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JULY 08-14, 2002 Compiled by the Washington Office of Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD-US) These materials may be reproduced and/or distributed in whole or in part, provided that its source is properly indicated as "TUSIAD-US Website: www.tusiad-us.org" CONTENTS TURKEY'S RULING COALITION HIT BY RESIGNATIONS, ECEVIT PERSISTS TO REMAIN IN POWER Ailing Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP) and hence the ruling coalition appeared to be disintegrating as three ministers and over 30 deputies resigned Monday. The resignations, which continued throughout the week, amounted to a major rebellion in the DSP, a party dominated since its foundation by Ecevit and his wife Rahsan, who is deputy head. Ecevit's former right-hand man, deputy premier Husamettin Ozkan, was the first to quit both DSP and his government post. Ozkan had been a key figure in holding the three-party coalition together through three years of turmoil over IMF-backed economic reform. Ozkan's resignation was immediately followed by that of Culture Minister Istemihan Talay, State Minister Recep Onal and a growing number of other DSP deputies. The most serious blow to DSP came with the resignation of the seventh and most prominent Cabinet member, Foreign Minister Ismail Cem on Thursday. "The government has fallen to a position of not being able to govern because of infighting," he said. Cem is popular in Europe and Washington and was key in forming closer Turkish ties with traditional rival Greece. In another blow to the coalition government, Minister of Economy Kemal Dervis also resigned Thursday, a move that sent the Turkish lira tumbling to an all-time low. Dervis, an independent, resigned after Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit told him to make a choice between his ministerial position and the reformists. He later withdrew his resignation at the request of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, apparently to avoid a further economic collapse. Dervis, the architect of Turkey's IMF-backed economic program, is considered crucial to Turkey's efforts to recover from an economic crisis. Speaking just about an hour after Ismail Cem's announcement, Ecevit said he would not resign and added that he was naming his close ally, Sukru Sina Gurel, to replace Cem, who resigned a day earlier. Gurel also became Deputy Premier, replacing Ozkan. "We have to carry on until the end," Ecevit said, referring to scheduled elections in 2004. "At this stage, I am on top of my duties, I am obligated to be. "He said, however, that he would have no choice but to leave government if his coalition loses its majority in parliament." new deputy premier Gurel also repeated “We think it's necessary for the government to continue until 2004 for the sake of our national interests. If the elections take place earlier because our coalition partners think differently, then so be it." Analysts say Ecevit's swift appointments to the vacant ministerial posts Tuesday clearly illustrate his intention to remain in power. The government has been largely paralyzed since the 77-year-old Ecevit fell ill in May. Since then, he either has been hospitalized or at home recuperating. The political chaos in government was also further triggered by the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), Ecevit's rightist coalition partner, which recently demanded parliament be recalled from summer recess to call elections for November. Turkish newspapers were surprised at the election call, which came less than a week after the coalition parties declared they would see out parliament's five-year term until April 2004. Deputy premier Bahceli, whose MHP holds 127 seats in the 550-seat parliament, one fewer than Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP) prior to resignations, made it clear Monday that he was not bluffing. In fact, the nationalist wing has already collected enough signatures to recall parliament in September to vote on early elections for November. Four senior members of the biggest opposition True Path Party (DYP) joined the call. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) said parliament should meet as early as August to approve elections for October. Junior coalition partner Motherland Party (ANAP) and pro-Islamist opposition Felicity Party (SP) agreed to call Parliament to convene at the beginning of August to specify an election date for the end of September. The parties were also in conformity that Political Parties and Elections Laws should be amended before the elections. ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz said a November election would leave no time for the government to fulfill reforms to help the country's bid for EU membership, suggesting the formation of an interim government that would realize EU reforms before December. Yilmaz said if such a government could not be formed, early elections should be held in September to avoid delaying the reforms. Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) Chairman Tuncay Ozilhan has also argued that since the current government could not function efficiently, elections should be held as soon as possible to end the political uncertainty and prevent damage on the economy. MHP, strongly opposed to EU reforms, has been the biggest obstacle against passing reforms, such as abolishing death penalty, and education and broadcasting rights in mother tongues other than Turkish. At present, opinion polls suggest the current coalition parties could all fail to clear the 10 percent threshold to parliament. The big winner could be the Erdogan’s AKP, viewed warily by the army for its Islamist roots. /Milliyet-AP news-Reuters-Turkish Daily news-NTVMSNBC-Turkish News/ CEM FORMS NEW PARTY WITH SUPPORT OF DERVIS AND OZKAN Turkey's former foreign minister Ismail Cem launched a new political party Friday to topple Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, who is fighting to stay in power despite poor health and a mutiny within his Cabinet. Cem said his political party — which is still unnamed — would be pro-Western, based on social democratic principles and dedicated to carrying out reforms aimed at reaching Turkey's goal of membership in the European Union "Turkey needs an effective administration," Cem said. "Our party will take the lead in a new social unity ... to renew Turkey.” He said the movement would include economy minister Kemal Dervis and former Deputy Premier Husamettin Ozkan. Dervis said he was supporting the new political party despite serving as an independent minister in Ecevit's government. I'll join the reformist movement someday," Dervis was quoted as saying. "As I won't be staying in this government forever." Dervis said in an interview that the new party would seek close ties with the center-left Republican People's Party (CHP), the nation's oldest. "This may or may not be a unification; it may be an election alliance, too," he said. However, CHP leader Deniz Baykal later denied the possibility of such an alliance and accused the new party of lacking political vision. CHP failed to reach the 10 percent threshold necessary to enter parliament in the 1999 general elections. Many of its supporters have voted for Prime Minister Ecevit's party, which follows a similar but more centrist ideology. Speaking at a meeting of his party, Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Tayyip Erdogan criticized the new political formation under former Foreign Minister Ismail Cem, calling it an "imaginary group" lacking vision and clear agenda. Erdogan reiterated that he was certain his party would get the majority votes in early elections. /Aksam-Turkish Daily news-Dow Jones-NTVMSNBC-Turkish Daily News/ WOLFOWITZ IN TURKEY TO DISCUSS IRAQ U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz arrived in Turkey over the weekend to discuss with Turkish officials a possible U.S. operation in Iraq. He was accompanied by Gen. Joseph Ralston, commander of the US European Command, and US State Department Undersecretary and former US Ambassador to Turkey, Marc Grossman. Addressing the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) on July 14, Wolfowitz said Turkey "is the cornerstone for building peace in Southeastern Europe and preserving peace in the Black Sea region." Wolfowitz also said Turkey stands "on the front lines in the war against terrorism," and that they have a "crucial role to play in bridging the gap between the West and Muslim world. Wolfowitz also pledged U.S. friendship and support for what he saw as Turkey's underlying challenge to continue to modernize its society running beneath its current political and economic problems. After his speech in Istanbul, Wolfowitz traveled to Afghanistan, but he will return to Turkey on July 16 to meet with Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and other military and political leaders. Turkey, which borders Iraq on the north, would be an important ally if the United States were to go to war. U.S. jets patrolling the no-fly zone over northern Iraq use the Turkish base at Incirlik, a staging area for the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Analysts argue that recent political instability in Turkey could make it even more difficult for political leaders to support, at least publicly, any U.S. military action against Iraq. Ecevit's government has opposed widening the war on terrorism to include an attack on Iraq. Wolfowitz's trip had been planned for several months and already was delayed at least twice because of Ecevit's health problems, a senior defense official said. Turkish officials advised the Bush administration this would be a good time to proceed, he said. Meanwhile, a group of Iraqi opposition leaders met in London over the weekend to discuss ways to overthrow Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and run the country in the post-Saddam period. Reportedly, the leaders agreed that an independent Kurdish state could not be established in northern Iraq, the operation could not be launched without Turkey's support, and the operation should be designed in a way to prevent further damage to Turkey's economy. /Turkiye-NTVMSNBC-Turkish Daily News-USIA- Cumhuriyet/ MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING SIGNED BETWEEN U.S. AND TURKEY U.S. and Turkey signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding participation in the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) System Development and Demonstration (SDD) phase. U.S. Under Secretary of Defense E. C. "Pete" Aldridge and Turkish Under Secretary of Defense Dersan Ali Ercan signed documents on July 11, committing Turkey to the 10-year system development and demonstration phase of the military aircraft. Aldridge noted that Turkey has been part of the JSF program since 1999 and now has officially joined with the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Norway, The Netherlands, and Italy in the next phase of the program. Ercan said the agreement will improve relations between the U.S. and Turkey "and will serve to strengthen the interoperability of our armed forces. We strongly believe and trust that this program will become a success." Turkey became the seventh NATO ally to join the Pentagon 's project to develop a new fighter jet, officials said. /AP news-Aksam/ SECURITY COUNCIL BLAMES DENKTAS FOR FAILURE TO RESOLVE CYPRUS DISPUTE Following a briefing by the top U.N. envoy for Cyprus, Alvaro de Soto, U.N. Security Council on Tuesday blamed Turkish Cypriots for the failure to meet a June deadline to resolve key differences in Cyprus. In a statement after Tuesday's briefing, council members "expressed disappointment that, despite the secretary-general's valuable personal involvement ... progress remained disappointingly slow and the June target date for agreement had not been met." "They noted in this regard that the Turkish Cypriot side had been less constructive in its approach so far," the council statement said. The Security Council backed the continuation of talks by the Turkish and Greek Cypriot leaders and urged both sides — especially the Turkish Cypriots — to try to reach an agreement as soon as possible. Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktas and his Greek Cypriot counterpart Glafcos Clerides, ended a fourth round of talks on July 3 to resolve the Cyprus dispute. The two leaders agreed to begin a fifth round on July 16. Following the Council’s statements, Denktas said Wednesday that the international community continues to maintain a biased perspective on the issue, which harms the settlement efforts. He said a permanent solution could only be reached when Northern Cyprus is fully recognized in the international arena. /AP news-Cumhuriyet/ COUNCIL OF EUROPE: “IMPROVEMENT SEEN IN TURKEY'S HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD” The ministerial committee of the Council of Europe released on Wednesday an interim decision, which indicated that the government and the security forces in Turkey have taken important steps toward adhering to the principles of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). This was seen as a very positive development since the former committee decision was highly critical of Turkey’s human rights record. /Turkish Daily News/ CLINTON SPEAKS AT CONFERENCE IN TURKEY Former U.S. President Bill Clinton came to Turkey to speak at a conference in Istanbul on Turkey-EU-US relations. He said Tuesday that Turkey would play a key role as a member of the European Union in coming decades, despite a political crisis that threatens to set back its membership hopes. “I believe that Turkey should have faith that in the early 21st century, you will not only be a member of the EU, but you will be critical to the world's great struggle to build a global community," Clinton told an audience of Turkey's business, political and media leaders. He said he had long supported Turkish membership of the EU, and he had urged the Union to accept Turkey as a candidate for membership, which it eventually did in late 1999. Clinton stated Turkey’s membership in the EU would also strengthen its security and commercial ties with the United States. "When I was president, trade between our countries nearly doubled... American investment in Turkey is now $ 3 billion ... it should be greater, and it will be." He also praised Turkey's role in international peacekeeping forces in Kosovo and Afghanistan, and its support for the U.S.-led struggle against terrorism. Clinton is hugely popular in Turkey. He visited the country in 1999 soon after two devastating earthquakes that left some 18,000 people dead and toured the quake region to comfort survivors. /AP news-Cumhuriyet/ PRODI POSTPONES TRIP TO TURKEY European Commission President Romano Prodi on Thursday postponed a planned trip to Turkey because of the political crisis gripping the country. Prodi was to visit Ankara July 18-19 for talks expected to focus on Turkey's bid to join the European Union, Cyprus, and the dispute over European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP). His office said the visit would be "rescheduled as soon as possible." In a statement, the EU's executive commission said Prodi was confident that Turkey "will continue on the path of political and economic reform necessary for EU candidacy." /AP news/ FINAL STAGE ACCORD SIGNED ON BAKU-TBLISI-CEYHAN Turkey's Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), Noksel Steel Pipes, Mannesmann Pipe Industries and Umran Steel Pipes signed final stage accord Wednesday for the Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline Project, which will transport crude oil reserves in the Caspian Sea to Ceyhan in Turkey through Azerbaijan and Georgia. The agreement will now be sent to oil producer BP Amoco, which is acting on behalf of Main Export Pipeline Company (MEPCO). /Aksam/ |
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