Word: ecevit
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Amid fistfights and catcalls at a tumultuous joint session, the Turkish Parliament last week voted 319 to 252 to extend martial law for two months in 19 provinces. Under the circumstances, the margin of victory was surprisingly high: only two days earlier, the government of Premier Bülent Ecevit narrowly survived a censure vote by boycotting a session of the lower house, thereby preventing a quorum. With just 209 seats in the 450-member lower house, Ecevit's Republican People's Party depends on the uncertain support of independents to maintain a slim majority. Meanwhile, Ecevit...
Eager to return to power, Demirel blames Ecevit for the fact that Turkey is threatened by bankruptcy. The country has exhausted its foreign exchange reserves, faces $13 billion in foreign debts, and total exports earnings ($2.3 billion last year) barely cover the cost of imported oil. A group of 24 nations, led by the U.S., West Germany, Britain and France, agreed last month to provide $1.5 billion in emergency assistance. That aid was contingent on Turkish acceptance of an austerity program proposed by the International Monetary Fund...
...Ecevit, who only a few months ago was boasting that "Turkey will depend solely on her own resources," last week bowed to fiscal realism. He agreed to a demand by the IMF that the lira be devalued by a whopping 70%. Devaluation should restore Turkey's credit with the international banking community, clear the way for billions more in aid, and improve the country's balance of payments by making its exports more competitive. But the move will make life even more miserable than ever for the average Turk, who must cope with an annual inflation rate...
...hundred Alevis in the southern Turkish town of Maras. But unlike the Shah's Iran, Turkey has a functioning democratic system, and no single issue or popular figure unites the opposition. The government is fearful, however, that "political opportunists" will try to capitalize on religious rancor. Premier Bülent Ecevit has launched a vigorous television and radio campaign appealing for unity and tolerance...
...vital step would be to shore up the friendly Bulent Ecevit government in Turkey. Said Tahtinen: "We have to find a way to keep the present Turkish government afloat, to provide it $2 billion a year for the next five years to prevent a collapse." The aid should come, Tahtinen felt, not only from the U.S. but from other NATO countries and possibly Saudi Arabia, "which has an interest in stability in the region...