News and Commentary: Astronaut between As’sad and Erdogan

News and Commentary:

According to Anadolu Agency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan conducted a video call with
Turkish astronaut Alper Güzer Oji, who is preparing to launch on “Axiom Mission 3” (Ax-3), the third mission to the International Space Station. This took place during a government meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara last Tuesday evening. Erdogan said that “Güzer Oji” will be the first Turkish citizen to undertake a space mission, and it will be a great pride for the Turkish people, adding that this mission will have great value both in terms of its scientific message and in inspiring our children and youth. The Turkish President wished success for the mission and good health for “Güzer Oji” and his companions. End of the news text.

On the other hand, in Hafez al-Assad’s conversation with astronaut General Mohammed Faris in 1987, the text reads:

• “I am Hafez al-Assad, I received your greeting and thank you, and thank the commander of the mission, Comrade Romanenko, and please convey my thanks to all your Soviet space comrades. Now, how is your health and morale?”
• “Lieutenant Mohammed, I am personally happy and confident that all Syrian and Arab citizens are happy with the mission you are undertaking. Now tell me, what do you see from this great height above the earth?” End of the quote.

Commentary by the Syrian Future Stream:
1- President Erdogan anchors the news and its scientific and moral weight on the benefit it brings to the Turkish people, emphasizing that this space mission will be a source of inspiration for Turkish children and youth. He does not personalize the gain for himself and does not speak in his own name.

• Whereas Hafez al-Assad directly links the event to his own name, talking to the addressee with a clear absence of the moral and scientific value for the Syrian people, portraying the event as his own and conveying to the listener that the higher-up is speaking to a subordinate (“convey”, “tell me…”).

2- President Erdogan did not mention any country in his phone call.

• Whereas Hafez al-Assad thanked the Russian comrades in a clear case of sycophancy.

3- When Erdogan addressed his astronaut, he chose to speak from the government hall, sending a clear message that the credit for success belongs to the state and the nation as a whole.

• While we see Hafez al-Assad chose to speak from his private office, with implications explained by psychopolitical reading, showing the vast difference between a statesman and a tyrant who sees no one but himself.