Turkey
Country between the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean Sea
to the south, bounded to the east by Armenia, Georgia, and Iran,
to the southeast by Iraq and Syria, to the west by Greece and
the Aegean Sea, and to the northwest by Bulgaria.
Government
The constitution of 1982 provides for a single-chamber, 550-member
national assembly, elected by a system of proportional representation
for a five-year term, and an executive president, elected by the
assembly for a seven-year term. The president appoints a prime
minister who works with the president in a somewhat diluted version
of the French `dual executive´. The president is obliged to work
in conjunction with the prime minister.
History
The establishment of the republic In July 1922 Rauf Bey, who with Kemal
Atatürk had been mainly instrumental in launching the Nationalist
revolution, became prime minister. On 1 November 1922 the sultanate
was abolished. The National Assembly then elected the cousin of
the deposed sultan, Abdul Mejid Effendi, to be caliph, the ` Commander
of the Faithful´, but with no secular powers. This `spiritual´
caliphate was finally abolished in 1924, and the Muslim religion
was disestablished in 1928. Meanwhile, on 2 October 1923, the
foreign occupation of Constantinople (now Istanbul) terminated,
and on 29 October Turkey was declared a republic with Atatürk
as president.
The republic took the form of a powerful oligarchy led by a
dictator and depending on press censorship. The westernization
of Turkey was forcibly and rigorously carried through, and a new
legal code introduced. Once the work of westernizing Turkey was
more or less completed, Atatürk, now known as the `Ghazi´ (conqueror),
relaxed his methods of dictatorial reform, although his position
always remained unassailable. In the new economic system the state
reserved the right to plan the general economic course and, while
allowing private enterprise, owned the leading industries and
supervised and coordinated the activities of private concerns.
Atatürk's foreign relations
Atatürk largely restricted the new Turkish state to the area actually
inhabited by Turks, although it also included some of the Kurdish
lands in the east. The Kurdish rebellion in 1925 aggravated the
question of the Turkish-Iraqi boundary in the area of Mosul. Eventually,
on 6 June 1926, almost the whole area was given by treaty to Iraq.
Relations with Iran were also stabilized.
In 1934 Turkey joined in a regional pact with Greece, Yugoslavia,
and Romania, each country guaranteeing each other's frontiers,
and in the same year, by the Pact of Saadabad, Turkey strengthened
its political cooperation with Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. Following
the restoration of Turkish sovereignty over the Dardanelles in
1936 and the cession of Alexandretta (now Iskenderun) by Syria
to Turkey in 1939, Turkish relations with the Western democracies
became closer. An Anglo-French guarantee against aggression was
given to Turkey in May 1939, and this was followed on 19 October
by an Anglo-French- Turkish pact of assistance, effective for
15 years.
Turkey in World War II
Atatürk's death in 1938 was a major shock to the republic. But the
regime of his Republican People's Party, now under President Ismet
Inönü, was sufficiently sturdy to survive.
In World War II Turkey's position became difficult following
the German successes in the Balkans in 1941, and Turkey found
a semicircle of Axis forces round its western borders. Turkey
came under great pressure from Germany, and in June 1941 the Turkish
government had little option but to sign a `Treaty of Friendship´
with Germany. However, the situation changed with the victories
won by the Allies in 1942- 43 at El Alamein and Stalingrad, and
eventually, in February 1945, the Turkish parliament decided to
declare war on Germany and Japan.
Turkey joins the Western alliance
In 1945 the USSR denounced the treaty of friendship that it had made
with Turkey in 1925, and in the following year made a demand for
a revision of the 1936 Montreux convention by which Turkey had
gained the right to remilitarize the Straits between the Black
Sea and the Mediterranean. This marked the end of a distinct phase
in Turkish- Soviet relations: following the revolutions in both
countries friendly relations had been established in the 1920s,
accompanied by economic cooperation, but after World War II this
gave way once more to the traditional grouping of Turkey in the
Western European sphere of influence.
The USA recognized the important position that Turkey held as
a barrier against the spread of communism into the Middle East
and Asia, and made substantial loans in order that Turkey could
utilize to the full its economic resources and strengthen its
defences. In 1950 Turkey dispatched troops to form part of the
US-led UN forces in the Korean War, and in 1952 it became a member
of NATO.
In 1953 Turkey signed a treaty of friendship with Greece and
Yugoslavia (the latter having split from the Soviet bloc). Turkey's
treaty in 1954 with Pakistan was the foundation stone of the subsequent
Baghdad Pact (1955), which later became the Central Treaty Organization
(CENTO). During the Suez Crisis of 1957 Turkey remained on good
terms with both Britain and France.
The Menderes era, 1950-60
Until 1945 the Republican People's Party tolerated virtually no opposition
parties; but after that date genuine opposition parties were allowed
to be formed and greater democratic liberties permitted. In Turkey's
first free elections in 1950 the leading opposition party, the
Democratic Party, gained power under Celal Bayar and Adnan Menderes.
Bayar became president, and Menderes prime minister. In the elections
of 1954 the Democratic Party virtually obliterated all the other
opposition parties. Turkey's foreign policy, based on cooperation
with Western Europe, remained unchanged, but as time passed the
Menderes regime appeared increasingly reactionary and intolerant
in home affairs, particularly towards other parties.
From 1953 onwards Greek-Turkish relations suffered a steady
deterioration, owing to their very different approaches to the
Cyprus question. Relations reached a low point in 1955, when serious
anti- Greek rioting broke out in Turkey, causing substantial damage
and loss of life. The 1959 London and Zürich agreements between
Greece, Turkey, and Britain, which set up an independent Cyprus
with guarantees for the Turkish minority there, led to a marked
improvement in Greek- Turkish relations for a time.
In 1957 the Democratic Party was again returned to power, but
with a reduced majority. Discontent was, however, growing among
the army and the intellectuals, who saw Atatü rk's Turkey threatened
by Menderes's economic incompetence, corruption, authoritarianism,
and increasing partiality to Islam. In May 1960 the Menderes regime
was overthrown in an army coup led by Gen Cemal Gürsel. Menderes,
President Bayar, and others were tried for treason; Menderes was
executed, but Bayar's sentence was commuted to imprisonment.
Inönü returns to power, 1961-65
Parliamentary government was reestablished during 1961, and elections
were held in October. Gursel became president, and former president
Ismet Inönü, of Atatürk's Republican People's Party, became premier.
The main opposition group, the Justice Party, adopted many of
the policies formerly held by the proscribed Democratic Party.
Inönü's government worked for friendlier relations with the
USSR, while retaining Turkey's Western alliances. This policy
was partially influenced by Turkish suspicions that Britain and
the USA were pro-Greek in their attitude to the Cyprus question,
which flared up again in December 1963, when Archbishop Makarios,
the Cypriot president, declared Cyprus's intention of repealing
the London and Zürich agreements unilaterally. For a time the
whole NATO structure in the Mediterranean was threatened by Greek-Turkish
hostility, and Turkish aircraft raided Cyprus in a defensive action
to protect the Turkish Cypriots there. With the acceptance by
Turkey and Greece of United Nations intervention and mediation
in Cyprus, an uneasy lull followed.
Many Turks considered that their government had been too compliant
over Cyprus, and this increased the difficulties of Inönü's coalition
government. Between 1961 and 1965, through successive coalitions,
Inönü had just succeeded in keeping the political system in being,
staving off two coup attempts in 1962 and 1963, but in 1965 Inönü
resigned.
Demirel and the return of military rule, 1965-73
Elections were held in October 1965, and the right-wing Justice Party
won an absolute majority over all other parties. Its leader, Sü
leyman Demirel, became premier. In March 1966 Gen Sunay was elected
president in succession to Gursel, who had become incurably ill.
The Justice Party experienced increasing difficulties with its
allies at home in parliament and, in the case of the USA, abroad.
A further crisis in 1967-68 over Cyprus almost led to war with
Greece.
From 1968 clashes between political extremists and with the
army became more violent. In 1969 the Justice Party was returned
in the election, but, because the party split, it had a reduced
majority. Prompted by strikes and student unrest, the army forced
Demirel to resign in March 1971, and for the next two years the
country was under military rule again. During this period Turkey's
reputation suffered because of the curtailment of civil liberties,
and a war was fought against urban guerrillas.
The invasion of Cyprus and its aftermath, 1974-76
After the lifting of martial law, elections were permitted in October
1973, and the Republican People's Party (RPP) under Bulent Ecevit,
who had opposed military domination, won a slim, but not overall,
majority. He succeeded in forming a coalition, which lasted between
January and September 1974.
Ecevit's reputation was greatly enhanced at home as a result
of the invasion and occupation of northern Cyprus in July 1974
to protect the Turkish-Cypriot community, following the coup against
Makarios by Greek Cypriots in favour of union with Greece. The
Turkish invasion resulted in the effective partition of the island.
Ecevit resigned because of difficulties in his coalition in
September 1974, largely due to his refusal to annex northern Cyprus.
Only in March 1975 did Demirel succeed in forming another coalition
government. This polarization in politics resulted in a new growth
of disorders beween left- and right-wing forces on the university
campuses, and an inability of the government to cope with Turkey's
economic problems.
Relations were inevitably strained with Greece, over the sovereignty
of the Aegean islands as well as over Cyprus, and inertia over
the search for a solution in Cyprus led to a crisis with the USA.
An embargo was imposed on arms supplies for a time, and Turkey
retaliated with closer control over US bases. The Soviet prime
minister paid a successful visit in December 1975. However, with
instability and political deadlock dominating the domestic front,
the renewed intervention of the armed forces seemed a possibility.
Following an embargo on arms by the USA and the closure of the
US defence installations in 1975, a new defence agreement was
signed in March 1976. In July and August of that year military
confrontation arose between Greece and Turkey as a result of Turkish
explorations for oil in areas of the Aegean Sea to which Greece
laid claim. With rejection by the International Court of Justice
of Greece's request for an injunction on further Turkish prospecting
the crisis passed.
Political instability and military rule, 1977-83
At elections held in June 1977, the RPP won 221 seats in the National
Assembly, but Ecevit was unable to form a government, and in July
Demirel became prime minister. His government was a coalition
of his Justice Party, the National Salvation Party, and the Nationalist
Action Party. Demirel precariously held on to power until 1978,
when Ecevit returned, leading another coalition. He was faced
with a deteriorating economy and outbreaks of sectional violence,
and by 1979 had lost his working majority and resigned.
Demirel returned in November, but the violence continued, and
in September l980 the army stepped in and set up a national security
council, with Bulent Ulusu as prime minister. Martial law was
imposed, political activity suspended, and a harsh regime established.
Democracy restored, 1983-91
Strong international pressure was put on Turkey to return to a more
democratic system of government, and in May 1983 political parties
were allowed to operate again. The old parties reformed under
new names and in November three of them contested the Assembly
elections: the conservative Motherland Party (ANAP), the Nationalist
Democracy Party (MDP), and the Populist Party (SDPP). The ANAP
won a large majority and its leader, Turgut Özal, became prime
minister. Özal and the ANAP retained their majority in the 1987
election. In 1989 Özal was elected president, with Yildirim Akbulut
as prime minister. In 1991 Mesut Yilmaz replaced Akbulut as head
of the ANAP and became prime minister.
By 1987 Turkey was making overtures to join the European Community
(EC; the predecessor of the European Union or EU). Long criticized
for its violations of human rights, at the end of 1989 Turkey
learned that its application for membership of the EC had been
refused and would not be considered again until at least the mid-1990s.
During the 1990-91 Gulf War, Turkey supported the US-led forces,
allowing use of vital bases in the country.
The Kurdish conflict
Ethnic Kurds had long suffered discrimination in Turkey, and from 1984
there had been guerrilla fighting in Kurdistan, and a separatist
Workers' Party of Kurdistan (PKK) was active.
During the early 1990s Kurdish separatist activity escalated
both within Turkey and in Europe, where Turkish businesses were
targeted in several leading cities. In March 1995 the government
launched a full-scale offensive into northern Iraq in an attempt
to eliminate PKK bases there. This, along with a second action
in July 1995, was widely condemned by the international community.
By the end of 1995 it was estimated that a total of 19,000 people
had been killed since the hostilities began in 1984. A government
crackdown was announced, but in April 1996 some of the bloodiest
fighting of the separatist campaign took place, with a new Turkish
offensive that claimed the lives of over 130 combatants - the
Turkish government having ignored the rebel leader's unilateral
cease-fire declaration in December 1995.
Support for the PKK appeared to be decreasing inside Turkey;
a Kurdish nationalist party endorsed by pro- PKK media won only
4% of the vote in the December 1995 elections. The PKK, however,
has an effective financial base among the half-million- strong
Kurdish diaspora in Europe, and is aided by covert support from
Syria and other rivals of Turkey.
Turkish politics in the 1990s
Following an inconclusive general election in October 1991, Demirel
formed a coalition government with the support of the Social Democratic
Populist Party, becoming premier for the seventh time.
President Turgut Özal died suddenly of a heart attack in April
1993. Demirel was elected president in May, and Tansu Ciller of
the the True Path Party (DYP) became Turkey's first female prime
minister. In the 1994 assembly elections, the Islamicist Welfare
Party made substantial gains.
In an attempt to boost the economy, the lira was devalued in
January 1994. Following a rise in annual inflation to more than
70%, the government announced measures designed to stabilize the
nation's economy, but by the end of 1994 the annual inflation
rate had risen to 149 %. During 1994, Turkey borrowed $742 million
from the International Monetary Fund.
In September 1995 the governing coalition collapsed. A customs
deal was agreed with the European Union (formerly EC) in December.
The December elections proved inconclusive, with the Islamicist
Welfare Party winning the largest numbers of seats. After weeks
of negotiation, Ciller and ANAP leader Mesut Yilmaz agreed in
February 1996 on a rotating five-year ANAP- DYP coalition, with
Yilmaz as premier. In May 1996 the DYP withdrew from the coalition.
In March 1997 Prime Minister Erbaken bowed to public pressure
for measures to stamp out Muslim fundamentalism and in the following
month concluded a 18-point agreement with senior military officers
that would further curb the growth of the Islamic movement at
the expense of the secular state.
The broad-based coalition government of Mesut Yilmaz won a vote
of confidence in July 1997, proclaiming a government of national
unity and promising to reduce the influence of Islamists. After
11 months of Islamist-led government, the new government showed
an understanding of secularism which appeared to be in line with
that prevalent in Western Europe.
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