A portrait of a ruthless dictator

He established a military base in Qatar with 5,000 Turkish troops, which he calls a 'symbol of brotherhood'. He leased an island in the Red Sea from Sudan, ostensibly for tourism, when in fact it is for building military installations close to Saudi Arabia, which he considers to be his staunch religious rival for leadership of the global Sunni community.

Buying influence in foreign lands

Turkey's investments, financial aid, and expanded trade with the Balkan states are all designed to increase Erdogan's influence. Turkish construction companies are building and operating 20 power plants in Serbia. Albania's first national airline company was established as a joint venture with Turkish Airlines. Nearly 500 Turkish companies operate in Kosovo, with a total value around €340 million.

The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) has renovated hundreds of historic sites in Kosovo while building Pristina's International Airport and Energy Distribution network. Erdogan promised Bosnia that Turkey will invest €3 billion to construct the Sarajevo-Belgrade highway, while urging Turkish companies to expand their investment in the Balkans to make them increasingly dependent on Turkey.

Twisted Islam to promote his wicked agenda

Erdogan is masterfully using religion as a tool to advance his wicked Islamic agenda. He invokes the name of God to sanctify any program he chooses to promote, and invests heavily in building mosques and religious institutions throughout the Balkans. He has financed the building of scores of mosques, including the great mosque in Tirana at a cost of $30 million-the biggest mosque in the Balkans. Erdogan's "gift" to Kosovo was to build a huge, Ottoman-style mosque in the center of Pristina. Meanwhile, he trains and dispatches Imams who extol him in their sermons for his 'heavenly guidance' and maintains close relations with religious parties to cement his influence.

He shamelessly uses his alleged "piety" as a devout Muslim guided by Islamic virtues and dedicated to the wellbeing of his countrymen. In reality, Erdogan is corrupt to the core, inexorable in his intimidation and threats against his political rivals, and is driven to revive elements of the Ottoman Empire by relentlessly pursuing his ambition to make Turkey the region's hegemon.

In conclusion, the UN and every human rights organization should sound the alarm about Erdogan's egregious human rights violations, demand accountability, and warn him that he will suffer dire consequences, including sanctions, if he does not end his grotesque human rights abuses.

The Western democracies must insist that Erdogan resume negotiations with the PKK and end the 50-year-old bloody conflict, and allow the Kurds in Turkey to enjoy their culture with freedom and equality; otherwise, they will declassify the PKK as a terrorist organization.

NATO should alert Erdogan that his violation of its charter and his collaboration with Russia, which is bent on undermining NATO, is unacceptable. Otherwise, the alliance will distance itself from Turkey, end sharing of intelligence and military exercises, and consider ousting it from NATO.

The countries where Turkey has a military presence, including Syria, Libya, Sudan, and Qatar, should be aware that Erdogan's main purpose is to establish a permanent foothold and exert undue influence as a part of his hegemonial aspirations.

The countries that are open to Turkish investments and economic developments, such as the Balkan states, should know that Erdogan's investments are nothing but a means by which he can manipulate these countries to fall into the Turkish orbit.

Imams and other leaders of Islamic institutions ought to put the brakes on Erdogan's meddling in their affairs. The Balkan states in particular where Erdogan's religious overtures are constantly on display should be wary of his uncanny religious manipulation.

Erdogan, to be sure, has shown the capacity and the will to do whatever it takes, regardless of how immoral it might be, to realize his menacing objective. Erdogan doesn't realize that he is mortal, that his reign will inevitably come to a dishonorable end, and the creation of his imaginary empire is already doomed to vanish before the morning light.