Turkey’s Erdogan changes tone, skips Kashmir mention at UN first time in years

For the first time in years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not mention Kashmir at the United Nations (UN).

Instead, Erdogan focussed on conflicts in Syria and the Gaza Strip and continued with his criticism of Israel and advocacy of the Palestinian cause.

In recent years, as Erdogan has sought to project himself as the leader of the world’s Muslims, he has frequently raised the issue of Kashmir, the Muslim-majority region of the union territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir. He has been particularly sharp since 2019 when the Narendra Modi government scrapped J&K’s special status by abrogating Article 370 and bifurcated the state into two UTs of J&K and Ladakh.

For such an articulation of his Islamist foreign policy, Erdogan has frequently sought the UN General Assembly (UNGA) sessions — but not this time. The notable omission of Kashmir comes as Turkey looks forward to join BRICS where India is a founding member.

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Erdogan’s remarks on Kashmir over years

In 2023, Erdogan called for India and Pakistan to engage for lasting peace in South Asia.

“Another development that will pave the way for regional peace, stability and prosperity in South Asia will be the establishment of a just and lasting peace in Kashmir through dialogue and cooperation between India and Pakistan,” said Erdogan.

In 2022, Erdogan expressed regrets over the lack of peace between India and Pakistan — but without mentioning the Pakistan-sponsored terrorism that has stopped such a peace. He further called for such peace to extend to Kashmiris.

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“We regret that a strong peace, and cooperation between India and Pakistan has still not yet been established, despite 75 years following their
independence. We hope that a just and lasting peace, and tranquillity will be reached in Kashmir,” said Erdogan.

In 2021, Erdogan called for a “resolution” of the Kashmir conflict through UN mechanism. He did so in 2020 and 2019 a well.

In 2019, Erdogan said that the Kashmir “dispute must be resolved through dialogue on the basis of justice and fairness rather than conflict”.

‘Just like world stopped Hitler, Netanyahu needs to be stopped’

This time, however, Erdogan focussed on the ongoing conflicts in the world, including in Syria, Gaza, Ukraine, and Africa.Even as the Civil War is more or less settled and the Islamic State’s Caliphate is no longer there, he said that the situation is “still far from stability”.

The harshest comments were reserved for Israel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Comparing Netanyahu to Hitler and Israel to the Nazi Germany, Erdogan said that the world needs to unite against them just like the world united against Nazis.

Netanyahu said, “Israel’s attitude has once again shown that it is essential for the international community to develop a protection mechanism for Palestinian civilians…Just as Hitler was stopped by the alliance of humanity 70 years ago, Netanyahu and his murder network must be stopped by the alliance of humanity.”

Netanyahu also called Gaza “the world’s largest cemetery for children and women”.