Blood Money in Davos - Gaza, Erdogan and Peres

By Markos N. Kaminis

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After the dust settles, despite the powerful corporate news that moved the market this week, and regardless of the record setting lows seen in nearly all the period's economic data-points, what I will remember most about the week just passed will be the fiery exchange of words between an Israeli President and a Turkish Prime Minister.

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The mysterious annual meetings that occur in Davos, Switzerland among the world's elite of power and wealth offered the perfect platform for an affluent discussion of a geopolitical powder keg. As a panel that included Shimon Peres, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ban Ki-Moon and the Secretary General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, erupted into a devastating, yet contained explosion, I wondered how many who viewed it understood its future significance.

The United Nations' Secretary General blankly called for peace and ceasefire, as would be expected from his position, and he noted the UN's kind direction of $613 million in aid to Gaza. Arab League boss and influential Egyptian political head Amr Moussa noted the sum would not be nearly enough to undo the destruction caused by the "unbalanced" reaction of Israel. However, the most interesting point made by the ember-filled Moussa was an implication of ultimatum. His face withholding knowledge, his voice echoed that if the current situation stood unchanged a year from now, there were other options for the Arab League, including those involving "guns."

Erdogan held back nothing in his defense of the Palestinians, while Shimon made an equally compelling case for Israel's right to ensure the security of its people. Erdogan recalled the fallen children, while Shimon reminded him of the nightly terror of those Israeli citizens who live within range of Gaza's regular rocket fire. The futility of the ageless argument was as clear as day. What makes this problem so difficult to resolve is that both sides are right in the basis of their complaints, and what destroys hope is the muddle of their actions. The true solution can only come through tolerance, generosity and love, not to mention amnesia.

However futile the pandering panel's purpose, the administrators of it in Davos committed a dangerous mistake in my opinion. Being a Greek, I know my Turkish cousins intimately, and I realized quickly the development of scorn before me. Mr. Shimon was given opportunity at the end of the discussion to make Israel's case. Sitting awkwardly to his right, Erdogan seemed to take Shimon's words as sharp personal dagger to his side, and he clearly felt a sincere passion for his Palestinian brethren.

Perhaps equally compelling him to wage his crusade was an awareness of the group before him, men and women of power and might, wealth and insight, a group he sought acceptance from. So he nervously took notes to rebut Shimon, but the administrators were more interested in keeping to their schedule than in allowing these two influential and powerful individuals to air grievances that might lead to some mutual understanding. Instead, the naive administrators who feared the oysters in the hall might sink into a mush of ice and water, failed to note Mr. Erdogan's Turkish pride.

When Shimon finished, Erdogan swiftly spoke up and steadfastly held his ground. He was insistent for the opportunity to stand up to Shimon's judgments against his wisdom. Shimon had challenged Erdogan, his intelligence and his comprehension of global affairs, and like every Greek knows, when you engage a Turk or Greek, you had better be prepared for his full acceptance of that challenge and his response to it.

As the annoying mediator from the Washington Post, David Ignatius, kept at interrupting, perhaps never aware of how precariously close he was to the Turkish blade, Erdogan attempted to shorten his response, as a civilized man might. Still, it took all the composure he could muster to withhold the demon within himself. His rebuttal to Peres included recollection of past Israeli strikes and Muslim deaths, which the hypocrite labeled as barbarism. God perhaps saved the ears of that congregation by not inviting me to Davos, lest I had reminded the Turk of the barbaric murders of more than a million Armenians, some one million Greeks and thousands upon thousands of Kurds and Georgians in the ethnic cleansing that rid Asia Minor of Christians. No Turk can ever credibly use the word "barbaric" until those crimes are acknowledged, and reconciliation attempted.

So ironically, the Turk who still fails to recognize those past atrocities as crimes against humanity, who attempts to keep the voices of the slaughtered silenced even to this day, was himself silenced. Erdogan offered last rights in passing, warning the crowd he might never return to the unjust gathering. Groups of sympathizers walked out of the meeting in concert as a mediator attempted to read the united words of religious leaders.

Take note, Prime Minister Erdogan's pride was badly scathed, and he will forever relate the painful injury to Israel and the West, and its cause to the defense of his holy brother. Scorn was born before the world in Davos, a scorn that might one day place Turkish troops alongside those of Iran. No matter how off-plan or even unfair the concession might have been to allow the Prime Minister an extra word, that's a scenario worth missing a meal to avoid.

Besides Erdogan's angered tantrum, the world might take careful note of the quiet warning of the Arab League Secretary General, and of the hero's reception the Turk received upon his return home. A stew is brewing in the Middle East, already cooked and served over decades, but coming to a boil once again with new ingredients and spices. The polished palettes of Davos got an early tasting, and the world awaits its indigestion.




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