Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), a key ally of Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), received Fehim Ertuğrul Isa, a Turkmen commander of the Syrian National Army (SNA) Tuesday.
Isa presented a gift of the original text of “Devlet” ("State"), a poem by Ziya Gökalp, one of the founding fathers of Turkish nationalism, during his visit to the headquarters of MHP in the Turkish capital Ankara. The Turkmen commander was accompanied by Cemil Doğaç Ipek, an academic from Türkiye’s National Defense University during his visit to Bahçeli.
Isa informed Bahçeli about the latest situation on the ground in Syria, which is embattled with a civil war. He spoke about the security issues in the Syrian regions liberated from terrorism with the support of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) while Ipek, an international relations expert who conducted many field studies in the region, spoke about those studies with Bahçeli.
Meanwhile, Bahçeli said he was closely following the struggle carried out by the Syrian opposition and sent his greetings to Turkmen tribes and other brotherly communities fighting for their homeland in Syria. Bahçeli himself hails from a Turkmen clan in Türkiye’s south.
Speaking after his meeting with Bahçeli, Isa said they visited the MHP leader to “express their admiration and respect for Turkmen Bey (a term of reverence for elders and leaders of Turkmen clans). “He is a source of confidence for us,” he said. Isa said Turkish communities around the world should be rest assured that they were fighting a struggle appropriate for the spirit of Turkishness in Syria for “Turkmen areas they lived for over 1,000 years.” He said Turkmens in Syria are “bound by heart” with Bahçeli and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “We will not give up our struggle until we gain our right to live in our lands. We are grateful to our brothers and sisters in Türkiye and all the Turkic world for their support for us,” he added.
Ipek, a Turkmen himself, said Bahçeli has always been monitoring the noble struggle of Syrian Turkmens since Day One and they regularly informed him about the situation in the region. “Syrian Turkmens are pleased with his interest and support,” he said.
Ipek said Isa was a member of a well-established Syrian Turkmen family and pursued an honorable struggle since the beginning of the Syrian revolution.
“He mobilized his family’s all financial means and influence for this struggle. The 8,000-strong Sultan Murad Division he founded and commanded is a major contributor to victories of the Turkish army in operations Olive Branch, Peace Spring and Euphrates Shield,” he said, referring to Türkiye’s cross-border operations in Syria’s north,” Ipek said.
