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A non-government information service on Turkey
Un service d'information non-gouvernemental sur la Turquie

150

13th Year - N°150
April 1989
38 rue des Eburons - 1000 Bruxelles
Tél: (32-2) 215 35 76 - Fax: (32-2) 215 58 60
 Rédacteur en chef: Dogan Özgüden - Editrice responsable: Inci Tugsavul
 


OZAL  ROUTED

The March 26th local elections resulted in a genuine rout for Prime Minister Ozal's ANAP and led Turkey to an unexpected political upheaval. Despite the spectacular defeat of the ruling party and the relative progress of each opposition party, none of the latter could stand out as a real force able to govern alone the country without making a coalition with another party.
        Although 32 percent plurality in national voting is sufficient for a minimum majority in parliament, none of the three top parties alone would have a majority if the  local election results were duplicated in parliamentary elections.
        In the November 1987 general election Ozal's Motherland Party (ANAP) won 36 per cent of the vote. He hinted at resignation during the recent electoral campaign that if the vote fell below 30 per cent. His party won 21.88 per cent, way behind the Social Democrat Populist Party (SHP) and the Correct Way Party (DYP) which respectively obtained 28.36% and 25.37%.
        When the current  21.9 per cent score is compared with the 41 percent it won in the last local elections five years ago, nobody can minimize Ozal's defeat.
        "The vote was clearly a protest against the government's inability to curb inflation. This peaked in November at an annualised rate of 87 per cent, falling back in February to 72 per cent. Turkish voters have become increasingly disenchanted with Ozal's neo-Ottoman, opulent lifestyle, and distanced, personnel rule surrounded by his family and close advisers. Added to this have been rumours of nepotism and corruption in government." (The Financial Times, March 28, 1989)
        "Ozal's trick card -the threat that unless the voters continue to choose him the country might go "back to the years when there was blood in the country"- has not worked. It convinced the bankers and the IMF more than his own people. The side-effects of this sort of modernization are as familiar in Turkey as in large areas of the Third World.        "On the other hand, the growing strength of the conservatives indicates that Ozal's success in keeping a section of Islamic opinion over his center is limited. Ozal had already fumbled in his handling of recent "turban dispute" when there were demonstrations in favour of the chador." (The Guardian, March 30, 1988).
        Moreover, the "occidental" image of Ozal's family, mainly Mrs. Ozal's public appearance with a glass of whisky in one hand and a cigar in the other, have been detrimental to the ANAP's electoral chance during the rise of fundamentalist wave in Turkey.
        Three right-wing opposition parties led an electoral campaign accusing Ozal's party of taking no heed of Fundamentalist demands and appealed many Conservative ANAP voters. Such a campaign by Erbakan's Welfare Party (RP)  and Ex-colonel Turkes' neo-fascist Nationalist Action Party (MCP) was not at all surprising. But this time former Premier Demirel's DYP too, in a move to regain the title of the most powerful right-wing party, resorted to demagogy such as demanding to turn the Saint Sophia in Istanbul into a mosque.
        It is noteworthy that best scores of these right-wing parties were registered in the rural areas of Turkey where religious concerns are still very strong. But this is not the sole reason for Ozal's defeat in rural areas. The monetarist policies imposed by the IMF and applied by Ozal for nine years, three years as vice-premier and five years as prime minister, resulted in more impoverishment of peasants and little town tradesmen and craftsmen.
        The ANAP's most serious setback in the elections for mayors, municipal councils, and local representatives was the loss of big city power bases, including Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Antalya and Adana. Sensational among these is Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city, which the ANAP incumbent had expected to win with a landslide. The mayor, Bedrettin Dalan, is possibly the most popular politician in the country, yet he saw the ANAP vote crumble and the Social Democrats take the seat.
        Since the working people of the urban areas have lost at least 50 per cent of their purchasing power because of Ozal's monetarist policies and the inflation, running at around 70 per cent, could not be brought down by Ozal, such a result in big cities is not at all astonishing.
        The scores in big cities exceeded the Social Democrats' expectations. Of the two Social Democrat parties of Turkey, the real winner is no doubt the Social Democrat Populist Party (SHP) which obtained 28.4 per cent of the vote. As for the former social-democrat prime minister Bulent Ecevit, his Democratic Left Party (DSP) stayed under the bar of 10 per cent.
        SHP and some left-wing newspapers accuse Ecevit of dividing social democrat votes and carrying water to Ozal's mill. In fact, if the 28.4 of SHP and 8.9 per cent of DSP are oriented to a common list in the coming legislative elections, the Social Democrats can easily come to power with 37.3 per cent of the vote, if the current electoral system remains in force.
        But a fusion or any kind of coalition of the two social democrat parties do not seem easy for different reasons. Ecevit's allergy towards some SHP leaders and his hostility to many Marxist or Kurdish intellectuals working now within the SHP seem as the main obstacles for such a fusion or an electoral alliance.
        Aware of this fact, Ozal had already provided Ecevit's party with financial possibilities prior to local elections with a view to dividing social democrat votes. After his electoral defeat, Ozal is still counting mainly on the division of social democrats who are the only real alternative of his power.
        After his electoral defeat, Ozal is under a growing pressure for calling an early election. All opposition parties say that confidence in Ozal's government had been eroded and the balance of power had changed. They also argue that a parliamentary majority without a popular support cannot elect the new President of the Republic in November 1989.
        As trade unions and businessmen joined opposition politicians in the clamour for an early poll, several senior ANAP figures acknowledged the significance of the protest vote. The Energy and Natural Resources Minister Fahrettin Kurt, called for an immediate general election. "The failure is not local, it is something national," he said. "The developments on the agenda may create economical and political instability."
        "The Turkish leader Mr. Turgut Ozal will have to work a real miracle to save the fortunes of his Motherland Party following its humiliation in the nationwide local elections," says The Guardian of March 30, 1989.
        However,  Ozal now displays the arrogant streak in his style by saying he will hang on until the next general election in 1992.
        At his first press conference after the elections, he said the result had been a message from voters that inflation, running at around 70 per cent, must be brought down, and added: "The people wanted with the election to give us a light slap on the cheek, but it has turned into something stronger. Since ANAP still has a parliamentary majority of 289 out of 450 seats, the government would complete its second term."
        Furthermore, Ozal made a veiled threat to restrict municipal funding to cities and town which are now under the control of opposition parties.
        Despite Ozal's resolve, the outcome of the voting seemed to presage a period of uncertainty as opposition leaders seek to capitalize on their unexpectedly strong gains.
        Lack of government stability was seen as a threat to the momentum of Ozal's economic liberalization and quest for foreign investment.
        "Turkey has gone through a democratic earthquake and said no to five and one-half years of Ozal rule, " Oymen.
        A senior Western diplomat said: "Ozal has set in motion changes that are basically irreversible, especially on the financial side. Ozal was always able to appeal to the people that he was the only person capable of maintaining stability in Turkey. That was true up to the beginning of 1988. Now there are others also capable."
        One of the "others", Demirel challenged Ozal in the following terms: "Ozal said he would leave office if the elections results made it difficult for him to rule. If he is true to his word, then he should do this."
        While the pressure for calling early elections is getting stronger, the murder of an opposition deputy by a deputy of Ozal's party in Parliament building on March 29 raised more political tension.
        MPs are allowed to carry guns in Turkey, but not in parliament. The shooting took place in a corridor of the parliamentary building.
        The assailant, Idris Arikan, and the victim, Abdurrezak Ceylan, both were from the south-eastern province of Siirt, near the Iraqi frontier -an area where Kurdish guerillas have been active for five years. Ceylan is a member of the DYP.
        The incident happened when Idris Arikan was discussing election results with Zeki Celiker, another deputy from the same province. Ceylan threw himself between two deputies for separating them. At this moment Arikan drew his gun and shot Ceylan instead of Celiker. Ceylan died after being taken to hospital for surgery for a gunshot wound in the chest.
        This second murder at the National Assembly since the proclamation of the Republic in 1923, became a new heavy blow on ANAP's credibility.
        Despite Ozal's statement, the strength of the combined opposition might force Ozal to call early general elections, possibly later this year.
        Another immediate effect of the election result is likely to be intensified strife between ANAP's right and liberal wings and more desertions towards other right-wing parties: While a part of Liberal deputies are picked up by the DYP, many Islamist and Nationalist deputies will be seduced by the  fundamentalist RP and the neo-fascist MCP.
        Meanwhile, the big business and the military, in the fear of seeing the Left come to power, will do their best with a view to reuniting all right-wing forces in a Nationalist Front. Since the total of left-wing votes remain at 37 per cent and the votes of five right-wing parties rise to a total of 63 per cent, such a scenario is not at all a political fiction. In the near past, it was already tried by uniting Demirel's AP, Erbakan's MSP and Turkes' MHP.
        These three right-wing leaders are again at the head of their new parties: respectively DYP, RP and MCP. Despite all his arrogance, Ozal too may join them at the end under the pressure of the big business and may do it in the name of "saving the country from the Left."
        What is the situation of the Left forces in this new political context?
        This subject will be treated in the coming issues of Info-Türk.


PRIVILEGES OF TURKISH OFFICERS

        The Turkish army officers are among the most privileged soldiers of the World. In comparison with other public servants, the income level of army officers is extremely high.
        For example, an Army major can get a net salary of 495,306 TL per month, while a senior school teacher hardly get 293,114 TL and a civil engineer 245,865.
        An army general gets 1,092,889 TL net per month. When he is retired, he gets a total of 15 million TL as retirement premium and continues to get a monthly net salary of 926,400 TL. (Hurriyet, 5.7.1988)
        It should be reminded that the minimum monthly wage for a worker is only 85,000 TL and this sum hardly climbs to 250,000 TL for a senior qualified worker.
        Besides, all Army officers and NCOs are shareholders of a giant finance holding, OYAK (Armed Forces Mutual Aid Foundation). In addition to their different material advantages, each gets a profit share from this holding which has investments in all economic sectors. According to the annual report to the Shareholders Assembly of June 1988, its annual profit climbed to 33.5 billion TL in 1987, while it was 10.5 billion TL in 1986. The value of its properties is estimated at 74 billion TL. OYAK distributed to its members in uniform a profit share of 63.9% in 1988. The Assembly decided to make more investments in the war industry.

FORMER ARMY GENERALS IN BUSINESS

        Following the example of the US business, the big Turkish companies too began to engage retired army generals in their service with a view to getting lion's share in the affairs related to the growing war industry.
        The daily Milliyet of September 29, 1988, revealed the names of 30 former army generals who are currently either in administrative boards of companies or military advisors.
        Prime Minister of the military government between 1980-83, Retired Admiral Bulent Ulusu is in the service of Aksa Co. Gen. Dogan Ozgocmen is engaged by Yapi Kredi Bank, Gen. Namik Kemal Ersun by Kutlutas Construction Co., Gen. Recai Baturalp and Gen. Talat Cetiner by Tekel Co.
        Their payments rise to 10 million TL ($5,000) per month with salaries, different kinds of supplementary allowances and shares in profit. (Milliyet, 29.9.1988)
        A giant venture recently set up in the tourism sector is shared by former Army generals. This venture named Kamelya Tourism Co. has already bought estates of 305,000 square meters in the Manavgat district, at the Mediterranean Coast, and plans to construct there the biggest tourist complex of the country. Among the founders of the company are also former Air Force Commanders Tahsin Sahinkaya ( member of the 5-man military junta in 1980) and Halil Sozer, former Gendarmery Commander Mehmet Buyruk, former Land Forces Commander Kemal Yamak as well as General Evren's daughter and son-in-law. (Milliyet, 21.4.1988).

Cift sutuna 4. sayfa basindan acilacak

STATE TERRORISM THROUGOUT TURKEY
        Routine police harassment of students on university campuses in Istanbul, widespread arrests among youths and a raid on a cultural center in the city last Sunday led to a confrontation between students and police on February 27, 1989.
        The chain of events began on February 24 when a group of students at Yildiz University gathered to protest new regulations on campus forcing them to immediately pay off their education debts. The students marched to the offices of the university rector and demanded to talk to him. Protesting students were angered by plainclothes policemen taking pictures with video cameras. They scuffled and one police officer fired into the air with his pistol.
        Other police actions which caused students to react were the closing down of the Ortakoy Cultural Center and a raid on a bar in the same neighborhood.
        Police teams from the political department began questioning the director and the employees of the Ortakoy Cultural Center after they held a commemoration night for the late leftist poet Hasan Huseyin last February 22. Thereupon, the center was closed and sealed upon the orders of a prosecutor.
        To protest the closing down of the cultural center, representatives from human rights groups, women's organizations and associations of relatives of political prisoners held a joint press conference. Several deputies from the opposition Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) also participated in the meeting.
        Police raided the gathering and detained 43 people. Fourteen were released but the remaining 29 were sent to the state security court on February 28. The court released the 29 after questioning; but all win be charged with staging an unauthorized demonstration, a violation which carries prison sentences of one three years.
        Among the detainees were a 15-year-old high school student who could not help giggling when the judge asked her questions, and a Greek woman who has been studying at Istanbul Technical University
        The bar also raided by police down the street from the Ortakoy Cultural Center is known to be frequented by leftist intellectuals. The bar Bukalemun (Chameleon) is run by Bedri Baykam, a famous contemporary Turkish artist.
        Interviewed in Ankara Wednesday at the opening of an exhibit which includes his works Baykam said the raids would do a lot of harm to the government.
        The artist said police searched his bar "down to the toilet" without any warrant.
        Then said Baykam the police chief saw a painting he had done using enlarged newspaper clippings mixed with other media The articles dealt with censorship and human rights issues and one carried the headline "Pinochet Pasa, Aci ektin topraga" ("General Pinochet has sown pain in the ground").
        "He looked as if he were very happy to have found the proof of the crime," said Baykam, a graduate of the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. "I advised the police just to go and grab the daily paper that day to "make life easier for them."
        Baykam said police in Turkey act as though it is forbidden to talk about politics here.
        "In spite of everything that is said at the top level (of government) that there is a democracy, the government is unable to change the bureaucratic system and the educational level of the police," said the 31-year-old painter.
        The raid sparked clashes between police and university students. On February 28, students of the Yildiz University began a protest march down the street from their campus to Besiktas and were dispersed by steel-helmeted riot police squads. Some 110 students were detained. The next day, another group of students marched to the governor's office demanding the release of detained friends. They were also beaten by police using truncheons. Nine demonstrators were arrested.
        Other police operations in February:
        7.2, nine alleged members of the United Communist Party of Turkey (TBKP) were detained by police in Ankara.
        8.2, police detained 17 students for having put on wall some placards criticizing the 12 September regime. Though released a few days later, they were expelled for one month from their school.
        17.2, sixteen people were arrested in Istanbul on charges of being member of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey (TDKP).
        22.2, in Ankara, 250 people coming to attend the trial of the TBKP leaders were harassed and beaten by police. Twelve people were reportedly wounded during the police attack.
        28.2, five PKK militants and a policeman were killed in Bismil (Diyarbakir) during an armed clash between Kurdish guerillas and security forces.
        Political trials in February 1988:
        14.2, twelve university students who had participated last year in a trade union action were sentenced to a 4-year prison term each by the State Security Court of Malatya.
        16.2, a new trial against 31 alleged members of PKK began at the State Security Court of Diyarbakir.
        21.2, a PKK member was sentenced to capital punishment by the Diyarbakir SSC.
        22.2, the Ankara SSC sentenced three members of the Communist Party of Turkey/Union (TKP/B) to 5 years and 10 months each.
        24.2, A PKK member was sentenced to a 15-year prison term by the Ankara SSC.

Cerceve

MEDICAL REPORT ON CALAYLIOGLU

        The terror campaign against young secondary school students was furthered on February 10 with the arrest of 16-year old S.T. in Diyarbakir. The young detainee is accused of distributing propaganda tracts of PKK and faces a prison term of up to 12 years.
        On the other hand, a team of six psychiatrists who made a six-week-long examination of Melih Calaylioglu, a 15-year-old high school student charged with making communist propaganda, declared in their report that he was incapable of deliberately committing the crime.
        Calaylioglu, who was born in West Germany, was brought to Turkey by his mother three years ago to get a Turkish education. In September, Turan Baysal, the principal of the Karatas high school, informed police that the youth was making communist propaganda and discussing Marxism and Leninism with his friends.
        Calaylioglu was arrested by police and sent to the State Security Court.
        The report by the psychiatrists pointed to "the different interpretations of the act he is accused of in Turkey and in the country where he was born."
        The report says that articles 46 and 47 of the Turkish Penal Code define 15-year-olds as mature enough to be held accountable for their actions. It points to the fact that Calaylioglu was 15 only 11 days before he allegedly committed the crime.
        If the law is interpreted strictly, Calaylioglu would not benefit from penalty reductions and exemptions mentioned in those articles, the report said.
        "However, the nature of the offense and how it was committed should also be taken into consideration along with the character structure and psychological circumstances of the defendant," says the report.
        Calaylioglu spent his childhood in West Germany in a completely different culture and in an unstable family, according to the report, which also claims that he has a mentally disturbed aunt.
        However, it also said that a number of psychiatric tests made on Calaylioglu revealed that he is "an intelligent, creative but restless young man."
        The psychiatrists said Calaylioglu committed the crime in response to questions by his friends in an attempt to prove his knowledge and was motivated by his character traits.
        "It is not possible to see his act as a deliberate and calculated violation of the offense described in article 142, namely making propaganda promoting the domination of one social class over the others," said the report.

STRIKE STOPPED BY GOVERNMENT

        As the number of workers adhering to trade unions is growing, the government, taking no heed of ILO's warnings, resorts to repressive measures in order to prevent strikes.
        According to the sector statistics of the Labour Ministry, out of 3,525,956 workers in industrial and service sectors, 2,277,898 are affiliated to trade unions. (Cumhuriyet, 18.1.1989)
        The new year opened with collective bargainings for about 650,000 workers in State Economic Enterprises. 14,000 workers already entered the new year on strike. Since negotiations failed for 52,000 workers, they too were expected to go on strike.
        Lately, 23,000 workers of Iskenderun and Karabuk iron-steel plants decided to start their strike from March 23, 1988. At the last moment, the government announced that this action was suspended for two months.
        For giving an idea for the living conditions of Turkish workers, the daily Milliyet of February 19, 1989, reported that a Turkish worker has to work for 45 minutes in order to buy 1 kilogram of  bread, while this duration is only 12 minutes in Germany. The working time for 1 kilogram of meat is 7 hours and 58 minutes in Turkey against 1 hour and 6 minutes in Germany, for a pair of shoes 71 hours and 22 minutes in Turkey against 6 hours and 30 minutes in Germany, for a TV post 1593 hours in Turkey against 98 hours in Germany. (Milliyet, 19.2.1989)

MONOPOLIZATION IN TURKISH ECONOMY

        According to a survey carried out by the Middle East Technical University, the Turkish economy is menaced by a dangerous capital monopolization. Already in 86 out of 127 principal economic sectors, the monopolization has reached the level which necessitates, in European standards, to take preventive measures. (Cumhuriyet, 7.2.1989)
        1988 was a golden year for the most powerful Turkish companies from the point of profitability. For example,
        Akbank, with a 60.4% increase, raised its annual profit to a 300 billion TL,
        Vakif Bank, with 72.4%, to 150 billion TL,
        Yapi Kredi Bank, with 63.9%, to 100 billion TL,
        Garanti Bank, with 64.2%, to 46 billion TL,
        Etibank, with 28.2%, to 100 billion TL
        As for the 17 foreign banks operating in Turkey, their annual profit rate is among 4% and 20%. (Cumhuriyet, 8.3.1988)
        However, according to another survey, still there is a big gap between the leading European companies and Turkish monopolies in the field of annual turnover. While the annual turnover of Royal Dutch/Shell is $84.9 billion in Europe, the total turnover of  the 500 biggest companies hardly reached $33 billion in 1988. The biggest share in this turnover belongs to Tupras with $3.9 billion. (Cumhuriyet, 27.11.1988)
        As for the funds attributed to research works, Turkey is again very far from the Western standards. While the EEC countries, Japan and the USA are spending to research works respectively sums equivalent to 1.9%, 2.9% and 2.8% of their Gross National Product, this proportion is hardly O,2% for Turkey.
        Besides, Turkey's need of the personnel specialized on the subject of EEC is estimated at 25,000. Currently, the number of specialized personnel does not pas over 1,000. In order to fill this gap, special units are being set up in different Turkish universities with a view to educating students on questions related to the EEC. (Cumhuriyet, 14.2.1989)

INJUSTICE IN REGIONAL INVESTMENT

        Although investments in the framework of the Southeast Anatolian Project (GAP), brought 1.361 trillion TL to the area last year, the public and private sectors still prefer to put most of their money in the Marmara and Aegean regions.
        In 1988, total investment in projects all over Turkey was 11.636 trillion TL.
        The Marmara region is still the most favored area for investors. Last year, 43.1 percent of investments tied to government incentives, 5.19 trillion TL, went to this region. The Aegean region was the second choice; 1.687 trillion TL was invested there.
        Investments qualifying for incentive investment certificates amounted to 1.335 trillion TL in the central Anatolian region, 1.225 trillion TL in the Mediterranean region, 443 billion TL in the Black Sea region, and 310 billion TL in the eastern Anatolia
region. Major investments covering more than one city totaled 284 billion TL.

        Distribution of incentives according to regions

REGIONS

Marmara
Central Anatolia
Aegean
Mediterranean
Black Sea
East Anatolia
Southeast Anatolia

INVESTMENT
(Billion TL)

5,018.7
1,355.0
1,687.3
1,224.8
432.7
310.4
1,360.8

SHARE
(percent)

43.1
11.5
14.5
10.5
3.7
2.7
11.7

EMPLOYMENT

83,338
21,692
40,246
85,643
12,503
4,849
7,711

HUGE TAX REBATE FOR EXPORTERS

        Tax rebates of 5.7 trillion TL have been paid to exporters for the period 1984-1988, using January 1989 prices as a basis.
        State Statistics Institute (DIE) figures indicate the 329.1 billion TL tax rebate paid in 1984 would be worth 1.8 trillion TL today. In 1988, these figures are respectively 674.8 billion and 904.3 billion TL.


Cift sutuna acilacak

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT'S REPORT ON TURCO-EUROPEAN ECONOMIC RELATIONS

        The European Parliament, at its session of March 15, 1989, adopted a report on economic and trade relations between the Community and Turkey, drawn up by Carlos Pimenta on behalf of the Committee on External Economic Relations.
        With regard to the future of these relations, the European Parliament:
        "Points to the need that both Parties guarantee that their economic development is compatible with the aim of reaching the convergence of their economies provided for by the final stage of the association agreement;
        "Stresses that economic convergence and the free flow of goods and services are only possible if trade union rights are fully restored in Turkey and if working conditions in Turkey comply with ILO standards;
        "Remarks that some of Turkey's most important investments in sectors such as agriculture and steel, will increase the problems of complementarity between the respective economies;
        "Notes that, in order to attain economic convergence and fulfill the objectives of the Agreement concerning the free movement of persons, goods and services Turkey will have to be fully informed on the evolution of the European Economic Space, and an adequate coordination between both sides will have to be guaranteed, in particular, in the following sectors:
        "- norms and standards, as well as procedures for tests and type approval,
        "- rules of origin and custom procedures,
        "- public contracts and subsidies,
        "- intellectual property and counterfeit products;
        "Notes furthermore the increase of counterfeiting activities and intellectual property violations in Turkey, and asks for vigorous action by the Turkish authorities in this field;
        "Considers, furthermore, that efforts should be exercised in order to reach framework agreements with Turkey on scientific, technological and student exchange programmes;
        "Believes that economic convergence implies approximation of standards for environment protection between the EC and Turkey, with a view both to avoid distortions in competition and to ensure the quality of life: points to the protection of the Mediterranean as a crucial area of possible cooperation between the Community and Turkey in the field of environment policy, in particular within the broad framework of the Barcelona Convention on combating the pollution of the Mediterranean and related protocols;
        "Welcomes the development of investments in the services sector and notably tourism, in view of the growing number of tourists from Community countries who visit Turkey and hopes that these investments will take into account the environment and environmental protection;
        "Considers that economic convergence is only possible if Turkey reduces its very high rate of inflation by adopting suitable measures;
        "Notes the increase in investment in Turkey by EC investors, and calls for a unified guarantee system for EC direct investments;
        "Considers that the use of the ECU in both official and commercial transactions between the EC and Turkey should be increased, and a stable relation should be maintained between the Lira and the ECU;
        "Recalls that the Fourth Financial Protocol, which has initiated in 1981, has yet to be concluded."

NATO TALKS AND TURKEY

        Foreign Minister Mesut Yilmaz returned March 8 from Vienna where he attended the conventional force reduction talks between 23 NATO and Warsaw Pact countries, declaring he was satisfied with the stance adopted by the Atlantic alliance.
        "It is a position which takes Turkey's political concerns and military interests into consideration to a large extent," said Yilmaz.
        A major disagreement developed late last year between the majority of NATO allies and Turkey just before the second round of the Vienna conference resumed.
        Turkey opposed NATO plans to give top priority to Central Europe in conventional disarmament and only secondary importance to flank countries. A compromise solution offered by Britain was accepted last week by all the NATO members, including Turkey.
        The Turkish press reported earlier that the Turkish military was adamantly opposed to dividing allies into categories of importance. "Now, all the areas coming under the alliance are considered an integrated whole. This is what we have demanded all along. The defense requirements of each particular area are considered a part of the whole," said Yilmaz in Vienna.
        Although the military in Turkey did not openly comment on NATO plans, sources close to the defense ministry said such a division in the alliance would lead to radical changes in the military structure of the joint defense pact.

JEWISH LOBBY SUPPORTS ANKARA

        Maynard Vishner,  the leader of the American Jewish Congress visiting Turkey, met on February 13, 1989, with Turkish Foreign Minister Mesut Yilmaz and promised his group's support in lobbying for Turkey in Washington.
        The group of 13 representatives from American Jewish organizations arrived in Turkey to have talks with members of the Turkish Jewish community, which has begun celebrating the 600th anniversary of settlement in Turkey in 1492 when escaping the Spanish Inquisition.
        "We told the foreign minister that the American Jewish community is willing to extend assistance to Turkey for the explanation of certain historical subjects in America," said Vishner after his meeting with Yilmaz.
        According to the sources, the Turkish foreign minister told the Jewish representative that Turkey would not grant full ambassadorial status to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) representative office in Ankara until the borders of the Palestinian state are clearly demarcated.
        After the meeting, Vishner told Turkish journalists that Yilmaz told them that ties between Turkey and Israel are "good and constructive;"
        The visit by the American Jewish group drew criticism from the Islamic press. Zaman newspaper claimed the American Jewish community sent $1.5 million to contribute to the celebrations marking the 500th anniversary of the Turkish Jewish community, but that despite the helping hand extended to the Jews of Spain by the Ottomans in the 15th century, the Jews today fan anti-Ottoman and anti-Moslem feelings.
        The newspaper also severely criticized Moslem Turks who joined the celebration committee set up by the Jewish community.
       
Cerceve

RECENT DATA ON TURKISH IMMIGRATION

        The number of Turkish immigrants throughout the world increased by 1.9% in comparison with 1987. Out of 2,349,070 Turkish nationals, 1,056,014 are wage-earners. The number of the Turkish immigrants in European countries is 2,110,210 of which 780,000 are younger than 18 years old. (Hurriyet, 1.12.88, Tercuman 31.10.88).
        The distribution of these figures to different host countries as follows:

COUNTRIES

FRG
Holland
France
Belgium
Denmark
UK
Austria
Switzerland
Sweden
Norway
Libya
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
Koweit
Others

IMMIGRANTS

1,481,369
160,637
185,000
79,671
23,000
17,000
85,000
52,768
21,875
3,866
22,500
112,000
3,400
3,300
10,660

WAGE-EARNERS

609,515
78,000
78,000
32,500
11,000
5,000
33,438
27,074
10,000
1,500
22,000
105,000
3,290
3,000
9,697

BELOW 18 YEARS

544,100
71,407
74,935
29,579
9,017
2,000
25,000
20,535
9,999
1,199
--
600
65
---
---

        At the beginning of 1989, the number of Turkish nationals in Belgium is estimated at 83,000. In one year 1,100 Turkish children were born in Belgium. The birth rate for Turks in Belgium is 3%, while it hardly reaches 0,1% for Belgian people. Out of 32,000 Turkish wage-earners in this country 21% are jobless and get unemployment benefit.

1.2 MILLION TURKS REPATRIATED

        The number of Turkish immigrants who returned to Turkey within a 10-year period, from 1974 to 1984, reached 1,199,718. Of these people, 512,770 are younger than 18 years, 143,765 between 18-25 years, 475,013 between 25-50 years, 53,552 between 50-65 years and 13,720 older than 65 years. (Tercuman, 4.11.88)
        Although Turkish workers employed in Germany have the right to get retirement allowance at the age of 65 for men and 60 for women, few could have benefitted from this social right because of the low longevity of Turkish nationals (57 years). Until now 31,856 Turkish workers have been pensioned off, but only 707 of them currently get allowance because all others are no more in life. (Milliyet, 6.11.88)
        In last years, the number of returnees have showed a big failure. Despite the application of repatriation premium, only 6,662 Turkish workers returned home in 1987. (Cumhuriyet, 28.1.89) As for Belgium, the number of migrant workers who have benefitted from the repatriation premium and returned home until June 1988 reached 410, of whom 235 are Turks, 62 Moroccans and 35 Tunisians. (Le Soir, 24.8.88)

TURKISH BUSINESS IN GERMANY

        In 1987, the total turnover of about 30,000 Turkish businessmen or tradesmen in the FRG reached 23,400 million DM (13,294 million US dollars), a figure higher than the annual exports income of Turkey. (Hurriyet, 30.11.88). The number of Turkish businessmen and tradesmen in Holland reaches 2,100.
        The majority of them are immigrant workers who have, in the fear of a possible unemployment, invested their savings in business for guaranteeing their future.
        Besides, Turkish immigrants in Germany remitted 13,618 million dollars to Turkey between 1980 and 1986, that is averagely 1,964 million dollars per year. Currently, the foreign exchange accounts of immigrants in Turkish banks total to 7,535 million dollars.
        About 170,000 immigrant workers have placed their savings in so called "workers' companies" which are operating in Turkey. Though their aim was declared to provide immigrant workers with the possibility of working in their own enterprises in the case of repatriation, many of them have already been taken over by big finance holdings or banks. (Milliyet, 24.11.88)
        Losing their hope to work at their own workplaces in the country, immigrant workers place now their savings in purchasing real estates in Germany. It is for this reason that the annual remittance fell from 2.5 billion dollars in 1981 to 1.6 billion dollars in 1986. (Cumhuriyet, 3.8.88)

CLIMBING OF FAR-RIGHT IN GERMANY

        The failure of the center and the surprisingly strong showing of a xenophobic far-rightist Republican Party in West Berlin municipal elections of January 29 sent shock waves through the city and the rest of West Germany on Monday.
        So unexpected was the result that the RP had not fielded enough candidates to fill 11 seats it won. Under the West German electoral system, seats are distributed according to the share of the vote, but only among candidates who ran.
        The RP based its electoral campaign in Berlin, where live more than 150,000 Turkish immigrants, on  anti-Turk stereotypes. Its leader, Schönhuber is a former member of Waffen-SS.
        When it was unveiled that he passes his holidays in a summer house that he owns in the city of Bodrum in Turkey, Schönhuber said he was against Turks in Germany, but he has many Turkish friends in Turkey!
        About 10,000 protesters took to West Berlin streets to demonstrate against the unexpected success of the Republican Party.
        The RP is not the only political group campaigning against Turks.
        The National Front was already banned by the German Interior Ministry for its racist and xenophobic actions.
        In the city of Langen (Hessen), another far-right organization, the Workers' Party for Freedom (FAP) was protested on August 3, 1988, by 5,000 students and parents for inciting German youths against their immigrant school mates.
        Another neo-fascist party, Deutsche Volksunion often distributes tracts against immigrant workers in different German cities.

XENOPHOBIC AGGRESSIONS IN GERMANY

        Dec 19, in the city of Schwandorf, a 19-year old member of the National Front, Josef Saller, set on fire a house inhabited by immigrants. Three Turks and a German perished.
        Dec 22, in Hamburg, a group of Skinheads, attacking on foreigner, wounded five people.
        Jan 10, in the city of Lindau, a house inhabited by Turkish families was set on fire.
        Jan 18, in Berlin, a Turkish local was ransacked by a racist group.
        Jan 27, unidentified people destroyed the 125 years old Turkish graveyard in Berlin. The fact that the incident happened just on the eve of Friday, the day Turks of Berlin perform their weekly prayer at the mosque of this graveyard shows that the authors of the aggression aimed to provoke them.
        Jan 31, a Turkish local in the city of Oberursel, near to Frankfurt, was ransacked by a group of Skinheads.
        Feb 17, in the city of Schluchtern, a group of Skindheads attacked a Turkish discothèque and wounded two Turks and two other foreigners. Police arrested 16 aggressors.
        Feb 26, a group of 30 Rockers, shouting "Foreigners, Go Home!" and "Germany to Germans!", attacked Turkish youths in front of a discothèque and wounded two of them.

ˇˇˇˇ
FIRST MURDER RELATED TO RUSHDIE AFFAIR IN BELGIUM?

        A double murder committed in Belgium at the end of March might reportedly be the first execution related to "Rushdie Affair".  On March 29, 1989,the director of the Islamic Cultural Center, Abdullah Ahdal, and the center's librarian Salem Bahri, were founded shot dead in the office after the evening prayer.
        The police spokesman said Ahdal had received threats after a statement he made on Belgian television about Salman Rushdie. A television reporter added that station officials had received angry phone calls after the program. Ahdal's remarks were believed to be relatively moderate, although he had condemned Mr. Rushdie for his book.
        According to the Belgian press, the double murder might be a settling account within the staff of the center as well. At the moment of editing this Bulletin, there was not any evidence for finding out the real motive of the murder.
        The Islamic Center and its mosque are situated near the European Community's headquarters.
        For years, two principal actors of Islamic fundamentalism, Shiite Iranian regime on the one hand and Sunnite Saudi regime on the other, both have been in a fierce quarrel for gaining upper hand in the Islamic world.
        The Islamic Center of Belgium was established by the World Islamic League (Rabitat-ul-Alem-ul-Islam), led by Saudi Arabia, with a view to spread Saudi influence on Moslem migrant families in Europe. Khomeini's followers have been contesting  the Islamic Center's religious power recognized by the Belgian Government. Besides, some Middle East countries such as Lebanon and Turkey have, for a long time, been the scene of a real duel between the two Islamic powers' agents acting under the guise of diplomat. (See: Extreme-Right in Turkey, Info-Türk, Brussels, 1988)

AN APPEAL BY A GROUP OF TURKS AND MAGHREBIANS IN BELGIUM

        Prior to this murder, a group of Maghrebians and Turks living in Belgium issued a joint appeal reproaching Khomeini's call for Rushdie's death and defending the freedom of expression.
        "Salman Rushdie's death will be the death of our freedoms of opinion and creativity, and the silence an indignant complicity," said an appeal signed by a group of Turkish and Maghrebin intellectuals living in Belgium.
        Among the first signatories of this appeal appear journalist Dogan Ozgüden (editor of Info-Türk), doctor Ilkay Alptekin, sociologist Nuran Cicekciler from Turkey and engineer Mahfoud Romdani,sociologist Brahim Ameriah, librarian Belgacem Ben Saad, society manager Sadok Boudoukhane, architects Jamil Daghrir and Karim Faket, Islamologist Slah Dhaoui, journalist Moncef El Fliti, social assistants Souad El Hafi and Hayet N'Ciri, artist Mohamed Enanni, writers Leila Haouari, Hamadi and Ali Serguini, computer scientist Brahim Lahouel, trade unionist Mohamed Maizi, psychologist Salima Nacer from Maghrebian countries.