Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's Speech about Jamal Khashoggi's Murder: Just the Facts...

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan presented a powerful speech about the recent death of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and legal United States resident who wrote for the Washington Post. It seems that he died in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Preliminary reports are that he was tortured and butchered to death by Saudi intelligence personnel. The Saudi government has issued contradictory explanations of his death, finally admitting that he died while in their custody. President Donald Trump, who does business in Saudi Arabia, has waffled in his reaction. He first seemed to accept the Saudi government's denials in the face of obvious evidence, and is still hedging on reprisals or reactions. In a rare break with their president, several usually obsequious Republican members of Congress protested Mr. Trump's weak response.

Now, I do not hold Erdoğan or his government in high esteem. His speech however, accomplished exactly what he needed to do:

First, he expressed outrage: "All evidence gathered shows that Jamal Khashoggi was the victim of a savage murder. To cover up such savagery would hurt the human conscience." The murder was horrifying, and a strong emotional response was appropriate.

Second, he stated the facts as they were known, being careful not to overstate what the evidence proved. For example, he explained this:

"It appears, on the eve of the murder, 15 Saudi security personnel, intelligence officials and a forensics expert arrived in our country. It has been ascertained that six of them left on Oct. 2 evening at 18:30 and seven of them at 22:50 on two planes. It has also been determined that another person who has been made to look similar to Jamal Khashoggi with his clothes, glasses and beard and another person left for Riyadh on a scheduled flight. On the day of the event, the employees of the consulate were gathered in a room on the excuse of an audit, and employees in the residency given leave for the same reason."

That was an excellent approach, for Erdoğan gave enough information to establish what happened, carefully not overstating the evidence, together with details that his investigative services provided. This makes for a more convincing presentation than someone who gives vague, inconsistent, or overstated information.

Third, Erdoğan refuted some of the legalistic arguments that have been made in defense of the Saudi's actions. Here is an example:

"This murder may have taken place inside a consulate building that is considered Saudi Arabian land but it cannot be forgotten that international laws do not allow that the investigation do not allow that this is within the Turkish Republic's borders." 

Further pressing on the legalistic issue, he insisted that: "The Vienna convention or other international laws do not allow that the investigation of  such a savage murder be hidden underneath the armor of diplomatic community." 

Fourth, Erdoğan rejected any argument that underlings could have committed an act like this without supervision or permission from higher authorities.

Fifth, like most good persuasive speakers, Erdoğan ended with a call for action. He insisted that the Saudi government should investigate the matter, and that the perpetrators be tried in Turkey:

"In fact I'm making a call from here today. My call is to the top administration of Saudi Arabia, starting with the King, The Custodian of the Two Holy Cities. The location where the event happened is Istanbul. Therefore, I am proposing that the trial for the 18 arrested people — 15 plus three — should take place in Istanbul. The decision is theirs but this is my proposal, my demand, because this is where the event took place."

A personal reflection: most recent American political speeches are either shallow and vacuous, like what we heard in the recent debate between Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz, or they are laundry lists of talking points, like the typical State of the Union Address. The foul-mouthed rhetoric of certain American Senators at the recent Brett Kavanaugh hearings was appalling. In contrast, Erdoğan gave a detailed, reasoned response with a clear message. He took a stand that required a certain degree of courage and supported his points with plausible information that is consistent with the best news reports. With American political rhetoric falling apart at the seams, it should shock the conscience not only that a Turkish politician gave a much more powerful speech than anything that American leaders are giving, but also that the Turkish president was willing to take a firm stand when America's leaders are not.

See video here.

Follow-up: President Trump's statement of Oct. 23, 2018. He took a clearer stand, a little late. 


Image: US State Department photo, via Wikimedia Commons.