Turkish Islamist strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan used his time at this year’s United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday to condemn humanity for insufficiently supporting Gaza, repeatedly accusing Israel of “genocide” while also celebrating his own relationship with Armenia, a nation against whom Turkey committed the first modern genocide.
Neither Erdogan nor the Turkish government acknowledge the 1915 systematic elimination of Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians in Anatolia by the forces of the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as a genocide – nor does Turkey consider the extermination of the Christian Armenian people that began in 2020 in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan a genocide. Ankara heavily supported Azerbaijan in its efforts to destroy the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh by offering its inexpensive and highly effective Bayraktar drones to push out the Armenians in the disputed territory.
Erdogan spoke for about 40 minutes and dedicated about half of his remarks to Israel’s self-defense operations against the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas. Erdogan is one of the world’s most vocal Hamas supporters, repeatedly insisting that it is “not a terrorist organization” and organizing a massive pro-Hamas rally in the immediate aftermath of the October 7, 2023, massacre of Israeli civilians by the group.
Rather than condemn Hamas for its genocidal intent against Israel, and the jihadists around the world who support it, Erdogan used his time to demand the United Nations act against Israel.
“This is the lowest point of humanity,” Erdogan declared, sharing photos he claimed were of suffering civilians in Gaza. “Human history has not witnessed such bloodshed within the last century. Everything is unfolding right before our eyes. The genocide in Gaza is being broadcast live at any moment through the media and social media.”
“Here, in America, in Europe, everywhere in the world, if a small thorn pricks a child’s hand, parents’ hearts break; but in Gaza, children’s hands, arms, and legs have to be amputated without anesthesia,” the authoritarian ruler declared.
In addition to the alleged Israeli crimes against Gaza residents, Erdogan claimed that widespread animal abuse was occurring in Gaza, as well as the destruction of agricultural land and olive trees.
“This is not a fight against terrorism,” Erdogan falsely stated of Israel’s war against Hamas. “This is an occupation, deportation, exile, genocide, and life destruction, mass destruction policy carried out by invoking the events of October 7.”
Following his tirade against Israel, Erdogan used his time to congratulate President Donald Trump for his efforts in mediating a peace deal between Armenia and Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan. Trump hosted the leaders of both countries at the White House in August for an event in which they both signed an agreement to end hostilities over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Erdogan also promised that his country was on track to “normalize” relations with Armenia, without recognizing his country’s genocide against the Armenian people or Turkey’s antagonizing behavior towards the country.
In a rapid-fire segment at the end of his speech, Erdogan celebrated that his relationship with the United States had improved under Trump, expressed support for Syria post-Bashar Assad, promised to help mediate an end to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and urged the world to support the Taliban in Afghanistan.
“In Afghanistan, our fundamental desire is that the current administration demonstrates an approach that embraces the society and takes human values into consideration,” Erdogan said, referring to the Taliban as the undisputed government of Afghanistan. The Taliban is a fundamentalist jihadist organization that has used its power to crush the female population of Afghanistan, effectively outlawing the presence of girls and women in public and making humanitarian work by international groups virtually impossible by banning women.
“It is essential that the international community does not leave Afghan people alone,” Erdogan declared, calling for foreign aid to fund the Taliban leadership, “and, as Turkey, and as a Turkish nation, we’ll stand by the Afghan people at all times.”
The United Nations does not recognize the Taliban as the government of Afghanistan, although the group has ruled the country without any serious challenges to its authority since August 15, 2021. Taliban officials have engaged in a years-long campaign to convince the United Nations to give it power over Afghanistan’s delegation, currently in the hands of representatives of the defunct, U.S.-backed government that both preceded and succeeded it. Neighboring Asian countries China and India have used their positions on the Security Council throughout the summer to call for the Taliban to be admitted into the U.N. fold.
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