Istanbul Square Crackdown Shakes Erdogan’s Regional Credibility
Ankara must now go on defense and try to protect itself from negative fallout in Syria.
The Gezi Park protests and the brutal police crackdown on the nationwide demonstrations in support of them has not only tarnished Turkey’s credibility as an exemplary democracy once lauded as the “Turkish model," but has also diverted Ankara’s attention away from critical developments in the Middle East, much to the delight of its regional rivals, most notably Iran.
The government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has effectively been forced to put Syria on the back burner as it tries to quell domestic turmoil at a time when the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has been making serious headway, with assistance from Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah, against opposition forces backed by Turkey.
Those forces are now said to be in a state of disarray — much to Ankara’s disappointment and consternation — following their defeat at Qusair, the strategic city that connects the capital Damascus with Assad’s Alawite heartland on the Mediterranean coast.
With Assad now said to be rallying his forces for a move on Aleppo, and the chances of the US-Russia brokered Geneva II conference rapidly evaporating, Ankara has hardly any choices left but to go into defense mode and try to protect itself against more negative fallout from Syria.
