Posted on 07/05/2002 8:02:23 AM PDT by a_Turk
Ecevit's illness has implications beyond Turkey.
It is hard to overestimate the strategic importance of Turkey. Straddling the political, religious and geographic crossroads of Europe and Asia, it is crucial to European security, Middle Eastern peace and religious moderation. Without Turkey’s assent, the European Union’s proposals for a rapid reaction force cannot be implemented, America’s plans for a military strike against Saddam Hussein are unworkable and hopes for a Cyprus settlement are mere daydreams. Turkey’s success in the World Cup has projected an image of a vigorous, dynamic country, competitive and patriotic. But football can be a false guide. Turkey today is mired in crisis. The stuttering economy is again on the brink of collapse. Turkey owes $30 billion in foreign debts. Its $16 billion recovery programme funded by the International Monetary Fund is being challenged by nervous markets. Inflation is creeping up again, and the lira has dropped to a record low, with exchange rates reaching Weimar levels of more than two million to the pound. Labour unions are restless, Islamist groups are gaining strength again and crucial reforms to bring Turkey more into line with European Union norms have stalled.
The immediate cause is the illness of Bülent Ecevit, the Prime Minister. Now 77, Mr Ecevit has been at home for the past two months, recovering from a string of illnesses. He heads a three-party coalition of factions that are far from ideological allies and is seen as the glue that keeps this heterodox Government together. He has refused to resign, however, insisting that his Government will last its full term until April 2004. But although he returned briefly to work yesterday in an attempt to calm markets and rumours, the clamour for an end to drift at the top grows louder. And Mr Ecevit has responded by challenging his critics either to back him or sack him.
Few would want him to go. This veteran intellectual — a scholar who years ago translated T.S. Eliot into Turkish — is one of the most seasoned politicians in the country, and the only one whose experience predates the military coup of 1980 that dissolved the party he then headed. An old-fashioned socialist, he has shown himself sufficiently pragmatic to take decisions both difficult and controversial. It was he who ordered the Turkish intervention in Cyprus in 1974, a fateful decision never forgotten by either side. Almost 30 years later he is again Prime Minister when hopes are running higher than they have been for years of a deal that could lead to the troops’ eventual withdrawal. Few men have the authority to make the concessions necessary.
But Cyprus is only one of several interlocking problems demanding leadership in Ankara. Turkey’s long quest for membership of the European Union has run into opposition within the EU and from disillusioned Islamists in Turkey. But Mr Ecevit has held to his course, tackling such reforms as lifting the death penalty and easing restrictions on broadcasting and education in Kurdish. Ankara has patched up a workable relationship with Greece. It has blocked EU proposals to use Nato assets for its new military entity, but now appears ready for compromise. And it has so far surprised the IMF with its discipline in taking the harsh measures needed to turn around its vast, but chronically underperforming, economy.
No government should depend on a single man, however. Mr Ecevit’s refusal to nominate a successor has made it harder for anyone else to persuade the maverick Nationalist Action Party to remain in the coalition. Turkey, above all, needs stability — for economic reform, human rights and vital regional influence. That is not best guaranteed from a sickbed.
Inflation is creeping up againThat's a false statement.. Inflation is 1/10th of what it was last year. But that's almost the only good news besides loan payments remaining on schedule.
It was he who ordered the Turkish intervention in Cyprus in 1974, a fateful decision never forgotten by either side.We got kinda sick of watching the Turkish Cypriots getting massacred.. Entire villages and communities bulldozed with arms and legs sticking out of the dirt.. We all watched it happen for 15 years and finally, with everyone else content with the picture, moved in and put a stop to it..
Don't count on it. We don't need any assent, permission, etc. from anybody to destroy our enemies.....and we will do just that.
The message that needs to be sent at this time is that America is the mightiest country on the face of the earth, and if anybody wishes to test that premise, we'll oblige them........
We have the means to end the War on Terrorism at anytime. They had better think about that.
......and when it happens, they can all bow down in prayer to that glowing barbecue pit formerly known as Mecca.
The flare up there is what is delaying us. Which is just as Hezbollah, Iran and Iraq intended. Israel is, at best, a break even proposition for us. What is more important are our bases in Turkey, Oman, Qatar, Baharian and a few former Soviet Republics.
On the contrary, I am handling it quite well. We don't need them, shouldn't need them, and certainly don't need to rely on the unreliable.
With 'allies' such as those in Europe, who needs enemies.
Go find another buyer for that nonsense.
That could be a very big problem. islamic fundamentalists on the border of Europe could develop into a deadly situation indeed.
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