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Turkey’s engagement with global capital and internal balances
Now there is some activity in the private sector as well. While some are making new investments, others are separating from their partners and drawing a new road map for themselves.
Recently, Turkey's richest family, the Sabancıs, parted ways with ToyotaSA. Taking the “SA” out of the name, the Sabancıs have concluded their years of partnership. But how did they come to this point?
First, let's remember the Özdemir Sabancı incident. He was brutally murdered on the 25th floor of the Sabancı Center on Jan. 9, 1996, by Mustafa Duyar and his two friends, despite the building's high security. The mystery behind the murder was never solved. Duyar was killed in prison, and now both incidents have made it into the Ergenekon indictment. In fact, Nuri Ergin, who ordered the killing of Duyar, made an announcement suggesting that those who released Duyar from the Kırkalereli E Type Prison after killing Sabancı should be found and exposed.
 Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu (L) met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari (R) two weeks ago in Baghdad. The rebirth of Mesopotamia Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is not only the behind-the-scenes architect of the renovation of Turkish foreign policy, but also a successful performer on its stage. One of his important projects is called the “rebirth of Mesopotamia.” It will not only deal with Turkey's relations with Iraq, but also solve many other regional problems. During his visit to Baghdad, Davutoğlu said Turkey saw Iraq not only as a friendly country and neighbor, but also as a major trade partner and highlighted the “common fate” of the two countries. Mentioning that they look at the “water issue” from this perspective as well, the minister said the offer of “unlimited cooperation” concerning Mesopotamia was very important. The offer of unlimited cooperation in order to make the Mesopotamian region a rising star in the world again will relieve the pain and problems of the region, sources close to Davutoğlu have said. Making Mesopotamia a rising star again means prosperity, tranquility, permanent peace and happiness. |
At that time, Ali Suat Ertosun was the director general of penitentiaries and prisons. Now there are claims that a particular force is restraining those who want to expose the truth behind the Sabancı murder. The person making such claims is not any ordinary person; it is former Bayrampaşa Prison Prosecutor Necati Özdemir. The mystery behind the murder led to many questions. The role of competition in the automotive sector was widely debated by the public. In the days shortly after the Sabancı murder, Üzeyir Garih, who was also murdered, made similar assessments and linked the murder to Sabancı's partnership with Toyota.
ToyotaSA was founded in 1990 with 50 percent of shares belonging to Sabancı, 40 percent to Toyota and 10 percent to Mitsui.
Turkey has actually launched a serious drive to attract foreign investments. Efforts to attract foreign capital investments and incentives have been very professional so far.
The Investment Support and Promotion Agency of Turkey (ISPAT) has been working feverishly since its establishment. Frankly, I was very surprised when I heard that within just two years, they have obtained the services of some of the world's most powerful CEOs and bosses as consultants. Some of these are princes in their own countries and others are among the richest people in the world. As I listened to the agency's president, Alpaslan Korkmaz, I developed a better understanding of how far Turkey has progressed today from the dark days of the past.
The efforts have already yielded their fruits. While in the previous 30 years $18 billion worth of foreign capital came into the country, in the last five years this figure skyrocketed to $73 billion. This success did not come as a result of mere luck. Korkmaz summarizes his efforts in saying, “I am setting up a very strong team in the world.” Turkey will start a comprehensive worldwide campaign next month to attract foreign investment, promoting the benefits of investing in Turkey to media organizations in 70 countries. The amount of foreign investment in Turkey is expected to reach $10 billion in 2009, the year in which the global financial crisis reached an all time peak.
As the Turkish economy grows, we know that Toyota wants to make more investments in Turkey and certainly there must be an explanation for why the Sabancı Group is focusing on sectors it believes it has more power in. The public wonders whether it is just a coincidence that the Sabancı Group's decision to withdraw from the automotive sector came with the inclusion of the Sabancı murder in the Ergenekon indictment. On the one hand, historical breakthroughs are happening internally. On the other hand, there are important details that are being overlooked.
Opposition parties struggle to overcome own deadlock in Kurdish initiative As the Kurdish initiative develops new dimensions every day, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are secretly trying to overcome the deadlock they have formed for themselves. While our friends in the CHP indicate they have made progress in breaking the deadlock, our friends in the MHP say the struggle within the party is weak compared to the policy they adopted on hardening their opposition. The opposition's toughness lost its base after the National Security Council (MGK) also gave complete support to the brotherhood and unity project, also known as the democratization package, the scope of which is continuously expanding and which includes other initiatives as well as the Kurdish initiative. The CHP, which assessed the democratic initiative led by the government as “an attempt to divide the country,” first closed all its doors to the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). After recalling its previous efforts, the CHP and its leader, Deniz Baykal -- who made important studies in the past on solving the Kurdish issue -- has decided to assess a range of critical issues from the right to education in a person's native language to a general amnesty for Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) supporters. The CHP reopened the doors it had shut after realizing there was a surge in public support for the initiative as a “state project.” Certainly, the possibility of holding a referendum on the democratization package may also have played an important role in this move. A former MHP member friend of mine described the futility of the MHP's concerns in these words: “The package gives priority to human rights, but the MHP argues that a solution will lead to dissolution [of the Turkish state]. But as part of our cultural background we believe in the principle of ‘elevating the people so the state can be elevated.' Why will giving priority to human rights lead to dissolution? The MHP will eventually question itself.” |
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