30
October 2001
2. „Turkish businessmen, unionists blast government, urge measures”, Turkish unionists and employers on Monday criticized the government's tough economic programme as a failure
3. „Demand for a democratic republic”,
on the occasion of the 78. anniversary of the Turkish Republic several
politicians want the existing republic to be restructured to meet the
needs of the society in terms of democracy, human rights and societal
peace.
4. “An account of 78 years”, columnist
Yilmaz Oztuna writes on what has been unable to achieve in 78 years
following the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey.
5. „US Bows to Turkey”, Incirlik was built in 1951 by US Army engineers as a cold war outpost, and is now one of the most important footholds for the United States in the Middle East
6. „Turkey poses serious threat to Armenia”, as Armenian Deputy Defence Minister Maj-Gen Artur Agabekyan said in Yerevan today.
1. – BBC – “Turkey: State minister calls for deeper democracy, stronger republic”:
ANKARA 
Turkish Minister of State Mesut Yilmaz has called for efforts
to deepen democracy and strengthen the republic. He said that for people
who did not enjoy rights and freedoms it was difficult to experience
national unity. That, he said, made it harder for Turkey to reach its
economic and social goals. The following is the text of a report by
Turkish news agency Anatolia:
ANKARA
Mesut Yilmaz, ANAP [Motherland Party] leader, minister of state and deputy prime minister, has stated that it is not possible for people who are not given their rights and freedoms to understand and experience national unity through heroism alone. He said this makes it much harder for Turkey to reach its economic and social goals.
Yilmaz said: "The biggest problem for our republic is that it cannot ensure that development in its structural elements is understood and implemented."
In a message he released on the occasion of Republic Day, Deputy Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz stressed that great Ataturk was the first to ensure the people's freedom and the motherland's independence by winning a great victory in the War of Independence. He then made the greatest move in the history of the Turkish nation by establishing the republic.
Yilmaz noted that the republic had given the Turkish nation a brand new life in the 20th century, constituting the peak of its thousand-year history and its state tradition. Yilmaz stated that the anniversary activities were very important because they were an opportunity for all citizens, and young people in particular, to grasp the meaning and importance of the republic.
(Mesut said) that the goal of the republic - which is the political expression of Turkish society's becoming a nation - is to establish a political order based on citizens' equality and freedom, to make the state a modern, efficient structure within this framework and to ensure the people's welfare and economic development.
Mesut Yilmaz noted that in the 78 years since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey many steps - albeit insufficient - had been taken in every field, including economy, education, health and justice, in order to build a modern state structure. He added, however, that it was not possible for people who were not given their rights and freedoms to understand and to experience national unity through heroism alone.
Yilmaz said: "This makes it difficult for Turkey to reach its economic and social targets. The biggest problem of our republic is that it cannot achieve understanding and implementation of development in its structural elements. Although we have succeeded in establishing a more or less modern structure in a vast area - from the organization of the administration to establishing the law - we have not succeeded in making the same progress concerning democracy and freedom. The reason for this imbalance is that the state is not perceived as an organization in the service of the nation and belonging to the nation, but is seen as a separate, absolute body above the nation.
"Today, the most important duty of the republic is to change this unbalanced understanding with a long history and modernize the state's structure and understanding. To this end, it is necessary to make the supremacy of law, fundamental rights and freedoms, pluralism, and openness dominant, and to initiate efforts to deepen democracy and strengthen the republic.
"The process of achieving membership in the EU has been an important opportunity for Turkey in this respect. Despite the hesitant stand of the EU bodies and member countries, Turkey is determined to ensure that its political, economic and social standards meet EU criteria. Despite certain problems, we have made significant progress in this regard, particularly in our constitutional changes. This (progress) is an indication of our determination.
"When we reach politically, economically and socially the level of the developed world, we will clearly have accomplished the aims of the power that established the republic, regardless of whether or not we have become a member in the EU.
"With these reflections I greet the Republic Day,
remember with regret and gratitude the cadres that established the republic
and the Turkish nation as a modern vision, and present my love and respect
to my fellow citizens." 
2. – AFP – „Turkish businessmen, unionists blast government, urge measures”:
ANKARA
Turkish unionists and employers on Monday criticized the government's
tough economic programme as "failing" and urged Ankara to
take more measures to pull the country out of its deepest economic crisis
in years.
The problems of the business sector are growing with each passing day. The current economic programme is moving towards failure," said a joint statement issued after a meeting in Ankara of the country's biggest labour unions with two influential business groups. "Measures encouraging investment, production and exports must be introduced," the statement said. It also calle for incentives to increase the number of jobs and humane working conditions.
The Turkish economy plunged into crisis in February when the government abandoned a pegged exchange regime, causing the lira to tumble against the dollar and breaking the backbone of a disinflation programme supported by the International Monetary Fund. The lira has fallen more than 50 percent against the US currency since then. In May, Turkey began implementing a programme of strict economic measures with multibillion-dollar aid from the IMF and World Bank.
But recently, Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has said that Ankara needed "a comprehensive amount" of additional financial support to help bolster the country amid global economic turmoil. Monday's meeting also called for financial support to revitalize businesses which had closed down or were in trouble, and asked for the reduction of tax and social security premium contributions. "Value-added tax rates must be reduced" to encourage spending, the statement said.
"The government must broaden the tax base and install
a just tax system," it added. It also called for the restructuring
of a cumbersome public administration to ensure an "effective,
transparent, law-abiding" system. "Corruption must be wiped
out," the statement said. It also called for strengthening social
welfare systems to help the poor. Scores of businesses have closed down
and thousands of workers have been laid off since February. The Turkish
economy is expected to shrink by up to eight percent this year.
3. – Kurdish Observer – „Demand for a democratic republic”:
Statements made on the occasion of the 78. anniversary
of the Turkish Republic asked for the existing republic which does not
meet the needs of the society to be restructured on the bases of democracy,
human rights and societal peace. 
The statements by political parties and trade unions emphasized that
the existing structure of the republic cannot meet the needs of all
society, said that the republic should be restructured on the basis
of democracy, peace and human rights. Murat Bozlak, HADEP General Chairman,
said the following: “Although the republic has been established
78 years ago, the regime has not been able to have a democratic content
and the peoples in the country have not been able to have right to express
their opinions. And it has always had a phobia of being separated.”
Bozlak continued as follows: “Working hand-in-hand with Turks for
the establishment of the Republic, Kurds were granted freedoms and rights,
and were recognized by the constitutional assembly, whereas after the
1924 Constitution they were not recognized. And this fact has formed
the basis of today’s stance. We believe that Turkey will not be
able to reach democratisation without a lasting peace.”
People’s republic
Sami Evren, Chairman of Federation of Public Employees’ Unions, stated that the concept of republic is important and they are not against the essence of it, adding, “But the republic should be free, democratic and participatory. Therefore the republic should be re-established. Workers, public employees expect a free, democratic and participatory republic. We continue our struggle for this. We do not consider right to celebrate the anniversary ceremonies which is very far from the peoples. The expectation and duty of all workers is to celebrate the bairam of a democratic republic together with the peoples.”
“No rhetoric”
On the other hand, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, President of the Turkish Republic, made a statement on the occasion of the 78. anniversary of the Turkish Republic, saying “Republic is not a regime of rigid rules. Its philosophy is consisted of human rights, democracy, order of law and basic freedoms.” Sezer pointed out that the Republic cannot be created by only institutions and rules, and continued to say the following: “We should produce just and peaceful solutions to the problems, using the accumulation of information and experience of the past.”
And Mesut Yilmaz, Chairman of ANAP, State Minister and
Deputy Prime Minister, said “people whose right and freedoms are
not granted cannot comprehend the national unity by only rhetoric, adding
that this fact has made difficult for Turkey to reach its economic and
social objectives.
4. – Türkiye – “An account of 78
years”:
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna writes on what has been unable to achieve
in 78 years following the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey.
Yesterday I wrote about the successes achieved in the 78 years of the Republic. This is a correct approach. However, to discover why we have failed in certain areas, we have to analyze them. Our lack of enthusiasm for self-criticism has cost us dearly.
This is the mentality which separates us from the West. We fought for ten years against terrorism, and we spent the years following by defending secularism and our style of living. As the ex-communist-states, who had been behind us in both democracy and economy quickly overcame their shortcomings, we were left behind.
In Turkey there are qualified personnel in every field. However, both in politics and bureaucracy a lack of statesmen can be clearly seen. Those governing Turkey did not seek a solution for this problem. The romantics and opportunists who want to chain Ataturk to 1938 should not be excused. They could not imagine what Ataturk, who managed to accomplish radical reforms, year after year might have done had he lived. They insisted on remembering him with a revisionist view.
We are trying to cover our gaps in democracy without daring to write a new Constitution but by amending the old one. We pave a strangling bureaucracy and great problems in education, higher learning and health. A high rate of population growth and the custom of waiting for everything from the state are some of the reasons why we have not been able to pass from collectivism to individualism.
Populism was thought to be serving the people. However,
with it a circle of poverty was created which cannot be broken. There
is no other way but to form an atmosphere in which ideas can be expressed
freely and get used to criticizing ourselves. This is the only way to
reach standards of modern civilizations.
5. – The Nation – „US Bows to Turkey”:
by Ian Urbina
Alongside the White House and the Capitol building
on the alleged terrorist hit list for September 11 was another, little-noticed
target: Incirlik, a US airbase in southern Turkey. In a recent raid
on a suspect's apartment in Detroit, the FBI found extensive drawings
and materials relating to the base. Why Incirlik? 
For the past ten years the base has been home to several thousand
US military personnel and the fifty US fighter planes used for bombing
the northern no-fly zone in Iraq. But it was during the Gulf War that
the base earned its notoriety in the region. Throughout the war, Incirlik
served as a headquarters of US operations, providing the launching pad
for major troop offensives and thousands of bombing missions.
Built in 1951 by US Army engineers as a cold war outpost, Incirlik is one of the most strategically important footholds for the United States in the Middle East. It is not only within striking distance of Iran and Syria but also a short flight from the oil- and gas-rich former Soviet republics. Recent events have further enhanced the base's value; Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has even floated the idea of shifting the centre of future regional operations there. With the imminent possibility of stepped-up attacks on Iraq, this shift could occur sooner rather than later.
The recent history of Incirlik offers a small window on
the moral incoherence and dubious alliances that characterize US foreign
policy in the region. Since Turkey reviews US access to the base every
six months, it has had a powerful lever with which to influence the
United States--and in turn, the United States has made costly compromises
to preserve its access. "If a Turkish Ayatollah Khomeini came to
power tomorrow," a high-level military official recently commented
to me, "the US would still stay on bended knee to avoid losing
that base."
The most scandalous of these compromises involves the US role in northern Iraq. The ostensible humanitarian purpose of the northern no-fly zone is to safeguard 3.3 million Iraqi Kurds. Unfortunately, US concern for the Kurds extends only to those being attacked by our enemy Saddam, not to those being attacked by our ally Turkey. Over the past fourteen years more than 23,000 Kurds fighting for greater autonomy and self-determination in southern Turkey and northern Iraq have died at Turkish hands. When Turkey sends US-made F-16s or thousands of troops to attack the Kurds across the border, as it did last December, Washington looks the other way. It's an "obscene piece of hypocrisy," writes John Nichol, the British pilot who was shot down in 1991 and tortured by Iraqi forces. "Turkish authorities ground our aircraft so that their own can attack the very Kurds that [we were] protecting just a few hours before." One investigation by Air Force Times revealed that the Turks were grounding more than 50 percent of US missions.
Incirlik is a factor on other fronts as well. Last year our House of Representatives was poised to vote on a resolution to recognize the 1915 Turkish massacre of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians. As the bill gathered support, Turkish officials threatened to end US access to Incirlik. President Clinton quickly persuaded the bill's sponsor to drop it.
After September 11, Washington immediately turned to Turkey, the only Muslim nation in NATO, for public support. Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit enthusiastically stepped forward, while also criticizing past US softness toward terrorism as an attitude of "let the snake that does not bite me live for a thousand years." Meanwhile, despite the fact that more than 70 percent of Turkish citizens oppose US military action against Afghanistan, the government has already begun making widespread arrests of human rights workers and leftists protesting the recent airstrikes.
Emboldened by a sense of indispensability, Turkish generals have been appearing regularly on television boasting that Turkey will be admitted to the European Union, a long-sought goal. But the constitutional reforms recently passed by the Turkish Parliament duck the main human rights requirements demanded by the EU as a condition of admission. "It's a step backward," says Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of the Europe and Central Asia division of Human Rights Watch. Where real improvements might previously have been possible, the Turks are now advancing mere "cosmetic measures to ease relations with international partners." The death penalty and basic limitations on the right of ethnic minorities to free expression are safeguarded, and provisions in the Constitution that facilitate the widespread use of torture remain unchanged. The few improvements Turkey has made do not apply to the southern Kurdish regions, where almost all of the cases of torture occur.
Despite its abysmal human rights record, Turkey is one of the largest recipients of US arms, which average more than $800 million annually. This number is sure to grow now that Washington plans to pay for Turkish support with increased weapons transfers. Soon after George W. Bush announced that he would ease restrictions, Turkish military officials called an emergency meeting to speed up negotiations on a range of major purchases, including a $4.5 billion deal to buy 145 King Cobra attack helicopters from US defence contractor Bell Textron. The deal had been blocked by a dispute over whether a portion of the source code for the helicopters' mission computers could be withheld for security reasons. Since US officials have not ruled out an invasion of Iraq as part of its antiterrorist campaign, Incirlik's value is at a premium. "Now more than ever, no one needs to mention the base by name," remarked Kate Kaufer, analyst for the Arms Trade Oversight Project. "It forms the backdrop to all these military transactions."
Not everyone in Turkey will fare as well as the military. Already in a deep recession, the Turkish economy took a further dive last February, leaving some 600,000 Turks without jobs. Unemployment has risen by 42 percent in the past year, while the Turkish lira has shed half its value. IMF austerity formulas such as tighter controls on unions and social spending come at a particularly vulnerable time. Suicides, domestic violence, prostitution and petty theft are all up. Turkey is currently the single largest debtor to the IMF, owing more than $9.6 billion, which gives the Bush Administration leverage to use for its own strategic purposes. When Turkey needed an emergency bailout this past summer, it was Bush who did the bidding. After September 11, Turkey again turned to the United States to pressure the IMF for a delay of loan repayment.
Recently, at a reception in the US Embassy in Ankara, Gen. Carlton Fulford Jr., deputy commander of US forces in Europe, spoke of the ever-growing closeness of US and Turkish armed forces. He closed by saying that this relationship "will only get stronger in the days ahead." The question not answered was: at what cost?
Ian Urbina, is an editor at Middle East Report, based
at the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) in Washington,
DC.
6. – BBC – „Turkey poses serious threat to Armenia”:
YEREVAN
Turkey continues to pose a serious threat to Armenia's national security, Armenian Deputy Defence Minister Maj-Gen Artur Agabekyan said in Yerevan today.
Agabekyan was addressing a seminar, which was organized by the George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies and the Armenian Defence Ministry.
The deputy defence minister recalled that Turkey's national military doctrine, which was endorsed in 1998, looked on Armenia as a second potential adversary after Greece. Turkish military analysts assess the incumbent Armenian leadership as "radical nationalist forces", Artur Agabekyan stressed.
The general noted that Turkey was already directly involved in the Armenian-Azerbaijani confrontation, committing itself to achieving targets to reform the Azerbaijani armed forces, train and requalify military personnel. Artur Agabekyan also said in Yerevan today that Armenian society had a negative attitude towards NATO because of Turkey's position.
Addressing today's seminar, which was organized by the
George C. Marshall European Centre for Security Studies and the Armenian
Defence Ministry, Artur Agabekyan said that the reason for such an attitude
was Ankara's unwillingness to establish diplomatic relations with Yerevan,
Turkey's biased position on the Karabakh settlement and its denial of
the 1915 Armenian genocide. Since Turkey is Armenia's only neighbour,
which is a member of NATO, this has a certain inf.