An autocrat’s dangerous words insult and divide

The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, was a visionary and a reformer as well as an autocrat and a warrior. As a youthful commander, he was the scourge of the Anzacs at Gallipoli. At the Kemal Ataturk Memorial in Canberra, there’s an inscription attributed to the brilliant soldier that has defined the enduring and close bond between one-time enemies: “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours … You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”

Today another Turkish autocrat is in power, but his words do not seek to heal or unite. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to send “anti-Muslim Australians” back in coffins “like their grandfathers”. Mr Erdogan is campaigning in local elections in the northwestern province of Canakkale, home to the historic battlefields, and has used last Friday’s massacres at two mosques in Christchurch to whip up nationalist and religious sentiments. “The enemies of Muslims have shown that they continue to hate us. They are testing us from 16,500km away,” Mr Erdogan said. He may be using the tragedy of 50 Muslims killed by a right-wing Australian extremist for base politicking. But security experts warn his remarks are provocative, mimic Islamist firebrands and could lead to a spiral of extremist reprisals.

Australian leaders promptly pushed back, but with restraint. Scott Morrison demanded an apology from Turkey and dismissed the lame excuses served up by its envoy to Canberra. The Prime Minister said the remarks were an insult to the memory of our Anzacs. Bill Shorten described the Turkish leader’s comments as foolish, offensive and playing into the hands of those who seek to divide. “They do not protect the peace and security of any nation,” the Opposition Leader said. Mr Morrison is not inflaming the diplomatic crisis but he must send a strong message so Turkey is aware of the consequences of imperilling the safety of Australians and New Zealanders. Each year, thousands of pilgrims visit the Gallipoli peninsula in the northern spring to commemorate Anzac Day. Many are already in Turkey; some will now leave that country immediately, while others will postpone their travel to the region until the temperature subsides.

Turkey has long been regarded as a model of stable and prosperous Muslim democracy, a vital ally for the West in the fight against Islamist extremism. Yet the country is in deep recession. Mr Erdogan has been a malign force for repression and illiberalism. After the attempted coup in July 2016, the President embarked on a program of heavy-handed repression against his perceived political rivals; 150,000 people were jailed. Mr Erdogan has made anti-Semitic statements and has a talent for antagonising Western allies, especially the US. He colludes with Putin’s Russia, Assad’s Syria and the terrorist-sponsoring Iranian regime. That is the context for this desperate and divisive tirade.

In calibrating a response to such verbal recklessness, Mr Morrison declared “all options were on the table”. The government must ensure it does not escalate the crisis but protects our people, our interests and our heritage. Although they were bitter enemies in 1915 — who didn’t much bother about taking prisoners in the first weeks of the campaign — Australia and Turkey have ended up as friends. It is, as the late Les Carlyon describes in Gallipoli, one of the “peculiar” things about the Anzac tradition, or myth or legend. “They laugh with each other and share a dry sense of humour,” Carlyon wrote of the bond. “Their war, they feel, had honour; there is no incident that festers, no Burma-Thailand Railway, no Babi-Yar, hardly a dead civilian. It was a soldiers’ war.” We are reconciled peoples. Political leaders come and go, but only unifiers, peacemakers and reformers are truly revered or worth remembering. We don’t want any more blood spilled, funerals or tears. No more incidents, feuds or wounds that fester. The slaughter in Christchurch should be an end, not a beginning.