The United States suspended every non-immigrant visa service in its Turkish facilities effective immediately last week. Turkey responded with the exact same diplomatic note, declaring that Turkey, too, was suspending every non-immigrant visa application in the U.S.
It is, for sure, the biggest diplomatic crisis between modern Turkey and the United States since the beginning of diplomatic ties. In 1974, after Turkey started a military operation in Cyprus, the U.S. declared an arms embargo to Turkey; in response, the Turkish government, led by Suleyman Demirel, closed Incirlik’s (NATO facility in Adana, Turkey) airspace to every non-NATO American Aircrafts. Even then, none of the sides suspended its visa services and declared a social embargo.
Some days before the crisis, Turkish authorities arrested a United States Consulate official, claiming that he, Metin Topuz, had relations with the Gulenist Terror Organization, led by a preacher from Pennsylvania, which claimed to be responsible for the Coup Attempt in July 2016. It is easy to interpret the visa crises as a response to the arrest of Metin Topuz; clearly, the Turkish government reached a red line against the U.S., not just with the arrest order, but also with the recent developments that affected its diplomatic relations with America.
Reza Zarrab’s case is pretty important to understand Turkish President Erdogan’s acts. Zarrab was accused of bribery in late 2013. Prosecutors were claimed to be Gulenists and every case that they had opened against Erdogan’s administration was dropped afterwards. Some of the prosecutors left Turkey, some got arrested. President Erdogan argued that it was a coup attempt to his government. He might be right, the ones that have opened the corruption cases were Gulenists, as it seems, but it does not change the fact there was a crime and they managed to run away from their own sins. Erdogan described Reza Zarrab as a “nationalist benevolent” and charges dropped. At the end of March 2016, Reza Zarrab got arrested by the Federals in Miami for laundering millions of dollars and violating U.S. sanctions on Iran. His trial will start in late November.
In the meantime, Turkish banker Mehmet Hakan Atilla, former deputy general manager of international banking at the state-owned Turkiye Halk Bankasi, got arrested for conspiring with Reza Zarrab. Both of the cases began to be executed together afterwards. Forbes reported that “the U.S. government claims Atilla conducted sanctions-busting transactions on behalf of the Iranian government and other Iranian entities.”
The former Minister of Economy, Zafer Caglayan, was also accused of the same charges and an arrest warrant was put out. The U.S. Court claims that Reza Zarrab bribed Zafer Caglayan.
Since the arrest of Reza Zarrab, Turkish President Erdogan has been accusing America of holding Zarrab as a political hostage to threaten the Turkish government. Erdogan is scared to become a part of the trial because of his ties with the “nationalist benevolent.”
Another crisis erupted while President Erdogan was in Washington, D.C. to meet with President Trump. In front of the Turkish Embassy, Erdogan’s bodyguards attacked protestors, who were protesting Erdogan’s policies. The U.S. Court also found the bodyguards guilty.
An American pastor got arrested in Turkey after the July 15 Coup Attempt and has been in prison since. Erdogan declared that they’re open to an exchange, “a pastor for another pastor“. He meant the U.S. resident Fethullan Gulen and made an impression that pastor Brunson was in prison to be a part of a bargain.
Turkey’s latest military actions are also another part of the diplomatic crises. The Turkish Army allied Iran and Russia and began a military operation in the Syrian town Idlib. Turkey’s intention is to close the opened Kurdish corridor near his borders. The American reinforced Kurdish terror organization YPG, a part of the PKK, who have been attacking since the early 90’s in Turkey, will not control the corridor from now on.
Turkey’s allies are certain. Russia and Iran were never allied the U.S., but a NATO ally is in operation with them. Also, Turkey is acting against U.S. policies on Iran, Turkish journalist Serdar Turgut wrote from D.C. He also claimed that the Trump administration will call off the Nuclear Deal, which Obama administration approved and start a new economic embargo to make the regime change.
However, the Turkish government accused the American ambassador in Ankara, John Bass, of making a non-sensical decision. The response came from Washington hours later. The White House declared that the suspension of visa services in Turkey was not Bass’s decision, but the government’s.
If Turkey did have an independent judiciary and media and if Erdogan was not an oppressive leader, Turkey could be right. Unfortunately, this is not the reality.
Photoghraphy: Michael Reynolds/Bloomberg
