‘Fairer world possible,’ Turkish president reiterates call for reform

ISTANBUL

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday reiterated his call for a “fairer world,” criticizing the institutions in charge of ensuring peace and justice, as they have “failed once again” in the pandemic response.

In a video message sent to the opening session of the TRT World Forum 2021, Erdogan said: “The need for reform in the United Nations and other international organizations can no longer be disregarded”.

The Turkish leader said that the COVID-19 pandemic has been dominating the world agenda over the past two years.

“The pandemic’s aftershocks are still being felt in a number of areas, particularly in the economy.

“Obviously, it will take time to get back to normal life after such a massive crisis,” he said, further saying that the world will never be the same again with “the contradictions and paradoxes of the global system” brought out as never before.

“In the face of this crisis, which threatens the future of all humanity, the institutions in charge of ensuring peace and justice in the world have failed once again,” he told TRT World Forum.

He stressed that underdeveloped countries and poor segments of the society have been abandoned to their fate, while protectionism in trade has intensified and supply chains have been disrupted.

Islamophobia

Erdogan also pointed out that the hate crimes in western countries have “reached a terrifying level” with the economic difficulties.

“While the concept of social state has been gravely harmed, income disparities have grown, animosity towards Islam and anti-immigrant sentiments have surged once again,” he said.

The Turkish president also criticized European politicians who exploit the “animosity towards Islam” to “win votes”.

“As a politician who has been drawing attention to these threats for many years, our concerns have grown further as a result of what we have witnessed,” he stated.

Failure of global system

Erdogan said they were “disappointed to see that a historic opportunity to ensure global peace and justice has been squandered.”

“Unfortunately, we were unable to properly capitalize on the coronavirus pandemic in terms of cooperation and solidarity, although it reminded us once again that we are one big family.”

Over 4.9 million have lost their lives due to the coronavirus pandemic since it started in December 2019, according to the US’ Johns Hopkins University.

Erdogan asserted that it would be a “simplistic and flawed approach” to attribute up to 5 million fatalities globally to the “virus or poor healthcare”.

“The existing system, which defends the powerful over the vulnerable, supports exploitation over sharing, and encourages greed, selfishness, and avarice over contentment, is the most crucial reason for the emergence of this picture,” he said.

The current system, Erdogan said, has failed to produce “justice and stability” for a long time. “It is impossible for this system to continue in its current structure, in which the Islamic world has no say, the demands of Africa, Latin America, and South Asia are ignored, and only the interests of the five most powerful countries are taken into account.”

He reiterated that “the need for reform in the United Nations and other international organizations can no longer be disregarded.”

Recalling Turkey’s call for reform for many years with the motto “The World is Bigger Than Five,” the president said: “We have recently shared our tangible proposals on this with our nation and the rest of the world, declaring that ‘a fairer world is possible’.”

Turkey proposed a “principled, comprehensive, strategic, and applicable model” for the UN to ensure equal representation, Erdogan said, adding that he was pleased to witness during the talks at the UN General Assembly’s 76th session that his country’s efforts were “reciprocated”.

“We are determined to take this struggle, which we are waging on behalf of all oppressed people and victims, to a much higher level,” he stressed.

“We will continue to wage this struggle until a global order is established, which puts people in the center, prioritizes justice and equity, and where the right is powerful rather than the powerful being right,” Erdogan said.