Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

Revue de Presse-Press Review-Berhevoka Çapê-Rivista Stampa-Dentro
de la Prensa-Basm ()zeti
'There are basic, conurionly
accepted principles -' respect
for human rights, free and fair
elections, a free press, the right
to form political parties. And
some vaIues - transparency,
accountability, participation ~
are essential to any democra11c
system of governance. What the
Muslim world needs is models
of democracy that are authentically
Muslim and respect core
democratic principles.
For too long the West has
lived with a propaganda stereotype
that portrays Islam as
an evil phantom lurking in the
corner. It is this that explains the
appeal of Samuel Huntingdon's
"Clash of Civilizations" thesis,
with its determined search
for a new overarching enemy to
fill the void left by the demise of
Soviet communism.
In reality, anyone wanting to
confront the contemporary enemies
of democracy needs to
address the real and pressing
challenges of poverty and corruption.
No doubt we need to counter
extremists, wherever they
threaten democratic values -
Jörg Haider in Austria no less
than Afghanistan's Taleban.
Just as Iranians have voted
for modernization and against
extremism in their parliamentary
elections, however, so now
it is time for the international
community to give homegrown
Muslim democracy a
chance. Practical measures designed
to support and encourage
its evolution, instead of
ideological dismissal, would
make a good start.
This will take patience and
engagement. Building democracy
is after all a long-term
process. It will also need understanding,
and the rooting out
of clichés and stereotypes.
The writer, secretary-general
of the InternationalInstitute
for Democracy and Electoral
Assistance, contributed this
comment to the International
Herald Tribune.
]{tralb~~ribunt MARCH 4-5,2000
Turkey Tells EU It's on Track to Join
Lower Inflation Cited
With Growth Prospects
By Barry James
Internati//1IIJ1 Herald Tribune
BRUSSELS - Turkey's three top economic
officials came to Brussels this week
for talks aimed at readying the nation for
entry into the European Union, and mounted
a campaign to prove that Turkey is better
placed to join than many of the other 12
countries awaiting entry.
The economy minister, Recep Onal, said
that Turkey was on track to be "a lowinflation
high-growth country" within three
years. Combating inflation, which ran at
about a 70 percent annualized rate January,
is the nation' s top economic priority, said the
governor of the central bank, Gazy Ercel.
Independent analysts tended to agrce with
the assessment, and said that the obstacles to
Turkish membership were more political
than economic. Turkey has to convince the
EU that its democratic credentials are solid
and that it has resolved all border conflicts
before accession talks can begin.
The government brought inflation down
from about 100 percent in 1998 to less than
70 percent last year, and is aiming for singledigit
inflation within two years.
"The problems are the high public deficit
and inflation," said Nathalie Tocci, a research
fellow at the Center for European
Policy Studies. "Inflation has plummeted
incredibly. This has a lot to do with the
decision to accept Turkey as a candidatemember
last year," which improved investors
confidence in the country.
Other factors, she said, were a $4 billion
stabilization package from the International
Monetary Fund and the fact that the coalition
government is the strongest and most effective
the nation has had for decades.
With an annual growth rate approaching 8
percent and an official unemployment rate
below the 10 percent average in the EU,
Turkey is "the fastest growing economy in
Europe, " she said, and was on track to turn a
vicious circle of high inflation and high
public debt into a virtuous circle of solid
growth and controllable debt.
The IMF's mission to Turkey determined
this week that.the c0':1~tryh~d made enough
progress on Its an11-1OfIa11onprogram to
warrant releasing the second $300 million
portion of the $4 billion loan pledged by the
fund.
This was an encouraging sign, officials
said, because the country had failed to fulfill
the promises it made in 16 previous IMFbacked
loan programs. Last month, the IMF
predicted that Turkish prices would increase
25 percent this year, down from a projected
65.4 percent in 1999.
Despite the encouraging news on the antiinflation
front, Mr. Onal said Turkey had
suffered a severe setback because of last
year's earthquakes, losing up to 3.5 percent
of its gross national product growth. It also
was adversely affected by the economic
crisis in Russia, its second largest trade
partner after the EU.
Selcuk Demiralp, undersecretary at the
Turkish Treasury, said in Brussels that Turkey
hoped to meet the "Copenhagen criteria"
for joining the EU within "a very
short time," although exactly how long
would depend on the government's privatization
program, which he said was expected
to raise $18 billion in three years.
The Copenhagen criteria require "the existence
of a functioning market economy as
well as the capacity to cope with competitive
pressures and market forces within the tJnion.
"
The criteria also expect applicants to be
able to assume the obligations of economic
and monetary union. Under a customs union,
Turkey already made big steps to adapt its
trade regime and related legislation to that of
the EU.
The EU's statistical office, Eurostat, said
this week that about half of Turkey's trade
was carried out with the EU, about the same
as many members of the Union .. It said
Turkish export growth had been strong, increasing
by 15 percent between 1997 and
1998, the last year for which complete. figures
were available.
lS