States are going to take precautions against the symbols of globalization.
"4- Solidarity at home, distrust abroad is going to be held as a foundation. Nations and states are going to gain strength while global networks are going to be considered as threats.
"Major clashes starting in Pacific
"5- China is trying to take advantage of the pandemic to ascend to the throne of global leadership. The rivalry between the U.S. and China in Asia is going to become unbearable. The China-India competition in Asia is going to intensify. An incredible geopolitical power struggle is going to start in a vast area, including Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, and Korea.
"6- There is going to be no common goal in Europe as the EU. We are going to watch the German project (EU) in relation to post-World War II collapse.
"7- We are going to see Turkey's rise in the Middle East, and the countries that are dependent on the U.S. and Europe become weaker.
"Turkey's 2023 vision is materializing. Turkey will not leave Libya
"8- Turkey is going to pave the way for serious geographical areas of breakthrough and rising. Turkey is going to find an extraordinary opportunity to amass power in the West, in the East, and on its own geopolitical map.
"9- Turkey, which has successfully brought Islamic geopolitics to the fore, is also going to be able to produce an effective political language, discourse, and stance.
"10- Turkey's 2023 vision is materializing. Turkey's plans are becoming more consistent with the world's transformation. Just as our position and resistance against the pandemic are superior than superpowers, changes after the pandemic are going to open doors for our country.
"11- Turkey will never withdraw from Libya. It will not give up before achieving its aim. The new world that we are trying to explain necessitates this."
[1] Yenisafak.com/en/columns/ibrahimkaragul/as-angry-masses-hit-western-capitals-we-bid-farewell-to-the-world-we-know-the-fight-in-us-europe-is-not-about-racism-its-the-end-of-the-road-for-the-enslaving-western-order-turkey-is-now-a-super-power-its-words-carry-weight-in-libya-the-mediterranean-2047480, June 9, 2020.
[2] Yenisafak.com/yazarlar/ibrahimkaragul/-ofkeli-kalabaliklar-bati-baskentlerini-vururken-bildigimiz-dunyaya-veda-abd-ve-avrupada-irkcilik-degil-baska-bir-kavga-var-insanligi-kolelestiren-bati-duzeni-icin-tarihin-sonu-bu-turkiye-artik-super-guc-libyada-ve-akdenizde-ne-dediysek-o-olacak-2055344, June 9, 2020.
