First and foremost I envy their mental freedom and how this liberty has given birth to original brands such as German Bosch, US General Electric, Spanish Zara and even the Spanish Casa CN 235 military aircraft that Madrid has sold to Turkey. Turkish houses are packed with those foreign-made articles, from furniture to refrigerators, while the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is full of military equipment exported from abroad. Thus Turkey is still 75 percent reliant on foreign powers for major military systems, though there has been efforts launched to reduce this reliance by 50 percent in 2010.
To demonstrate the Turkish technological level, I will turn to what Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal said in a recent TV interview: even local Vestel electronic products sold worldwide contain 70 percent foreign technology.
Similarly, during an NTV program on Sunday night, people were discussing the issue of Turkey lacking innovative technologies, thus being unable to produce its own brand names. Some of the participants in the program naturally highlighted the importance of financial resources that should be earmarked for research and development (R&D) as an important means of obtaining advanced technology.
George Roussos, the director of Southeastern Europe operations for NEC (which provides innovate solutions of genuine value), told Sabah in an interview published yesterday that Turkey's level of techonolgy is low and that is why Turks are being deceived when buying technology from abroad.
There are hundreds of examples that could be cited to illustrate Turkey's negligence in becoming a nation mobilizing its population towards creativity instead of closing eyes to their current misery of having no hope for the future.
This weekend I was at a shopping center in Ankara when I entered into a store named Fresh Line. The shop carries products that it calls homemade cosmetics -- a Greek brand as the names of the products are written in the Greek alphabet alongside English explanations.
The cosmetics range from body lotions to soaps custom cut in the shop to suit customers' needs. All are made by hand and the company's Web site states their refusal to shape their haute couture cosmetics into industrial moulds.
Again my feeling of envy was renewed and I told the friend with me that, "We the Turks have been talking of a military coup (thanks to the April 27 e-memo issued on the TSK Web site that once again paralyzed society) but our neighbor (Greece) continues to make its name known with innovations."
It is the same Greece that, according to our controversial national security policy paper, is allegedly perceived as a threat. The same Greece that our establishment regards as an enemy who last year bought the shares of two Turkish banks.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the Hürriyet daily on July 2 that Turkish markets have seen a 12 percent fall with the 27 April tension.
"Whereas if April 27 had not happened, indexes at the İstanbul stock exchange could have seen over 50 thousand today," Erdoğan went on saying.
In other words, he said, the economy was affected by the April 27 e-memo.
"In the absence of a strong economy we can not talk about a strong security," the prime minister stressed in the same interview, recalling that Turkey has been setting up a modern TSK. He apparently indicated that a weak economy could also hamper the work of the TSK in its efforts to set up a modern military.
It has been so sad that in the 21st century Turkey -- which could have used its innovative potential to be among the world's leading nations creating its own brand names in all areas -- is still talking about military coups and invasions by neighboring countries, wasting the population's time instead of creating hopes for a bright future.
