Upgrading ties

PRIME Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey arrived in New Delhi on November 20 on a five-day official visit. This is the first visit by a Turkish Prime Minister since that of Bulent Ecevit in March 2000. A lot of things have changed in both countries since then. Turkey has been governed by the centre-right AKP (Justice and Development Party), which had its roots in the Islamist Welfare Party of the 1990s. Under the dynamic leadership of Erdogan, the country has charted out a new course for itself in international politics. Although firmly rooted in the Western alliance, Turkey in recent years has been taking many independent foreign policy initiatives.“Global Trends 2025”, a report published by the United States National Intelligence Council (NIC), has predicted that Turkey will play an increasingly important role on the world stage. It noted that Turkey was once again playing “a key role geopolitically, at the crossroads not only between the Middle East [West Asia] and Europe in the West but also, in a sense, north-south to Russia, Iran and with the rest of the world”. The report, brought out every four years for the U.S. government, has highlighted Turkey’s impressive economic growth and the vitality of its emerging middle class. Ankara has become the back channel for talks between Israel and Syria. However, when the occasion demands, the Turkish government has been critical about Israeli atrocities on Palestinians despite both countries having a long-standing strategic alliance. Erdogan once told a senior Israeli Cabinet Minister, when Ariel Sharon was the Prime Minster, that there was “no difference between a terrorist who kills Israeli citizens and Israel, which also kills civilians”. The Turkish government is playing an important role in ensuring that Iraq remains united.

Not long ago Erdogan made a visit to Armenia, the first by a Turkish leader in recent history. The two countries have now restored diplomatic links, which were severed in 1993 after Turkey objected to Armenia’s annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-dominated enclave inside Azerbaijan. The Turkish government is in favour of the issue being settled bilaterally and is even prepared to play a behind-the-scenes role to facilitate a deal.

The “genocide” and ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Turkey in the early part of the 20th century is still an emotive issue. Although Turkey’s foreign policy mainly focusses on the issue of accession to the European Union (E.U.), it has been careful to keep other options open. It is well known that some major E.U. countries are opposed to Turkey’s entry into the grouping. The fear, articulated at times by European politicians, is that the entry of Turkey would dilute the identity of the E.U. as a club of Christian nations.

DEEP HISTORICAL TIES

Erdogan, who arrived with a 100-strong business delegation, had fruitful talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The talks centred mainly on economic cooperation and energy security. Turkey also offered India its expertise in combating terrorism. The country has been facing serious challenges on this front for the past 50 years from the Kurdish separatist group, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

In an interactive dialogue with a small group of academics and journalists, Erdogan noted that both Turkey and India shared “deep historical ties”. He said Turkey, like India, was facing big challenges, especially in the fight against terrorism. Describing the scourge of terrorism as an international phenomenon, he suggested a mutual extradition treaty. The Turkish leader talked about plans to concretise “an alliance of civilisations” in which both the countries could play leading roles. The Turkish government has already enlisted the cooperation of international organisations for this ambitious venture. Turkey plans to host an international conference next year to formalise this “alliance”. Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami tried to promote a similar “dialogue of civilisations”. But that project could not take off as it got mired in a political stand-off between Iran and the West.

The Turkish economy under AKP rule has been a success story so far. Erdogan expressed the hope that bilateral trade would reach $6 billon by 2010. He said that the balance of trade was now in favour of India. Turkey has expressed a keen interest in a free trade agreement with India.

On top of Erdogan’s official agenda in India was Turkey’s offer to extend the Ceyhan-Red Sea oil pipeline to India. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is already functional and is transporting oil and gas from the Caspian region and Russia. Erdogan is of the view that if New Delhi agrees to the proposed Ceyhan-Red Sea-India pipeline, it will help India achieve energy security. The oil will be piped to the Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea and then shipped to India. India, Erdogan said, would be able to get oil at a low price of $18 a barrel if the deal materialised. Turkish officials said that the proposed pipeline was not a rival to the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline but pointed out that the current security situation made the Iran pipeline unfeasible.

Given its heavy dependence on external energy sources, Turkey is trying to position itself as an energy transit hub in the region. This is one major factor why its government is putting great emphasis on improving ties with Russia and Iran.

DOMESTIC PRIORITIES

Outlining the domestic priorities of his government, Erdogan said it placed major emphasis on education, health care, justice and security. Housing has already been made affordable for those in urgent need. The government had promised to build 500,000 homes, of which 330,000 have been already constructed. The recipients of these homes will have to pay only 20 per cent of the costs in advance. The rest of the money will be recouped by the government in easy instalments. In the case of small houses, the government is selling them “at cost”. A small percentage of the flats constructed by the government is given for “free” to those without any source of income. But they are expected to pay for the subsidised structures once they find gainful employment.

The government also provides unemployment dole worth $300 a month along with food and clothing. As many as 130,000 new classrooms have been built across the country, with particular emphasis on less developed regions. Erdogan revealed that his country would soon be able to claim 100 per cent literacy. In the health care sector, the AKP government has done away with the system of separate hospitals for the rich and the poor. Erdogan said that there was no more discrimination on the basis of class or income. “Democracy and economy should advance side by side,” he said.

The government has pledged to improve 15,000 kilometres of roads along with air and rail network during its current term. The AKP was elected with a thumping majority last year. One of the reasons for the party’s success was the development projects undertaken by its government. The Turkish government has invested a lot in the comparatively underdeveloped eastern part of the country, populated predominantly by Kurds. The AKP did surprisingly well in what were considered pro-PKK strongholds in the last elections. In fact, Erdogan earned his reputation as an efficient administrator when he was the Mayor of Istanbul. He cleaned up the city and tackled crime and corruption. Today Istanbul is among the best administered cities in the world.



WORLD AFFAIRS

Upgrading ties


JOHN CHERIAN


Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to New Delhi gives a boost to economic cooperation between the two countries.





RAJEEV BHATT

Erdogan inspecting the guard of honour during a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on November 21.

PRIME Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey arrived in New Delhi on November 20 on a five-day official visit. This is the first visit by a Turkish Prime Minister since that of Bulent Ecevit in March 2000. A lot of things have changed in both countries since then. Turkey has been governed by the centre-right AKP (Justice and Development Party), which had its roots in the Islamist Welfare Party of the 1990s. Under the dynamic leadership of Erdogan, the country has charted out a new course for itself in international politics. Although firmly rooted in the Western alliance, Turkey in recent years has been taking many independent foreign policy initiatives.

“Global Trends 2025”, a report published by the United States National Intelligence Council (NIC), has predicted that Turkey will play an increasingly important role on the world stage. It noted that Turkey was once again playing “a key role geopolitically, at the crossroads not only between the Middle East [West Asia] and Europe in the West but also, in a sense, north-south to Russia, Iran and with the rest of the world”. The report, brought out every four years for the U.S. government, has highlighted Turkey’s impressive economic growth and the vitality of its emerging middle class.

Ankara has become the back channel for talks between Israel and Syria. However, when the occasion demands, the Turkish government has been critical about Israeli atrocities on Palestinians despite both countries having a long-standing strategic alliance. Erdogan once told a senior Israeli Cabinet Minister, when Ariel Sharon was the Prime Minster, that there was “no difference between a terrorist who kills Israeli citizens and Israel, which also kills civilians”. The Turkish government is playing an important role in ensuring that Iraq remains united.

Not long ago Erdogan made a visit to Armenia, the first by a Turkish leader in recent history. The two countries have now restored diplomatic links, which were severed in 1993 after Turkey objected to Armenia’s annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh, an Armenian-dominated enclave inside Azerbaijan. The Turkish government is in favour of the issue being settled bilaterally and is even prepared to play a behind-the-scenes role to facilitate a deal.

The “genocide” and ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Turkey in the early part of the 20th century is still an emotive issue. Although Turkey’s foreign policy mainly focusses on the issue of accession to the European Union (E.U.), it has been careful to keep other options open. It is well known that some major E.U. countries are opposed to Turkey’s entry into the grouping. The fear, articulated at times by European politicians, is that the entry of Turkey would dilute the identity of the E.U. as a club of Christian nations.

DEEP HISTORICAL TIES

Erdogan, who arrived with a 100-strong business delegation, had fruitful talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The talks centred mainly on economic cooperation and energy security. Turkey also offered India its expertise in combating terrorism. The country has been facing serious challenges on this front for the past 50 years from the Kurdish separatist group, the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

In an interactive dialogue with a small group of academics and journalists, Erdogan noted that both Turkey and India shared “deep historical ties”. He said Turkey, like India, was facing big challenges, especially in the fight against terrorism. Describing the scourge of terrorism as an international phenomenon, he suggested a mutual extradition treaty. The Turkish leader talked about plans to concretise “an alliance of civilisations” in which both the countries could play leading roles. The Turkish government has already enlisted the cooperation of international organisations for this ambitious venture. Turkey plans to host an international conference next year to formalise this “alliance”. Former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami tried to promote a similar “dialogue of civilisations”. But that project could not take off as it got mired in a political stand-off between Iran and the West.

The Turkish economy under AKP rule has been a success story so far. Erdogan expressed the hope that bilateral trade would reach $6 billon by 2010. He said that the balance of trade was now in favour of India. Turkey has expressed a keen interest in a free trade agreement with India.

On top of Erdogan’s official agenda in India was Turkey’s offer to extend the Ceyhan-Red Sea oil pipeline to India. The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline is already functional and is transporting oil and gas from the Caspian region and Russia. Erdogan is of the view that if New Delhi agrees to the proposed Ceyhan-Red Sea-India pipeline, it will help India achieve energy security. The oil will be piped to the Israeli port of Eilat on the Red Sea and then shipped to India. India, Erdogan said, would be able to get oil at a low price of $18 a barrel if the deal materialised. Turkish officials said that the proposed pipeline was not a rival to the Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline but pointed out that the current security situation made the Iran pipeline unfeasible.

Given its heavy dependence on external energy sources, Turkey is trying to position itself as an energy transit hub in the region. This is one major factor why its government is putting great emphasis on improving ties with Russia and Iran.

DOMESTIC PRIORITIES

Outlining the domestic priorities of his government, Erdogan said it placed major emphasis on education, health care, justice and security. Housing has already been made affordable for those in urgent need. The government had promised to build 500,000 homes, of which 330,000 have been already constructed. The recipients of these homes will have to pay only 20 per cent of the costs in advance. The rest of the money will be recouped by the government in easy instalments. In the case of small houses, the government is selling them “at cost”. A small percentage of the flats constructed by the government is given for “free” to those without any source of income. But they are expected to pay for the subsidised structures once they find gainful employment.

The government also provides unemployment dole worth $300 a month along with food and clothing. As many as 130,000 new classrooms have been built across the country, with particular emphasis on less developed regions. Erdogan revealed that his country would soon be able to claim 100 per cent literacy. In the health care sector, the AKP government has done away with the system of separate hospitals for the rich and the poor. Erdogan said that there was no more discrimination on the basis of class or income. “Democracy and economy should advance side by side,” he said.

The government has pledged to improve 15,000 kilometres of roads along with air and rail network during its current term. The AKP was elected with a thumping majority last year. One of the reasons for the party’s success was the development projects undertaken by its government. The Turkish government has invested a lot in the comparatively underdeveloped eastern part of the country, populated predominantly by Kurds. The AKP did surprisingly well in what were considered pro-PKK strongholds in the last elections. In fact, Erdogan earned his reputation as an efficient administrator when he was the Mayor of Istanbul. He cleaned up the city and tackled crime and corruption. Today Istanbul is among the best administered cities in the world.


AFP

A section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline at the Ceyhan crude oil terminal near Turkey's southern coastal city of Adana.

Erdogan has also promised to provide running water to every village in Turkey. “Water is civilisation. If there is no water, there is no energy, no civilisation,” he remarked. He said that his government was implementing its blueprint to overcome its “largest challenge” posed by the shortage of water. Hydroelectric power is harnessed on a large scale. The Attaturk Dam is among the largest in the world. He said that the annual per capita consumption of water in Turkey was currently 1,750 cubic metres. The government hoped to raise this in the near future. Erdogan said he was confident of attaining the target as the government was investing heavily in many water-related projects, including recycling.

Talking about domestic politics, Erdogan emphasised that “civilians should have primacy, once and for all”. The Turkish Constitution, he said, had demarcated clearly the roles of the executive and the armed forces. Sections of the Turkish military are still not completely reconciled to the rise of democracy and the AKP. The “Ergenekon” trial, which is currently under way, has exposed the deep nexus between elements in the army, the judiciary, the media and far-Right parties. The Ergenekon had allegedly planned to assassinate prominent Turks and resorted to terrorist activities with a view to undermining the AKP government.

The controversy over the wearing of head scarves in public was another issue that “secular fundamentalists” used to destabilise the AKP government last year. The wives of both Prime Minister Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul insist on wearing head scarves in public. Erdogan maintained that the country’s Constitutional Court had made its observations on the issue very clear and that the government was strictly adhering to the position taken by the court. He pointed out that the ban on the wearing of head scarves was only implemented after the September 1980 coup.

Erdogan said that his country was playing an “intermediary role” in the ongoing talks between Israel and Syria. He revealed that four rounds of talks had already been held but the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had stalled the talks. He said that both Damascus and Tel Aviv had expressed optimism about the future of the dialogue process. Syria is negotiating the terms for an Israeli pullout from the occupied Golan Heights.

Erdogan admitted that Turkey faced some problems on the road to full membership of the E.U. He said that some E.U. members were using the “Cyprus issue” as a bogey to stymie Turkey’s membership. Turkey feels that making Cyprus an E.U. member was a mistake in the first place. Turkish officials say that the E.U. should have recognised that Cyprus is divided into two countries. According to them, the E.U. seems to have preferred the claims of 600,000 Greek Cypriots over those of 70 million Turks. Erdogan said Turkey had not lost its patience. “We can wait for another 15 years.”

Erdogan is optimistic about the presidency of Barack Obama in the U.S. but cautions against plans to partition Iraq. He said that such a move would be disastrous for the region. Joseph Biden, who will be the next U.S. Vice-President, had earlier supported the trifurcation of Iraq. An independent Kurdistan is anathema to Turkey. The Turkish Army has been regularly carrying out cross-border raids into northern Iraq targeting the PKK, which has its safe havens there.

Erdogan also observed that the situation in Afghanistan was deteriorating seven years after the end of Taliban rule. Turkey has allocated $200 million for Afghanistan for undertaking relief and development activities.