Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey
March 31 2007
‘Stability will continue for the next five years’
Saturday , 31 March 2007
The 2007 presidential elections will not cause instability in the
country, according to Alarko Holding board of directors Chairman
Ýshak Alaton.
Critical of rumors that the presidential elections will create chaos,
Alaton said, "There are so many rumors that the country will
experience a crisis because of the elections, and that truly tires
me," adding that people need to avoid such debates and focus on
getting the job done.
In an exclusive interview with Today’s Zaman, the chairman of one of
the leading industrial groups in Turkey, Alaton provided his personal
assessments on northern Iraq, Armenia and the economic effects of the
presidential elections. "I still believe that the minds responsible
for serving this country will provide a rational solution," he said
and noted that he does not expect a crisis to erupt after the
elections. "Stability will continue. That is what I believe, I hope
and I expect. Turkey will find a solution to maintain stability," the
chairman emphasized. Alaton expects stability to continue for another
five years because he believes a one-party government will win in the
coming elections.
Alaton described the initiatives of nongovernmental organizations to
meet with politicians as a positive step. "As members of civil
society, we will discuss with the prime minister what we can do to
improve the image of Turkey," Alaton said and added that Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan has provided sincere and valuable
support to the business world.
According to Alaton, politicians must be aware of the public’s
interest at all times. `Politicians should be able to understand
public interests without middlemen. In other words, politicians need
to meet directly with the public,’ Alaton said, describing Erdoðan’s
steps in this regard as `modern’ and `very smart.’
`Every party must be able to communicate and take responsibility for
their actions. But unfortunately, some parties do not. They just make
critiques. They try to find flaws, but then they go overboard. My
question is, what do they plan to do when and if they become the
leading party? The opposition parties have yet to answer this
question,’ Alaton said.
`Both Democrats and Republicans in America joined hand-in-hand to
overcome the Iraqi problem. Here in Turkey, we have the Southeast
problem. Why can’t we manage to cooperate?’ Critical of the lack of
concrete information regarding developments in Iraq, the businessman
said: `The formation of a Kurdistan in northern Iraq is a reality. We
all know and see this. We say there isn’t a Kurdistan, but in reality
there is. In fact, there has been a Kurdistan since 1991. Kurdistan
was born the day America told Saddam Hussein that he could not move
past the 36th parallel. Turkey should have been able to say, `Yes a
Kurdistan was formed that day.’ Turkey should have been able to
announce its own policy. But no. Those who spoke of Kurdistan were
imprisoned. Although Kurdistan has been formed, this is a reality we
still refuse to accept. We refuse to receive the president of Iraq in
Ankara. We warn the prime minister not to meet with him. So you see,
we have this odd understanding of administration and government. I
still can’t make sense of it.’ Alaton also highlighted the need to
acknowledge the economic aspect of relations with Iraq and said, `The
engine of politics is economic realities.’
Referring to the tense relations with Armenia and Turkey’s relations
with Azerbaijan, the top man from Alarko Holding said Turkey must
pursue balanced policies. `To evaluate the sincerity of Armenian
relations, Turkey should open entry points. This would foster
economic relations between the two countries. There are people on the
other side who are hopeful that entry points will open and business
relations will be developed. I think they are right. With the
policies to pressure our neighbors, our own citizens are forced to
live in poverty. We don’t have the right to do this. The bureaucracy
in Ankara does not have the right to make those people poor.’
Asked to comment on the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities
Exchanges’ (TOBB) program to bring together Israeli and Palestinian
businessmen in America for the Erez Industrial Zone, Alaton said:
`I’ve always believed that businessmen are peace leaders. I think
this is a valid conclusion. If peace is on the way, then businessmen
are the first to arrive.’ Nevertheless, Turkish businessmen have an
important role. They should develop employment opportunities for
Palestinians in the Erez region and prevent tension between Israel
and Palestine, he said.
Alaton told Today’s Zaman that he would visit Israel with a 55-member
delegation from a pro-Israeli lobby, the American Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC). `The delegation will arrive in Istanbul
and then head to Tel Aviv. This is a visit to evaluate the
developments first hand. The delegation expects to submit a report
before April 24 to the US congress.’
The delegation will also make contact with business tycoons in
Istanbul, meetings to which Alaton has been invited. `The goal is to
eliminate the possibility of the Armenian genocide legislation
passing the Senate,’ Alaton said, explaining that the legislation,
which would accept that World War I events constituted genocide,
would benefit no one. Referring to the Hrant Dink murder, he said:
`It was a big loss, everyone knows this. The murder of Hrant Dink was
like a bullet against Turkey. Turkey lost a very important figure.
Not only did the murder imply that Turkey could not protect its
civilians, but it struck a severe blow to Turkey’s image. … Turks
took a stance because he was a different person. He was a person who
truly wanted the best for Turkey and sincerely loved Turkey. He had
announced that he would not accept the genocide, and the diaspora
took a stance against him.’
Alaton was critical of the lengthy process of the court and said the
justice system works on very limited resources. Alaton said officials
are underpaid and that that leads to corruption. The search for
reform in Turkey begins with the judicial system. The judicial system
will have to win the trust and respect of the citizens. The Turkish
businessman also said Article 301 must be removed if Turkey wants to
mend its image in foreign countries. He said `the mentality that
refuses to debate the article and that refuses to ban it must change.
They need to stop saying that similar articles can be found in just
about every country.’ Alaton believes the Constitution needs a
make-over but that Ankara’s atmosphere is dominated by fears. We need
to eliminate these fears.
Alaton also criticized policies disfavoring foreign capital flow.
`Turkey could have been today’s China 50 years ago. China does not
export manpower, it imports foreign capital. We could have been
smarter 50 years ago. If in the 1960s our bureaucracy had been more
rational, Anatolia would have been an EU member today. But
unfortunately, that fanatic style of bureaucracy has made us suffer.
… Ankara’s bureaucracy is disconnected from the public. It has a
mentality that is afraid to give anything. We have a bureaucracy that
dreams only of land. It overlooks human needs and perceives the
private sector as an advantage. However, the real goal of life is to
make people happy, not to own land. My people our poor but my land is
big.’
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Turkey can win the Southeast by developing it
Ýshak Alaton believes the problem in the Southeast can be resolved
through the economy. Development in Turkey is unbalanced, Alaton says
and adds: `While there are rich people in the country, Anatolia is
very poor. This is because we have encouraged people to move to Izmir
and Istanbul. We haven’t encouraged investment in the emptied
Southeast region. They say a hungry dog will break into a bakery.
People want bread. We can’t leave them hungry. These people need to
be fed.’
31.03.2007
TURHAN BOZKURT ÝSTANBUL