Turkey employing its soft power to gain influence in Lebanon (2 – 4)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan tries to gain influence in Lebanon and eradicate the identity of this Arab state.
Erdogan uses many tools to do this,
including the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency, which is widely
known as TIKA.
The Turkish president uses this
agency in collecting information about Lebanon, using a charity cloak.
Suffice it to say that the incumbent
head of the Turkish intelligence agency, Hakan Fidan, was TIKA's head.
Suspicious arm
TIKA distributes tens of thousands
of dollars in aid. It renovates schools and restores Islamic antiquities that
date back to the Ottoman state in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. The
agency also educates Lebanese youth about the importance of these antiquities
and their history.
The agency has implemented more than
100 projects in Lebanon since 2007. They included ones for the support of
public utilities, the restoration of churches and the construction of public
parks.
The projects also included the
construction of playgrounds and educational facilities. These projects are
giving the chance for the Turkish flag to flutter in every part of Lebanon,
including in the villages of this Arab country.
TIKA especially focuses on winning
over Turkmen women. It offers vocational training programs for them, especially
in the eastern part of Lebanon.
The programs aim at financially and
professionally empowering the women and helping them earn an income.
This is why the Turkmen minority in
Lebanon has more loyalty to Turkey than to Lebanon.
There is a protest in support of
Turkey by the Turkmen minority whenever there is a protest against it by the
Armenians.
Another arm
The Yunus Emre Institute is another
soft power tool of Turkey in Lebanon.
The institute aims to spread the
Turkish culture in this Arab state and promote Turkey among Lebanese citizens.
The institute also organizes visits
to Lebanon by Turkish students who come to the country to get information about
Turkish activities.
The institute was founded in 2011
following the Arab Spring revolutions.
