Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of ultra-nationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and close ally of Turkish autocratic President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has showed to Turks “the domination over world” as target in his social media posts on Wednesday as he has assessed the recent Turkish military campaign in Afrin province of northern Syria.
Interpreting the Turkish military operation in Afrin as part of Turkish nationalist myth “Kızıl Elma – Red Apple,” which is a militaristic Turkish myth that symbolizes world domination and an utopia on the unification of all Turkic peoples, Bahçeli has stated on his official Twitter account that “As long as we have heroes who gives ‘Kızıl Elma’ as an answer to the question of “where is the destination?” this nation, this state, this homeland will survive forever.”
Turkey’s autocratic President Erdoğan on Monday invoked the ‘Kızıl Elma’ myth as he talked over the military operation in Afrin and said that “We are heading toward the Kızıl Elma,” by referring to the cause of ‘Red Apple’ that far-right Turkish nationalists aspire in pursuit of conquering new lands and bringing all Turkic peoples under one banner.
Erdoğan said “People pray at mosques, come up to kiss our soldiers’ forehead, these are all beautiful instances. Yes, we have a ‘Kızıl Elma’”
According to the Turkish Language Association’s definition, the ‘Kızıl Elma’ meant the cities of Constantinople (İstanbul), Vienna, and Rome for the Ottomans who conquered the first in 1453 and laid an unsuccessful siege two times on the second in the 16th-17th centuries.
Erdoğan brought up the idea of conquest, originated from the founding ancient Turkish myth of Ergenekon, after a Turkish soldier deployed on the Afrin front said his unit’s destination was “Kızıl Elma” when asked where they were going by the pro-government aHaber TV.
“Look at the scandal,” cried Bahçeli on Wednesday as a reaction to leftist Turkish-Muslim scholar İhsan Eliaçık and stated that “There had been crypto-infidels who see Kızıl Elma as a shirk. Those, who do not afraid of Allah and who are shameless, have labeled Kızıl Elma as shirk, as if they know what is the Kızıl Elma? We have become a nation and we have protect our independence despite of all those people who fade when they hear the word of Kızıl Elma.”
By underlining that Kızıl Elma is an ideal, which can not be understood by aimless people, Bahçeli has continued to say that “Kızıl Elma, which is a reflection of the will of Turkish people to dominate all over the world, can not be understood by those who have lack of will. Kızıl Elma, which is an ideal and a symbol of the dominance of Turks all over the world, can not be defined by the enemies of Turks and can not be comprehended by their collaborators.”
“Kızıl Elma is not an apple bought and sold in the market,” said Bahçeli and added that “It is like a divine secret which has lived and grown in the conscience of people for centuries as national morality, national cleavage and existence of the Turkish nation. Despite of those red spirits (leftists), dirty emissaries and the people, who have hidden and vindictive enthusiasm, have been irritated by that, Turkish nation has a Kızıl Elma and that will be reached one day.”
On Saturday, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to remove PYD/PKK and allegedly ISIL terrorists from Afrin. According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkish borders and the region as well as to protect the Syrian people from “the oppression and cruelty of terrorists.”
