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Wednesday, 12 November,
2003
Once the centre of the Ottoman
Empire, the modern republic was
established in the1920s by nationalist leader Kemal Ataturk.
Straddling the continents of
Europe and Asia, Turkey's strategic
location has given itmajor influence in the region - and
control
over the entrance to the Black Sea.
OVERVIEW
| FACTS
| LEADERS
| MEDIA
The east and
southeast of Turkey saw years of civil war in the
1980s and 1990s between Turkish forces and those of the
secessionist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in which over 30,000
people died. PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan was detained in 1999
and sentenced to death. The sentence was commuted to one of
life imprisonment three years later, but only after parliament had
scrapped the death penalty.
The PKK has since said that it wants to campaign peacefully for
the rights of Kurds. In 2002 it changed its name to the Congress
for Freedom and Democracy in Kurdistan (KADEK). However, the
move has been dismissed as a sham by the Turkish authorities.
The overthrow of Saddam Hussein in neighbouring Iraq brought
the Kurdish issue back to the fore for Turkey. Ankara is extremely
apprehensive about the prospect of an independent Kurdish
state being declared by Kurds in the oil-rich north of Iraq, just
across the border. It fears that such a development would
inflame Kurdish separatism within Turkey's own borders.
In September 2003, the PKK/Kadek responded to what it said
wasthe Turkish government's failure to grant Kurds greater
politicaland cultural rights by ending a ceasefire which had held
for theprevious four years. A spokesman for the organization said
thatthis did not necessarily spell a return to all-out conflict but
the move was widely seen as an attempt to increase pressure
on Ankara to respond to Kurdish demands.
Turkey's powerful military - which sees itself as the guardian of
thesecular system - has a long tradition of involvement in the
country's politics. It was behind the removal of the country's
first Islamist government in 1997.
Turkey has applied for European Union membership, but the December
2002 EU summit in Copenhagen told Ankara it would have to wait until
at least the end of 2004 before
negotiations could start and that more progress would have to be
made with human rightsreforms. Turkey was subsequently warned that
progress could be hampered by failure to resolve the Cyprus issue.
After years of mounting economic difficulties, a controversial economic
recovery programme was agreed with the IMF in 2002. The government
is pledged to make progress with tax
reforms and privatisation and to trim jobs in the public sector. It won
praise for progress from the IMF leadership in autumn 2003.
FACTS
TURKEY
FACTS
Population
: 71.3 million (UN, 2003)
Capital
: Ankara
Major
language
: Turkish
Major
religion
: Islam
Life
expectancy
: 70 years
(men), 74 years (women)
Monetary
unit
: 1
Turkish lira = 100 kurush
Main
exports
: Fruit
and vegetables, textiles and
clothing, iron and steel
Average annual income:
US $2,900
Internet
domain
: .tr
International dialling code: +90
LEADERS
President: Ahmet Necdet Sezer
When Ahmet Necdet Sezer was sworn in in May 2000 he became
the first president in modern Turkish history who was neither an
active politician nor a military commander.
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Mr Sezer, previously the chief justice of the constitutional court,
is regarded as a secularist, a factor in his favour in the eyes of
Turkey's powerful military.
The veteran civil servant caused a stir in 1999 when he made a
speech criticising Turkey's constitution - introduced after a
military coup in 1980 - as restricting democratic rights and freedoms.
Some observers see his support for greater freedom of expression
as a potential positive in Turkey's bid to convince the EU that it is
making efforts to improve its record in this area.
Prime minister: Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Mr Erdogan, leader of the Islamist-based Justice and Development
Party (AK), became prime minister several months after his party's
landslide election victory in November 2002.
Prime Minister Erdogan
He had been barred from standing in those elections because of a
previous criminal conviction for reading an Islamist poem at a
political rally, an action deemed to amount to Islamist sedition and
for which he served several months in jail.
In Turkey the prime minister must also be a member of parliament.
AK deputy leader Abdullah Gul took on the premiership in the
months following the elections, but with Mr Erdogan playing a
prominent role, particularly in foreign visits.
Soon after the elections changes to the constitution paved the
way for Mr Erdogan to run for parliament in a by-election. He was
elected an MP in March 2003. Within days Mr Gul resigned, leaving
the way clear for Mr Erdogan to become prime minister.
For many poor Turks, he is something of a working class hero
although critics are dismissive of what they see as his populism.
From a poor background, he worked as a street seller to help pay
for an education. He attended Koranic school before studying
economics at university.
As mayor of Istanbul in the mid 1990s he banned alcohol in official
muncipal buildings and won popularity for improving services.
In 1997 the military became alarmed over what it saw as a threat
to Turkey's secularism. Erbakan's Welfare Party was banned
and he was forced to resign.
Although his new AK party has Islamist roots Mr Erdogan insists
that it is committed to secularism, something which the military
will watch closely.
He has identified EU entry as a top priority and has promised
reforms designed to bring Turkey more closely into line with entry
requirements.
Mr Erdogan has predicted that Turkey could join in 2012 if these
reforms are carried through.
MEDIA
OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA
Turkey's airwaves are lively, with some 300 private TV stations
and more than 1,000 private radio stations competing with the
services of the state broadcaster, TRT.
For Turkish journalists, the subjects of the military, Kurds and
political Islam are highly sensitive and can lead to arrest and
criminal prosecution. Media watchdogs and rights
groups report that journalists have been imprisoned, or attacked
by police. It is also common for radio and TV stations to have
their broadcasts suspended for airing sensitive material.
Kurdish-language broadcasts were banned for many years,
though a parliamentary vote in 2002 paved the way for their
legalisation. Kurdish-speaking viewers in Turkey are able to watch
overseas-based Kurdish TV channels, beamed across Europe by
satellite.
The press
Hurriyet - mass-circulation daily
Milliyet - mass-circulation daily
Cumhuriyet - left-wing daily
Turkish Daily News - English-language
Zaman - English-language web version of daily
Yeni Asir - daily
Sabah - daily
Television
Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) - state broadcaster,
operates four national networks
Star TV - private, the first station to break state TV's
monopoly
Show TV - private, widely-watched network
Kanal D - private, widely-watched network
ATV - private
TGRT - private
NTV - private
CNN Turk - Turkish offshoot of well-known news channel
Radio
Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) - state broadcaster,
services include cultural/educational network TRT 1,
popular music network TRT 3 and Turkish folk/classical
music station TRT 4
Show Radyo - commercial
Capital Radio - commercial, pop music
Radyo Foreks - news station |
