"Turkey is still dependant on weapons systems imports of around 75 to 80 percent, while both Israel and Spain have arrived at a point where they sell arms to Turkey," he stressed. According to statistics that Bayar disclosed during a conference in Ankara in November 2005, Turkey ranked fourth in expenditure of imports of arms over the period between 1999 and 2003, while ranking 28th in exports during the same period. According to Vecdi Gönül, the Turkish minister of defense, Turkey aims at reducing dependency on weapons systems imports to 50 percent in 2010. Meanwhile it is true that in the past few years, the SSM has made serious efforts to mobilize about 15 military-owned companies, which take the major share in military procurement projects, to produce military technologies that would lessen Turkish dependency abroad.
The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK) was also encouraged to coordinate both military and the civilian research and development (R&D) projects to lessen Turkish dependency on high technology from abroad. Though Turkey has a long way to go to be able to develop the high military and civilian technology that would eventually help the country to take steps towards full-scale industrialization, we should say that its latest efforts to relatively maximize technology is better than doing nothing.
However, the Turkish Parliament's inability to do its job as regards democratic oversight of both the military budget and the military procurement projects, as envisaged under several reforms adopted to meet the criteria of the European Union with whom Turkey has already started accession talks, stand as an important weakness in decreasing the burden that the military purchases put on the Turkish tax payers. There is still neither an independent auditing mechanism set up nor does Parliament oversee, in any real sense, either the military budget and the extra-budgetary funds earmarked for defense.
For example, under an amendment made in 2004 to Article 160 of the Constitution, the Court of Auditors was allowed to audit Turkish military-held state property (real estates and arms in general) on behalf of the Parliament. This marked another step in lifting the veil of secrecy on the military. But Parliament has not yet adopted a regulation that would have enabled the Court of Auditors to audit the military's state property, due to the ongoing dispute among the ruling AKP and the opposition CHP over the details of the regulation.
By the way, it is worth reminding that lifting secrecy over the military-held state property through an amendment made on Article 160 has taken a long time due to the Turkish military's objections.
One important aspects of democracy is civilian oversight of the armed forces, which would not only pave the way for rational use of the financial resources available, but also will help with the purchase of the most required products instead of occasionally buying junk. For centuries, the Turkish people have made enormous sacrifices from their pockets for both the armed forces to become strong, and for the civilian governments to rule the country through good governance.
But we, the Turkish people, are deeply disappointed now to see that the civilian authorities have not been doing their job, which includes the oversight of the military, and attempt for the full implementation of accountability and transparency required for good governance.
The Turkish Parliament, in particular, has a major task in implementing the reforms that they voted for including the scrutiny to be imposed on the military's arms deals. That could help considerably to lessen the Turkish dependency on military technologies from abroad, from diverting the funds going abroad to the growth of the domestic economy, and helping to ensure the peoples' well being.
