Two Turkeys, One Frame, and the Unwanted İlhan
Ilhan Ahmet’s warm meeting with Bilal Erdogan in Constantinople contrasts sharply with his cold reception by local Turkish proxies in Thrace, exposing a deep divide in Ankara’s regional influence and strategies.
With particular enthusiasm and evident satisfaction, Rodopi MP Ilhan Ahmet informed via a post on social media that he participated on May 13 in an event of the think tank Bab-i Ali in Constantinople, where the keynote speaker was the son of the Turkish President, Bilal Erdoğan.
Bab-i Ali is one of the oldest platforms for political and strategic dialogue in Turkey, active since the early 1990s, hosting over time prime ministers, ministers, party leaders, senior state officials, and prominent figures from the country’s political and economic life. The network operates within the broader sphere of Turkish conservative and state-centric intellectual circles, maintaining access to influential circles in Ankara and the current political leadership.
Mr. Ilhan Ahmet himself, as a member and former vice president of Bab-i Ali, had, as he mentioned, the opportunity to exchange “thoughts and views on the current situation” with Bilal Erdoğan, in a notably cordial atmosphere. The latter spoke about the significance of volunteerism and youth participation in educational institutions, proceeded to evaluations regarding youth education, the world of values, and Turkey’s future, within the framework of his speech titled “The Position and Importance of the New Generation in Turkey’s Future.” The aforementioned event apparently proceeded without diplomatic clouds,
And here exactly lies the interest.
Because the obvious question arises: what exactly is the “line” of official Turkey regarding Ilhan Ahmet?
Because judging from what has been happening in Thrace in recent years, the image transmitted by the well-known consular system is completely different. Pseudo-muftis, minority figures, elected local government officials, association boards, and various “guardians” of the minority’s “correct path” avoid even being in the same photographic frame as the Rodopi MP.
Yet, in Constantinople, the son of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan not only talks with him but also exchanges views in a very friendly atmosphere.
So what is really going on?
Perhaps Ankara has not yet been informed that Ilhan Ahmet is considered more or less persona non grata
by the local representatives of the “line” in Thrace? Or perhaps some people in Thrace turn out to be “more royalist than the king,” adopting exclusions and obsessions that even the Turkish leadership itself does not share to the same extent?
Unless we must now accept that there are two parallel Turkeys:
one that is photographed and speaks politely with Ilhan Ahmet in Constantinople and another that in Thrace pretends not to see him even from afar.
In any case, this particular meeting probably caused more discomfort to the self-appointed “regulators” of the minority than they would like to admit.
PHOTO REPORT
Source: TAXIARHISpress
