TIME: Almanac 1993/TIME Almanac 1993.iso/time/021092/0210002.000

Text File | 1992-08-28 | 6KB | 137 lines

                                                                                WORLD, Page 40

The Phoenix of Turkish Politics


SULEYMAN DEMIREL, back from political banishment for his seventh
stint as Prime Minister, sees his country as a bridge to the
Muslim world

By JAMES WILDE/ISTANBUL and Suleyman Demirel


    Q. There is talk of Turkey turning from the West. Will you
remain a strong ally?

    A. We have been allies of the U.S. since 1947 against the
threat from the Soviet Union and the expansion of communism. We
have had some differences, mostly over Cyprus, but I believe we
have been able to overcome all the difficulties.

    While the military alliance between Turkey and the U.S.
should continue, it should also become an economic alliance. We
don't want any favors, just equal opportunities. I told a group
of U.S. businessmen recently, trust us. Do business in Turkey.
Invest in Turkey. Your investments will be safe. We are the only
Muslim country defending secularism, and we believe that being
Muslim is not a handicap to being part of the Western world.


    Q. Will Turkey be a bridge between the West and the new
Muslim states of the former U.S.S.R.?

    A. What is going to happen in the former Soviet Union is
uncertain, so Turkey's position is more important than before.
A new window of opportunity has opened for us with the Turkic
republics. They speak our language. [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan speak Turkic languages. In
Tajikistan the language is akin to Iranian Farsi.] We are
urging them to remain secular and to switch to the Latin
alphabet.

    We are trying to revitalize a Black Sea economic union to
include both the Balkans and the new Turkic republics. The
republics are raw-material countries. They have virtually no
industry. They need technical assistance, advice and investment,
plus markets for their raw materials. What I am urgently
suggesting is that all the civilized world should set up a
Marshall Plan for these Turkic republics to maintain political
stability.


    Q. Should the U.S. help the Kurds and Shi`ites in
rebellion against Saddam?

    A. The gulf war ended a year ago. If America wanted Saddam
Hussein toppled by Kurds and Shi`ites, this should have been
done by now. There is already an uprising in northern Iraq, and
the people of Kurdish origin, of Turkish origin, of Iraqi
origin, are miserable. There is no government control. There are
tribes, mostly Kurdish, controlling the region. How can these
poor people topple Saddam? Furthermore, I don't think anyone
wants the Shi`ites to topple Saddam. That would mean an
Iranian-style regime. I don't think Iraq's neighbors would be
very happy about that. The allied coalition that pushed Saddam
from Kuwait and then left him in Iraq is facing an impasse.


    Q. You say you will not stand by and watch Saddam launch
another offensive against the Kurds.

    A. Assume that an Iraqi government, with or without
Saddam, repeats massacres of the Kurds using poison gas, or
tries to implement genocide. I don't think that either Turkey
or the world should stand idly by and just watch. Three or four
million northern Iraqis shouldn't be left to the tyranny of
anyone. I hope an Iraqi military offensive doesn't happen, but
if it does, Turkey won't just watch it happen again. We will
call upon the world to do something.


    Q. What about Kurdish separatism in your country?

    A. These Kurds are not a colonized people. They have the
same rights as all Turkish citizens. We do not intend to let
anything inhuman happen to the Turkish Kurds, but separatism
cannot develop the country, and bloodshed is no answer. For
those who cause bloodshed we will have no mercy. We cannot use
the same methods as the terrorist groups, but this problem
irritates us, that is for sure.

    I have made it a matter of national policy to recognize
the Kurds as a separate ethnic group, and we have a national
consensus on this matter. The mistreatment of those people by
the Turkish security forces is not the policy of our
administration. But from time to time, due to lack of training,
you may have such incidents. I think it is now minimized, and
we shall continue to be very careful to see that it doesn't
happen.


    Q. Cyprus, as always, remains at the top of your
diplomatic agenda.

    A. We have to be realistic. We are willing to have a
political solution, because that will ease Turkey's financial
burden in maintaining troops in northern Cyprus [where the
Turkish Cypriot community is located; Greek Cypriots live in the
south]. The basis for any solution should be United Nations
Resolution 649 [which calls for establishment of an
independent, bicommunal federal republic on the island of
Cyprus]. You can't force the two communities to live together
as if you were making a man and woman marry against their will.
We are pushing the leaders of northern Cyprus to be reasonable.
Some people think they are the reason there is still no solution
there. But these leaders are necessary to explain to their
people that they have not been cheated or forced.


    Q. What about full membership in the European Community?

    A. The Community has said it will start considering new
members before the end of 1992. Whom? Poland, Czechoslovakia or
maybe Hungary? And when this happens, should Turkey be left out
under such conditions? We became an associate member in 1963.
I say we should be a full member, and soon. To become a member
is a way of forcing ourselves to develop, because in order to
join, we must reach the level of Western countries. That is our
dream. We will be part of the universal world community with
universal standards for all our people. And once we achieve
these universal values, we will have already achieved the
material ones too.