SOCIEDAD ESPANOLA: LA GENERACION MILEURISTA

Mileurista
De Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

El neologismo mileurista (surgido a partir de mil euros) se aplica para definir a una persona perteneciente a la generación nacida en España entre 1965 y 1985 (aproximadamente) y con unos ingresos que no suelen superar los 1.000 euros al mes (según el Instituto Nacional de Estadística, el salario medio del asalariado español es de 1.538,17 euros brutos al mes (1.703,87 euros al mes para los que trabajan a jornada completa)[cita requerida]).

Además de a la situación económica, el concepto se refiere a la alta formación académica exigida, pues con frecuencia para ser mileurista suele ser necesario tener estudios superiores incluidos los de máster, postgrado, e idiomas, todo ello en un mercado laboral que evidentemente no compensa dicha preparación.

NUMERO DE AFECTADOSSegún Europa Press,[1] basándose en datos de la Agencia Tributaria del año 2006 recogidos por los Técnicos del Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda (Gestha) Existen casi 11 millones de personas que ganan menos de 13500 € brutos anuales, es decir, menos de 1100€ al mes, lo cual supone el 58% de los asalariados.Las comunidades autónomas con más mileuristas serían por este orden, Extremadura, con casi el 70% de la población, Murcia con el 67% y Andalucía con el 64%. Por encima del 50% se encontrarían Canarias, donde el 65% de sus asalariados son 'mileuristas', seguida de Castilla-La Mancha (60,6% del total), Galicia (60,6%), Baleares (60,3%) y Comunidad Valenciana (60,3%). La comunidad con menos "mileuristas" es, según Gestha, Ceuta, con el 45%.

El mileurismo como fenómeno sociológico El Mileurismo, refiriéndose a una corriente sociológica más que a un tramo concreto de renta, es una palabra que fue empleada por la escritora española Espido Freire, quien ha escrito dos libros sobre la situación socioeconómica de la juventud española después de la Transición democrática que describe el vocablo. El primero fue Mileuristas: cuerpo, alma y mente de la generación de los 1000 euros (Barcelona: Editorial Ariel, 2006).

Espido Freire define a los mileuristas, más que por sus ingresos alrededor de los mil euros al mes, como

El conjunto de españoles de entre 25 y 30 años con formación superior, que desempeñan trabajos por debajo de su capacidad, que vuelcan buena parte de sus expectativas vitales en el ocio, se interesan por la cultura en sus formas más modernas y son pasivos y protestones. Pertenecen a la generación más preparada de la historia de España. Rondan la treintena, son universitarios y saben idiomas. Pero los bajos sueldos, la sobreabundancia de titulados y los cambios sociales les han impedido llegar a donde pensaban llegar. Comparten piso; no tienen coche, ni casa, ni hijos y ya se han dado cuenta de que el futuro no estaba donde creían. Es el equivalente español de los llamados JASP, "Jóvenes aunque sobradamente preparados". Universitarios, se encuentran en un mercado sobresaturado de universitarios. Con poco más de mil euros deben sostener una vida de adultos, por lo cual no pueden permitirse hijos ni relaciones estables, comparten piso con otros mileuristas y, aunque están mejor formados que sus jefes y saben idiomas y manejan instrumentos informáticos que éstos no conocen, son sistemáticamente ninguneados y despreciados por estos y no acceden a puestos de superior retribución. No se comunican por los habituales medios de comunicación de masas, sino por internet o móvil, medios que sus jefes no valoran e ignoran, son individualistas y carecen de conciencia de clase social. Son víctimas de hipotecas abusivas y emplean casi todo su dinero en el ocio.

A threat of turmoil in Turkey

Considering a ban on the ruling party

TURKEY edged towards prolonged political and economic turmoil on Monday March 31st after the country's most senior court unanimously agreed to consider a case calling for the banning of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) party and for the prime minister to be barred from office.
The decision by the Constitutional Court could lead to a dangerous escalation in tensions between the AK party, with its roots in Islam, and its secular detractors in the army and the judiciary, who accuse the party of leading the country towards sharia rule.

In a 162-page indictment AK is accused of becoming “a centre for anti-secular activities” and the prosecutor calls for 71 of the party’s officials, including the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to be banned from politics for five years. The court, which is dominated by secular judges, voted without exception to consider the case. A majority of the judges also agreed to hear similar charges against the president, Abdullah Gul.
Mr Gul, who began politics in an overtly Islamist party, said the decision came as no surprise and promised to “carry on with business as usual.” The first signs of the case came at the start of the year after AK set out to ease a strict ban on the wearing of Islamic headscarves in universities. That provoked uproar among secular university rectors, who called it an assault on Ataturk's republic. It was cited as evidence in the prosecutor’s indictment along with various comments made by Mr Erdogan when he criticised restrictions on religious garb.
Turkey has shut at least four pro-Islamic parties since 1970. AK was formed by a group of moderate Islamists led by Mr Erdogan who came to power five years ago pledging to lead Turkey into the European Union. During its first term AK enacted a raft of radical reforms that persuaded EU leaders to open long-delayed membership talks. These, along with a strong economic record, helped AK to return to office last year with an increased share of the vote.
Western observers say the case against AK is unabashedly political and could further dampen Turkey's hopes of joining the EU. “In a normal European democracy, political issues are debated in parliament and decided in the ballot box, not in the courtroom,” said the EU's enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn.
The case may be an act of desperation by an old guard whose power is waning as EU-inspired changes take hold. Most obvious among them is the army, which has long tried to dictate policy from behind the scenes. The generals suffered a humiliating defeat last year when a campaign to prevent Mr Gul from becoming president backfired. Fearing that Mr Gul would rubber stamp AK-inspired laws, they went as far as to threaten a coup. Judges weighed in on the army's side and Mr Gul was forced to withdraw after the Constitutional Court upheld opposition claims that parliament lacked a quorum during a first round of balloting.
But AK's big electoral win allowed Mr Gul to revive his presidential ambitions and to claim the post in a fresh vote. Meddling by the army probably helped to bolster AK's ratings. A defiant Mr Erdogan has predicted that efforts to ban his party will have the same effect now. In any case, most outlawed parties resurrect themselves under a new name. So why bother trying to ban AK? Some pundits speculate that, rather than closing the party, the court will bar Mr Erdogan and a few of his lieutenants from politics. Without its charismatic leader the party would disintegrate, allowing the secular opposition to seize power again.
But things may not be that simple. Mr Erdogan is threatening to tweak the constitution to make it harder to ban political parties. He would then seek a referendum on the changes. Opposition leaders give warning that such “provocations” would lead to more tensions. AK officials counter that the greater risk is if their disgruntled supporters disregard Mr Erdogan's appeals for calm and take to the streets. Violence might ensue. Either way, Turkey's future is looking decidedly more unsure.

ispanyolca kursu: Vocabulario de PROFESIONES, LUGARES DE TRABAJO Y ESTUDIOS (MESLEKLER, IŞ YERLERİ VE ÖĞRENİMLER Sözlüğü)

Vocabulario / Sözlük-Verbos /Fiiller:Estudiar: verbo regular. Ders çalışmakTrabajar: verbo regular.Çalışmak-Conjunción /Bağlaç:O: veya.-Interrogativo /Soru:¿Qué?: Ne...?-Nombres /Isimler:Estudiante: ÖğrenciMedicina: Hekimlik, TıpUniversidad: Üniversite-Profesiones /Meslekler -Estudios /Öğrenim -Lugar / YerMédico - Medicina - HospitalEnfermero/a - Enfermería - Hospitalfarmaceutico/a - Farmacia - FarmaciaAbogado/a - Derecho - OficinaEmpresario/a - Empresariales - OficinaSecretario/a - Secretariado - OficinaContable - Contabilidad - OficinaIngeniero - Ingenieria - OficinaBanquero/a - Economía - BancoPeriodista - Periodismo - Television, Radio, PrensaPolicia - ComisaríaCamarero/a Hostelería Bar, Restaurante, HotelCocinero/a " "Arquitecto Arquitectura EstudioFrutero/a FruteríaCarnicero/a CarniceríaPanadero/a PanaderíaPescatero /a PescaderíaDependiente/a TiendaCantante - Mùsica, SolfeoMusico - Mùsica, SolfeoPintor/a -Bellas ArtesEscultor/a - Bellas ArtesFotografo/aTaxista - TaxiChofer - AutobusCamionero - CamiónJubilado/aActivadades / Aktiviteler¿Estudias o Trabajas? Soy banquero. (Okuyormusun veya çalışıyormusun?) Ben Bankacıyım¿Dónde trabajas? Trabajo en el banco Kredi. (Nerede çalışıyorsun? Yapı Kredi de çalışıyorum)¿Estudias o Trabajas? Soy estudiante. (Okuyormusun veya çalışıyormusun?) Öğrenciyim¿Qué estudias? Estudio Bellas Artes. (Ne okuyorsun? Güzel Sanatlar okuyorum)¿Dónde estudias? Estudio en la Universidad de Bilbao. (Nerede okuyorsun?)¿Estudias o Trabajas? Soy camarero. (Okuyormusun veya çalışıyormusun?) Garsonum¿Dónde trabajas? Trabajo en el Hotel Malena. (Nerede çalışıyorsun?)

ispanyolca kursu:LECCION 2- Verbos Regulares (Tiempo Presente) /Düzenli Fiiller (Şimdiki Zaman)

Verbos /FiillerHay verbos irregulares y regulares. Ahora aprendemos a conjugar los verbos regulares. Hay 3 tipos:İspanyolca'da düzensiz ve düzenli fiiller vardır. Şimdi Düzenli Fiiller çekimini ögreniyoruz. 3 tip vardır:

1)Terminación –AR (Ej. hablAR) (Sonu -AR ile bitenler)
Yo habl-O
Tú habl-AS
Él /Ella /Usted habl-A
Nosotros /Nosotras habl-AMOS
Vosotros /Vosotras habl-AIS
Ellos /Ellas /Ustedes habl-AN

2)Terminación –ER (Ej. bebER) (Sonu -ER ile bitenler)
Yo beb-OTú beb-ES
Él /Ella /Usted beb-E
Nosotros /Nosotras beb-EMOS
Vosotros /Vosotras beb-EIS
Ellos /Ellas /Ustedes beb-EN

3)Terminación –IR (Ej. vivIR) (Sonu -İR ile bitenler)
Yo viv-O
Tú viv-ES
Él /Ella /Usted viv-E
Nosotros /Nosotras viv-IMOS
Vosotros /Vosotras viv-IS
Ellos /Ellas /Ustedes viv-EN

Vocabulario
Lenguas: diller
Un poco de: Bir az
Español: ispanyolca
Turco: türkçe
Cola: cola

Interrogativo /Soru¿Qué?: Ne? Hangi?

ispanyolca kursu:LECCION 1- Saludos y Despedidas (Selamlar ve Vedalaşmalar)

Hola (Merhaba)
Adiós (Allaha Ismarladık)
Buenos días (Günaydın)
Hasta luego (Sonra görüşürüz)
Buenas tardes (İyi akşamlar)
Hasta mañana (Yarın görüşürüz)
Buenas noches (İyi geceler)
Nos vemos (Görüşürüz)
Encantado: Memnun oldum (erkek için)
Encantada: memnun oldum (kız için)
Pronombres Personales (Kişi zamirleri):
Yo (Ben)
Tú (Sen)
Él ( O /erkek)
Ella ( O /kız)
Usted (Siz /erkek ve kız/resmi konuşmalarda)
Nosotros (Biz erkek yoksa Karışık Grup)Nosotras (Biz Kız)
Vosotros (Siz erkek yoksa Karışık Grup)Vosotras (Siz kız)
Ellos (Onlar erkek yoksa Karışık grup)Ellas (Onlar kız)Ustedes (Sizler erkek ve kız/resmi konuşmalarda)
Verbo (Fiiller):
Llamarse (Adı ... olmak)Yo me llamoTú te llamasÉl /Ella /Usted se llamaNosotros /Nosotras nos llamamosVosotros /Vosotras os llamaisEllos /Ellas /Ustedes se llaman
Not: İspanyolcada fiilli cümleler yapılırken kişi zamirleri cümlede olmak zorunda değildir. Kişi fiil çekiminde ifade edilebilir.
Interrogativo (Soru Kelimeleri): ¿Cómo? (Nasıl)Símbolos (Semboller): ¡(...)! ¿(...)? (İspanyolcada soru cümlelerinin başına ters soru işareti sonuna da normal soru işareti konulur.)
Actividad (Aktivite):Adın ne? Adım Ozan. ¿Cómo te llamas (tú)? Me llamo OzanAdı ne? Adı Gülay. ¿Cómo se llama (ella)? Se llama GülayAdınız ne? Adımız Kaan ve Alper. ¿Cómo os llamais? Nos llamamos Kaan y AlperAdları ne? Adları Eda ve Furkan. ¿Cómo se llaman? Se llaman Eda y FurkanAdınız ne? Adım Lara. ¿Cómo se llama (Usted)? Me llamo Lara

Turkey strives for 21st century form of Islam

Ian Traynor, Europe editor The Guardian,
Wednesday February 27 2008

Turkey is engaged in a bold and profound attempt to rewrite the basis for Islamic sharia law while also officially reinterpreting the Qur'an for the modern age.
The exercise in reforming Islamic jurisprudence, sponsored by the modernising and mildly Islamic government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, is being seen as an iconoclastic campaign to establish a 21st century form of Islam, fusing Muslim beliefs and tradition with European and western philosophical methods and principles.
The result, say experts following the ambitious experiment, could be to diminish Muslim discrimination against women, banish some of the brutal penalties associated with Islamic law, such as stoning and amputation, and redefine Islam as a modern, dynamic force in the large country that pivots between east and west, leaning into the Middle East while aspiring to join the European Union.
A team of reformist Islamic scholars at Ankara University, acting under the auspices of the Diyanet or Directorate of Religious Affairs, the government body which oversees the country's 8,000 mosques and appoints imams, is said to be close to concluding a "reinterpretation" of parts of the Hadith, the collection of thousands of aphorisms and comments said to derive from the prophet Muhammad and which form the basis of Islamic jurisprudence or sharia law. "One of the team doing the revision said they are nearly finished," said Mustafa Akyol, an Istanbul commentator who reflects the thinking of the liberal camp in Erdogan's governing AK party. "They have problems with the misogynistic hadith, the ones against women. They may delete some from the collection, declaring them not authentic. That would be a very bold step. Or they may just add footnotes, saying they should be understood from a different historical context."
Fadi Hakura, a Turkey expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, described the project as an attempt to make Turkish Sunni Islam "fully compatible with contemporary social and moral values.
"They see this not as a revolution, but as a return to the original Islam, away from the excessive conservatism that has stymied all reforms for the last few centuries. It's somewhat akin to the Christian reformation, although not the same."
Under the guidance of Ali Bardokoglu, the liberal Islamic scholar who heads the religious directorate and was appointed by Erdogan, the Ankara theologians are writing a new five-volume "exegesis" of the Qur'an, taking the sacred text apart forensically, rooting it in its time and place, and redefining its message to and relevance for Muslims today. They are also ditching some of the Hadith, sayings ascribed to and comments on the prophet collected a couple of hundred years after his death.
A Roman Catholic Jesuit expert on Turkey and Islam, Felix Koerner, is working with the Ankara professors, reportedly schooling them in the history of western religious and philosophical change and how to apply the lessons of historical Christian reform movements to modern Islam. "This is really a synthesis of modern European critical thought and Muslim Ottoman Koranic tradition," said Koerner. "There is also a political agenda. With this government there is more confidence in these modern theologians."
Erdogan insists his AK party, in a country that is constitutionally secularist, is a Turkish Muslim equivalent of a European Christian democratic party - traditionalist, conservative, based on religious values, but democratic, tolerant, and liberal. With Spain and the Zapatero government, he is pushing an "Alliance of Civilisations" aimed at a rapprochement between the Muslim and western worlds. After years of fighting the militantly secularist Turkish establishment, he has just succeeded in lifting the ban on Islamic headscarves for girls in higher education. His many opponents decry it as part of Turkey's slide away from secularism down the slippery slope of Islamism.
Sources say the Islamic reform project is so ambitious and so fundamental it will take years to complete, but that it is already paying dividends - abolition of the death penalty, a campaign against honour killings, and the training and appointment of several hundred women as imams.
At a glance
The Hadith are narrations of the life of the prophet Muhammad and his companions and are considered an important source of material on religious practice, law, history and biography. Hadith relate what the prophet said, did or liked. Most Muslims consider the Hadith to be an essential addition to and clarification of the Qur'an. In Islamic jurisprudence the holy book contains guidelines about the behaviour expected from Muslims but there are no specific rules on many matters. Hadith influence around 90% of sharia, or Islamic law, and the most controversial ones concern the violent punishments meted out to adulterers and apostates, the role and treatment of women and jihad.Riazat Butt

Manchester am Bosporus

Die Türkei feiert ihr »Wirtschaftswunder«. Vor allem der Werftsektor boomt. Arbeiter hingegen müssen für Hungerlöhne ihr Leben riskieren
Von Nico Sandfuchs, Ankara

Der türkische Schiffbau boomt. Wie die meisten anderen Sektoren der Wirtschaft konnten sich auch die Eigner der großen Werften, die fast alle in der südlich von Istanbul gelegenen Region Tuzla angesiedelt sind, in den vergangenen Jahren über satte Gewinne freuen. Allein die Exporterlöse der Branche verdreifachten sich zwischen 2004 und 2007 von rund 700 Millionen US-Dollar auf knapp zwei Milliarden Dollar jährlich. Die Erfolgsstory der Werftbosse ist bezeichnend für die Türkei, wo nahezu sämtliche Wirtschaftszweige seit Amtsantritt der gemäßigt-islamischen Regierung unter Ministerpräsident Tayyip Erdogan ähnliche Umsatzsteigerungen hinlegen konnten. Auch der Umstand, daß sich die zweistelligen Zuwächse der Schiffbauunternehmen in den Lohntüten der Werftarbeiter nicht widerspiegelt, ist typisch: Ähnlich sieht es bei ihren Kollegen im Textilsektor oder im Baugewerbe aus. Denn von dem vielbeschworenen »türkischen Wirtschaftswunder«, das die neoliberale Politik Erdogans dem Lande angeblich beschert hat, ist bei der werktätigen Bevölkerung bislang nichts angekommen. Tageslöhne von umgerechnet kaum 15 Euro, fehlende Sozialversicherung, Wochenarbeitszeiten von 60 Stunden und mehr, Lohnkürzung oder Kündigung im Krankheitsfalle – unter diesen Umständen wird die türkische Arbeitskraft billig gehalten und so das vermeintliche Wirtschaftswunder am Bosporus überhaupt erst ermöglicht.
Tödliche ArbeitsunfälleDie Arbeitsbedingungen beim Schiffbau sind sogar für türkische Verhältnisse derart kraß, daß sie inzwischen selbst in der einheimischen Boulevardpresse thematisiert werden. Denn nicht nur die Gewinne der Werfteigner haben sich in den letzten Jahren verdreifacht: Die Zahl der Arbeiter, die während der Maloche ums Leben kommen, ist von durchschnittlich fünf auf mindestens 20 pro Jahr in die Höhe geschnellt. Allein seit Anfang des Jahres starben in der Region Tuzla bereits vier Werftarbeiter bei Arbeitsunfällen. Für den Verband der Schiffbauer (GISBIR) tragen die Arbeiter allerdings selbst die Schuld an den Unfällen. »Wir treffen alle Vorkehrungen, aber die Arbeiter sind einfach viel zu nachlässig bei der Umsetzung«, behauptete kürzlich Verbandschef Kenan Torlak. »Es ist Pflicht, Handschuhe und Schutzhelm zu tragen. Aber manche halten diese Vorschrift nicht ein.« In den Ohren der Funktionäre der Gewerkschaft Limter-Is klingen die Worte der Werftbesitzer geradezu wie Hohn. Viele der verunglückten Arbeiter wurden von tonnenschweren Stahlteilen erschlagen oder stürzten von wackeligen Gerüsten mehrere Dutzend Meter in die Tiefe. Daß das Tragen von Handschuhen und Helm die Überlebenschancen bei dieser Art von Unfällen kaum wesentlich erhöht, dürfte auch den Werftbossen klar sein, meint der Gewerkschaftsvorsitzende Cem Dinc. In Wahrheit würden die Arbeitsunfälle bewußt in Kauf genommen. Die Auftragsbücher sind voll, das Arbeitstempo ist dementsprechend hoch, selbst einfache Arbeitsschutzvorkehrungen würden umgangen, weil sie zu einem Zeitverlust führten. So würde ganz bewußt eher der Tod eines Arbeiters in Kauf genommen als die Konventionalstrafe, die drohe, wenn ein Auftrag nicht pünktlich ausgeführt wird. Verschärfend komme noch hinzu, daß ein Großteil der Beschäftigten ungelernte Leiharbeiter seien, die von Arbeitsvermittlern vor allem in Südostanatolien, dem Armenhaus des Landes, für Hungerlöhne rekrutiert würden. Gerade einmal zehn Prozent der 24000 Werftarbeiter, die in der Region Tuzla ihr Brot verdienten, sind den Angaben von Limter-Is zufolge fest angestellt. Der Rest sind ungelernte Zeitarbeiter, die zumeist nie zuvor in der Branche gearbeitet haben. Eine Umgehung sämtlicher Sicherheitsstandards, völlig übermüdete Malocher, die statt der vorgeschriebenen 37,5 Wochenstunden selten weniger als 70 Stunden arbeiten, ungelerntes Personal – tödliche Unfälle sind unter diesen Bedingungen geradezu programmiert.Die Angaben der Gewerkschaft über die horrenden Arbeitsbedingungen werden auch durch eine Studie der Regierung bestätigt. Im April des vergangenen Jahres ließ das Arbeitsministerium 44 Werften auf die Einhaltung der Arbeitsschutzbestimmungen überprüfen. Mehr als 500 schwerwiegende Mängel traten dabei zutage. Grund genug für ein Eingreifen ist dies allerdings auch vor dem Hintergrund der gehäuften Todesfälle nicht – man will die boomende Industrie schließlich nicht bremsen.
Streik für mehr SicherheitDie Gewerkschaft Limter plant deshalb nun einen Streik, um zumindest die Einhaltung der Sicherheitsstandards und einen Einstellungsstopp für Leiharbeiter zu erreichen. Von Gesprächsbereitschaft ist auf seiten der Werftbesitzer derweil keine Spur. Arbeiter, die vergangenen Samstag protestiertenw, wurden statt dessen kurzerhand auf die Straße gesetzt. Das rigide Vorgehen gegen jede Form von gewerkschaftlicher Organisation und Widerstand hat bereits dafür gesorgt, daß gerade viele der Leiharbeiter, die keine festen Verträge haben, einem Streik skeptisch gegenüberstehen: »Die Bosse sitzen einfach am längeren Hebel. Denn wenn Ali nicht arbeitet, dann kommt eben Mehmet und arbeitet für ihn. Und wenn Mehmet nicht arbeitet, dann kommt Hasan. Wenn ich sage, ich setze mich für 15 Euro am Tag nicht länger diesen Bedingungen aus, dann kommt einer, der die gleiche Arbeit sogar für zehn Euro macht – weil er das Geld noch viel nötiger braucht als ich«, sagt ein Arbeiter. Arbeitskraft ist billig im Wirtschaftswunderland Türkei. Und Menschenleben sind es auch.

Turkey and Islam Veils of half-truth

Feb 14th 2008 ISTANBULFrom The Economist print edition
What lies behind the row over lifting the headscarf ban in universities
TO TURKEY'S secular elite it is a step back to the dark ages; to its conservatives, an overdue right. Either way, the constitutional changes approved by parliament to ease the ban on the wearing of the Muslim headscarf in universities will trigger a new battle between the mildly Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his secular opponents.
Scores of university heads have declared they will ignore the changes, although they were approved by a big parliamentary majority on February 9th. Tens of thousands of Turks have taken to the streets in protest. The opposition leader, Deniz Baykal, promises to go to the constitutional court, arguing that the measures contravene constitutional guarantees of secularism. The court may rule in his favour, as it did in a dispute about the Turkish presidency last May. In any case, before the measures take effect the government has to change more specific rules about garb on campuses. Some doomsayers predict the sort of violence that flared between leftist students and nationalists and Islamists in the 1970s.
Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development (AK) party has been under pressure from its base to scrap the headscarf restriction, which was imposed only in the 1990s, ever since it came to power in 2002. Polls show that most Turks favour lifting the ban for university students. Even the country's generals have remained silent, for a change. So what is all the fuss about?
One answer is that the battle over headscarves is not really about religion at all. Rather it is a power struggle between a rising class of observant Turks from the Anatolian hinterland and an entrenched elite of secular “white” Turks, backed by the generals and the judiciary. “Women with scarves used to be our maids, now they have become our neighbours,” sniffs one Istanbul socialite.
But snobbery and power are only part of the story. The headscarf debate reflects a clash between tradition and modernity as much as one between Islam and democracy. Many Westernised, middle-class Turks, especially women, fear for their lifestyle. They cite government plans to ban the showing of alcohol on television as another example of creeping conservatism. It did not help when one AK member of parliament crowed that, after getting the headscarf into universities, government offices would be next.
Even headscarf campaigners complain that they knew nothing about the government's plans. Some believe they were designed merely to win votes in the local elections due next year. If the AK were serious about bolstering equality between the sexes, “there would be more than one woman in the cabinet,” says one AK-supporting lady. And if letting women cover their heads were a matter of rights, as Mr Erdogan claims, why has the government not scrapped Article 301 of the penal code, which criminalises free speech? (Its most recent victim is Atilla Yayla, a liberal academic, given a suspended three-year jail sentence for calling Ataturk “that man”.) The government is also dragging its feet on European Union demands to make it easier for non-Muslim minorities to reclaim properties confiscated by the state.
One reason for this, some suggest, is that the AK government needed to placate a small far-right party whose support it needed in parliament to secure a two-thirds majority on the headscarf. At all events, Mr Erdogan's waning interest in joining the EU has led to growing disenchantment among his liberal supporters. Their problem is that they have nowhere else to turn. Mr Baykal, who purports to stand for Ataturk and modernity, is among the country's most strident opponents of EU-imposed reforms. Despite losing three elections within the space of a decade, he remains firmly in position.
The bigger worry is that Turkey has not yet devised a system of checks and balances that can protect the rights of all individuals, be they secular or pious, Turks or Kurds. As Abdullah Gul, the pro-European Turkish president, argued this week, EU membership could offer a panacea for Turkey's ills. If only Mr Erdogan (and existing EU members) would agree.

TURKEY: WORRIES MOUNT OVER GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO DEMOCRATIZATION

Yigal Schleifer 2/13/08
The recent vote in the Turkish parliament ending the ban on headscarves at public universities is raising concern about the future direction of Turkey. Some political observers are voicing concern that the government may be turning away from its broad reform agenda covering domestic democratization and Turkey’s European Union bid.
"The perception shared by many intellectuals is that this reform [over headscarves] will come at the expense of other reforms," says veteran Turkish journalist Yavuz Baydar, a columnist for the English-language newspaper Today’s Zaman.
"Some intellectuals [who support the government] are starting to have second thoughts about whether the government has a well-defined strategy for change for Turkey, and what triggered this doubt is the priority that the government has put on the headscarf issue."
The constitutional reform package that ended the headscarf ban zipped through parliament, after first being introduced only a few weeks ago by the liberal Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) government. The rapid passage of the measure contrasted sharply with the AKP’s drive to promote European Union membership. Over the last year, many of Turkey’s EU-related reforms have stalled.
For example, article 301 of the penal code, used to punish those who have "insulted Turkishness" and which has marred Turkey’s record on freedom of expression issues, remains unchanged despite numerous promises by the government to amend it. Meanwhile, the draft version of a new civilian-minded constitution, meant to replace one written by the military following a 1980 coup, has been ready for months but has yet to be presented by the government.
"What Turkey really needs to have is a very profound constitutional debate," says Katinka Barysch, an expert on Turkey at the Centre for European Reform, a think tank based in London. "The headscarf is only the tip of the iceberg."
Ali Babacan, Turkey’s foreign minister, claimed that lifting the headscarf ban was part of the effort to meet EU membership requirements. But EU officials were quick to make clear that the issue was strictly a domestic Turkish matter. "There is no EU legislation on the issue of wearing the headscarf," Krisztina Nagy, the spokesperson for the EU Commissioner for Enlargement Olli Rehn, told reporters in Brussels after the Turkish vote.
Says a European diplomat based in Ankara: "The fighting over the headscarf issue is distracting from dealing with other issues, and could make it more difficult for the different sides to come together on these issues, if it reinforces antagonisms and skepticism."
"It is unfortunate that this has taken up priority over these other issues, such as the reform of 301 and the constitutional process as a whole," the diplomat continued. "We hear from the government that reforms are in the pipeline. … But those never come true."
Also worrisome for observers was that in order to pass the headscarf legislation, the AKP had to enter what some have termed an "unholy alliance" with the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP), a hard-line group that has taken a rejectionist stance on many of Turkey’s EU reforms. Already, parliamentary debate over a bill that would provide for the return of property confiscated by the Turkish state from religious minority groups has been delayed by the AKP government, in order not to antagonize the MHP, which opposes the legislation.
Academics, meanwhile, are expressing concern that the focus on the headscarf issue is obscuring the need for more substantive reforms in Turkey’s higher education system. The same 1982 constitution that created the headscarf ban also put in place a highly centralized and bureaucratic university system that many academics assert stifles academic and intellectual freedom.
"The whole higher education system needs a greater look and needs to be reformed," says Ustun Erguder, a political scientist at Sabanci University in Istanbul. "This headscarf issue just delays the whole thing."
But Sahin Alpay, a professor at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University and a leading Turkish liberal secularist, counters that getting the headscarf issue out of the way may actually make it easier to bring about other constitutional changes. "It may be a good thing that the headscarf issue is dealt with separately, because then the discussion of the new constitution will not be overshadowed by this extremely divisive issue," he said.
AKP government representatives insist that the party pushed for lifting the ban in the name of human rights and civil liberties. "Our main aim is to end the discrimination experienced by a section of society, just because of their personal beliefs," AKP parliamentarian Sadullah Ergin recently told private broadcaster NTV.
Because of the ban, many covered women went abroad to study. (The covered daughters of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for example, attended college in the United States). Other women have resorted to wearing wigs over their headscarves in order to attend classes at Turkish state universities.
According to one recent poll, 60 percent of Turks support ending the headscarf ban. Still, the reaction from Turkey’s secular establishment has been forceful. While parliament was voting February 9 in Ankara, tens of thousands of flag-waving demonstrators turned out for pro-secularism rally only a few blocks away.
Although Turkey’s powerful military, considered the ultimate guardian of the country’s secular tradition, has, for now, remained quiet on the issue, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main secular opposition party in parliament, has vowed to appeal to the country’s top court to annul the vote lifting the headscarf ban.
"The aim [of the legislation] is to erode the principle of secularism in the constitution," said Kemal Anadol, spokesman for the CHP, at the start of the debate in parliament.
Editor’s Note: Yigal Schleifer is a freelance journalist based in Istanbul.
Posted February 13, 2008 © Eurasianet http://www.eurasianet.org

MUJERES-TURQUÍA: Un velo sobre la identidad nacional

Análisis de Hilmi Toros
ESTAMBUL, 6 feb (IPS) - El gobierno de Turquía mantiene vivo el debate hacia una reforma constitucional que, de concretarse, levantaría la prohibición a las mujeres de cubrir la cabeza con la tradicional mantilla musulmana cuando asisten a las universidades.
La oposición percibe en la iniciativa un intento de debilitar el actual régimen secular y de imponer principios islámicos, incluso más allá de la educación superior. Temen que este país aspirante a miembro de la Unión Europea (UE) se deslice, en realidad, hacia restricciones religiosas. Pero el oficialismo considera que el levantamiento de la prohibición representaría, en cambio, un paso hacia una libertad de expresión similar a la que disfrutan las estudiantes de universidades occidentales. El gobernante Partido de Justicia y Desarrollo (AKP), fundado por miembros de un partido islamista proscripto y que hoy se definen como conservadores, se unieron con el Partido de Movimientos Nacionalistas para concretar la enmienda que deroga la prohibición. Los dos partidos suman 410 votos en el parlamento, y se requieren 367 para aprobar la reforma. El proyecto ya se encuentra a estudio de una comisión legislativo y el trámite elegido es de carácter acelerado. Podría adoptarse en un plazo de 10 días. El Partido Popular Republicano (CHP), el principal de la oposición y fundado en los años 20 por el padre de la Turquía secular, Mustafá Kemal Ataturk, anunció que, de aprobarse la reforma, procuraría anularla mediante una demanda ante la Corte Constitucional. Unas 100.000 personas marcharon en Ankara el sábado contra los cambios propuestos. La reforma se concretará solamente en relación al denominado "basortusu", pequeño pañuelo usado por millones de mujeres en todo este país de 70 millones de habitantes. Los turbantes, por ejemplo, seguirán prohibidos, pues se los considera símbolo del fundamentalismo islámico. La mayoría de las esposas de los miembros del AKP usan turbante. El primer ministro y líder del AKP Recep Tayyip Erdogan, otrora islamista, había prometido a la devota base musulmana del partido que levantaría la prohibición. La enmienda, según Erdogan, solo pretende acabar con la discriminación contra las universitarias devotas y a restablecer su derecho a recibir educación terciaria. "Ningún derecho humano básico plantea una amenaza a la democracia o a los valores fundamentales de la república. El gobierno del AKP garantiza nuestro orden secular", declaró Erdogan. Mientras, el líder del opositor CHP, Deniz Baykal, consideró que "éste no es un asunto religioso, sino altamente político". Baykal acusó al AKP de intentar hacer pasar el turbante por "basortusu", y dijo que el turbante "no es turco, sino importado" de la secta musulmana wahabi, extremadamente religiosa y originaria de la Península Arábiga. El dirigente Husnu Tuna, del AKP, afirmó que "el objetivo" de la reforma "es levantar la prohibición en todos los ámbitos", lo que condujo a críticas de la oposición sobre la existencia de una agenda islámica oculta en el oficialismo, que alega lo contrario. "El problema real es el peligro de que esta libertad (de usar el pañuelo) se propague a todas las áreas públicas y también contamine las escuelas primarias y secundarias, los hospitales y los juzgados con el paso del tiempo", dijo el analista liberal Mehmet Alí Birand, del periódico Posta. "El peligro real es generar hombres y mujeres de turbante, que sean jueces, fiscales o médicos, y que afronten instancias en que médicas se nieguen a examinar a pacientes hombres o que mujeres se nieguen a que las examine un médico", sostuvo. El mundo académico, directamente afectado, está dividido. "Advertimos a quienes apoyan la reforma y a quienes permanecen en silencio que la enmienda socavará los avances de la república y que el orden secular llegará a un fin", dijo el profesor Mustafá Akaydin, presidente del Consejo Interuniversitario y presidente de la Universidad de Akdeniz. "Esto transformará de modo inevitable a la República Turca en un estado religioso", advirtió. El rectorado de la Universidad de Estambul, la mayor del país, con 50.000 estudiantes, sostuvo que "los intereses y opciones políticas, disfrazadas de libertad de credo, no pueden permitirse para amenazar la libertad científica en las universidades". "Turquía no será una escena para juegos de sharia (ley islámica) y abuso de religión. No podemos hacer la vista gorda ante quienes por su voluntad o su ignorancia debilitan nuestro orden social", señaló el rectorado en una declaración pública. El profesor Ural Bulut, rector de la prestigiosa Universidad Técnica de Medio Oriente en Ankara, dijo, entrevistado por CNN Turquía: "Si la reforma se adopta, los islamistas radicales presionarán para que la prohibición se levante en los niveles inferiores de la enseñanza y en otras áreas. Quienes no usan el pañuelo quedarán bajo presión." Pero, en el mismo programa, su colega Ihsan Dagi acotó que "las universidades no deberían preocuparse por las prohibiciones sino por las libertades y la educación". Dagi presentó una petición para levantar la prohibición, y dijo que en 24 horas sería apoyado por más de 600 profesores universitarios de todo el país. Dos poderosas organizaciones del sector privado, la Asociación de la Empresa y la Industria y la Organización Empresarial Femenina, se oponen a derogar la prohibición por entender que el gobierno se concentra en el velo y no en las reformas en materia de derechos humanos que reclama la UE. La oposición también teme que un retroceso de los valores seculares aumente el sentimiento antiturco en la UE. "Habrá confusión y más polarización, con la posibilidad de que el conflicto escale", dijo a IPS el profesor Ilter Turan, ex rector de la Universidad Bilgi de Estambul. Las fuerzas armadas, que derrocaron a cuatro gobiernos civiles, uno de ellos islamista, desde 1960, y que se consideran a sí mismas guardianes del orden secular, no formularon comentarios. Sólo advirtieron que su posición en la materia es bien conocida, en evidente referencia a una declaración de abril pasado en la que se reivindicaron como "parte interesada" en el debate sobre secularismo, y manifestaron que actuarían en su defensa cuando fuere necesario. La prohibición entró en vigor en 1989, cuando un tribunal falló que la mantilla violaba el artículo 2 de la Constitución, sobre la inmodificable naturaleza secular de la república. En los conservadores años 90, se prohibió el ingreso a las universidades a las estudiantes que no cumplieran con la disposición. El propio Erdogan envió a sus hijas a estudiar al exterior para eludir la norma. La hija del presidente Abdullah Gul cubrió su pañuelo con una peluca al estilo occidental. Su esposa, primera primera dama de la república secular que usa velo, demandó en el pasado al Estado turco ante la Corte Europea de Derechos Humanos para reivindicar su derecho a lucirlo. Pero retiró la demanda cuando su esposo ascendía en el gobierno. En otra oportunidad, el tribunal europeo avaló la prohibición de la mantilla. Millones de mujeres turcas cubren hoy sus cabezas, y la práctica es cada vez más visible. También son más frecuentes otras modalidades de velo. La "burka" que cubre la mayor parte del rostro y se extiende hasta los pies --como en Irán y Afganistán-- todavía es inusual. La enmienda propuesta establece, además, que un pañuelo admisible debe ser lo suficientemente pequeño para dejar el rostro descubierto, a fin de permitir la identificación, con un nudo bajo el mentón. Tal como están las cosas, ni la primera dama ni la esposa del primer ministro calificarán para ser admitidas en una universidad turca. El pañuelo que cubre sus cabezas no está atado bajo la barbilla, sino en la nuca. (FIN/2008)

Analysis: Turkey embraces wind power

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 In an era of record high oil prices, many countries increasingly are turning to alternative fuels, including biofuel, solar energy and wind power. This pattern is typically pronounced in Turkey, forced to import more than 90 percent of its energy needs, with energy suppliers that are not only expensive, but erratic.In 2006, Turkey spent $29 billion on energy imports, primarily from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Russia. High prices and fickle suppliers have stimulated Turkey's growing interest in wind power.Turkish interest in alternative fuels has been spurred by recent events. Turkish natural gas imports come primarily from Russia via the South Stream pipeline and Iran. On Dec. 31, Turkmenistan halted its deliveries of natural gas deliveries to Iran, citing the need for urgent pipeline repairs. The cutoff subsequently forced Iran to reduce its gas exports to Turkey by 75 percent, from 20 million cubic meters to 5 million cu. m., as inclement weather increased domestic demand, disrupting Iran's domestic gas distribution. Tehran subsequently claimed that Turkmen action was, in fact, a retaliatory move over proposed price increases. Iran then stopped shipments completely Jan. 8, leading Ankara the next day to halt the flow of Azeri gas to Greece because of the suspension of gas supplies from Iran.Turkey is Iran's sole export market for natural gas, but the relationship has not been smooth, again due to disputes over price. The Turkmen incident had a feeling of deja vu, as in January 2006 Iran halved its supplies of natural gas to Turkey to around 7 million cubic feet per day, citing "climactic conditions" and increased domestic need, while in December 2006 it temporarily shut off supplies completely.During the most recent dispute, Turkey turned to Russia with a request for additional natural gas supplies, but was rebuffed. Instead, Moscow also reduced exports, citing severe weather. As natural gas powers half of Turkey's power stations, state pipeline company Botas was forced to tap reserves in its gas depot near Silivri, Turkey's sole gas-storage facility.The incident has provided further incentives to Turkish efforts to seek alternatives. A measure of Ankara's determination to free itself from the grip of avaricious, erratic energy suppliers is a dramatic rise in governmental interest in wind power, which is illustrated in government figures. While in 2006, wind power in Turkey generated 19 megawatts of electricity, last year Turkey's 10 wind farms produced nearly 140 megawatts, a 736 percent increase.Turkey's interest in renewable energy dates back to 2005, when the Turkish Grand National Assembly passed a renewable energy law harmonizing government legislation with European Union legislation to support renewable sources, including wind power. The new law provided a government guarantee to purchase electricity at a set price for seven years.Marmara University Energy Department Associate Professor and World Wind Energy Association Vice President Tanay Sidki Uyar recently said that if Turkey properly developed all of its renewable energy potential resources, including solar, wind, hydroelectric and geothermal power sources, the country could become self-sufficient in energy. Uyar told RenewableEnergyAccess.com, "Wind power could supply Turkey's electricity needs twice over within five to 10 years if the government had the political will to develop this sector." Uyar added, "We have terrific geographic conditions for solar and wind power in Turkey. Exploiting it is already economically and technically possible, but the problem is that the government favors fossil fuels and nuclear energy."Epitomizing Ankara's determination to become energy self-sufficient is a contract signed last July with General Electric for 52 of its latest generation of wind turbines with a generating capacity of 2.5 megawatts apiece. The GE 2.5xl is the largest GE wind turbine available for onshore applications and is specifically designed to meet EU requirements, where the relative lack of available land is a significant constraint on project size. While previous wind park projects were primarily situated in Turkey's western regions and the Aegean coast, the 130-megawatt GE wind power project in southeastern Turkey will be the world's largest installation of GE latest 2.5xl wind turbine technology and will more than double Turkey's installed wind capacity.Turkey is not limiting itself to U.S. suppliers; on Jan. 30, Turkey's Rotor Energy Co., a subsidiary of Zorlu Energy, signed a contract with Ecosecurities to build a wind power plant in the southern province of Osmaniye. The Osmaniye facility, scheduled to come online in 2009, will initially generate about 135 megawatts daily, with an annual capacity of 500,000 megawatts.Ankara is not moving on the issue as swiftly as alternative energy advocates would like, however; proposals to build wind farms with a total operating capacity of 8,000 megawatts is still awaiting government approval. Ankara has already issued about 40 licenses for wind parks, each with an installed 20-60 megawatt capacity.The future looks bright for alternative energy companies, as the Turkish government intends to privatize a significant proportion of the country's primarily state-owned energy and gas supply companies over the next few years. Given the "pipeline politics" that Turkey has recently endured with its fickle natural gas suppliers Russia and Iran, Ankara's move toward alternative energy makes both fiscal and ecological sense.
http://www.earthtimes.org/

Orhan Pamuk:«Lo que une a los pueblos es el sonido del corazón»

El Premio Nobel de Literatura de hace dos años aspira a que Turquía entre en la Unión Europea, a pesar de los inconvenientes que hay EFE / MADRID

efe / madrid El escritor turco Orhan Pamuk cree que «el nacionalismo ascendente» que se da en buena parte del mundo es uno de los motivos que impide el ingreso de Turquía en la UE, aunque su experiencia le ha enseñado que «lo que une a los pueblos no es la política, sino el sonido del corazón, la música de los cuerpos». Pamuk, Premio Nobel de Literatura 2006, lanzó hace unos días esta reflexión en un reciente encuentro con la prensa en el que tanto él como Juan Goytisolo defendieron con énfasis la necesidad de que la UE «abra sus puertas» a Turquía, porque así podría aflorar a la superficie «toda la riqueza, la belleza y la multiculturalidad de este país». El novelista turco, que desde el principio dejó claro que en España se siente «como en casa» y que su cultura no le es ajena, tuvo un doble motivo para estar en Madrid: lo han hecho doctor honoris causa por la Universidad Complutense, y por intervenir, junto con Goytisolo, en el programa Miradas turcas que se desarrolla estos días en la capital. A ambos escritores les une una fuerte amistad desde hace dieciocho años y una recíproca admiración. Uno y otro son también claro ejemplo de intelectuales «comprometidos con el tiempo que les ha tocado vivir», como puso de manifiesto la coordinadora de esta iniciativa, Concha Hernández. La creencia en la Alianza de Civilizaciones, «no en el choque» de las mismas, es otra de las cuestiones que une a Pamuk y a Goytisolo, si bien este último prefiere hablar de «alianza de valores» porque hay «civilizaciones distintas que comparten valores como la democracia y el concepto de ciudadanía». «Hay dos países musulmanes en los que estos conceptos tienen validez: la desdichada Bosnia, a la que la Unión Europea y el mundo dejaron machacar hace unos años por el simple hecho de ser musulmana, y Turquía. La relación con estas naciones es esencial para la UE», subrayó Goytisolo, cuya defensa del mundo y la cultura árabes es de sobra conocida. Uno y otro reconocieron que la situación otomana «es compleja» y que su ingreso en la UE lo puede dificultar la existencia de grupos ultranacionalistas o el que, como dijo Pamuk, su país «no es una sociedad libre, no hay libertad de expresión», tal y como muchos turcos desearían que hubiera. sin excusas. Pero esa falta de libertad de expresión no afecta sólo a su país y «no se debe utilizar como excusa» para evitar su ingreso. El autor de El libro negro -novela que impresionó profundamente a Goytisolo-, Me llamo Rojo o Estambul, está convencido de que, cuando se superen estos problemas, Turquía «aportará mucho a la Unión Europea», y viceversa. Lamentablemente, «y a pesar del esfuerzo que realizan muchos compatriotas», esos inconvenientes «aún no se han superado» y, además, «la emoción y el entusiasmo que había hace cinco o seis años en Turquía» por incorporarse a la Unión Europea «se va apagando», y eso le entristece. Esta «situación actual negativa» es transitoria y Turquía camina hacia «otro nivel de convivencia y de relaciones», aseveró Pamuk, a quien su propia experiencia vital le ha servido para sacar una conclusión: «La cultura oriental y la occidental no son diferentes; es una misma cosa con diferentes caras». Como las preguntas de tipo político fueron incesantes durante el encuentro con la prensa, recordó que sus denuncias sobre lo que sucede en su país le han acarreado problemas con el Gobierno y algún que otro castigo. Además, le gustaría ser conocido «no como un escritor activista que opina sobre la política actual», sino como «una persona sentada ante su mesa de Estambul que intenta crear un universo de ficción».

La larga travesía por el desierto

http://www.elpais.com/
F. C. 20/01/2008
Turquía cumple todos los requisitos técnicos para entrar en la UE, pero no logra completar sus reformas

La visita del primer ministro turco Recep Tayyip Erdogan a España ha reactivado el debate sobre el ingreso del país euroasiático a la Unión Europea. El propio presidente del Gobierno, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, manifestaba abiertamente su apoyo a la adhesión turca, mientras que Erdogan aprovechaba la ocasión para recordar que Turquía cumple con todos los requisitos técnicos de la Comisión, razón suficiente para que la UE "explique de forma científica por qué no se les acepta dentro del club comunitario". Para el jefe del Ejecutivo turco, su país cumple los criterios de Maastricht, a diferencia de muchos actuales socios de la UE.
Un largo camino
La adhesión de Turquía a la Unión Europea ha estado marcada por un largo y tortuoso camino de más de 40 años y que comenzó formalmente en octubre de 2004. Unas negociaciones que casi siempre han estado condicionadas por la política, la religión y los derechos civiles, pero también por la economía. Precisamente, el argumento que Erdogan ha tomado como referencia para agilizar su ingreso. Los datos indican que Turquía ha crecido a tasas que duplican a la Unión Europea en el último lustro, realizando importantes esfuerzos para adaptar su economía a estándares comunitarios.
Después de solventar la severa crisis del sistema financiero de 2001, el país ha tenido un crecimiento sostenido que le ha permitido casi triplicar su PIB en seis años. Con una producción de 500.000 millones de dólares, el país se ha colocado en el puesto número 17 de las economías más grandes del mundo y en el sexto del continente, después de los Países Bajos. Durante esta década, la Administración turca también ha logrado controlar sus elevadas tasas de inflación, un mal que ha afectado históricamente a las finanzas turcas, con tasas que en el año 1997 rozaron el 100% de crecimiento anual. En 2001, este indicador llegaba al 68,5%, producto de la fuerte depreciación de la moneda local, la lira, reduciéndose hasta el 8,6% en 2007.
Esta evolución ha ido acompañada con el control de las cuentas públicas que, de momento, le permiten cumplir con los criterios de austeridad presupuestaria establecidos en Maastricht. Después de una serie de acuerdos con el FMI, Turquía ha pasado de tener un déficit fiscal del 12,9% del PIB en 2002 hasta bajar del 3% exigido por Europa a partir del año 2005. En cuanto a la deuda pública, ésta se ha reducido hasta el 64% en 2006, desde el 104% de 2001. Datos que, según Turquía, le hacen cumplir adecuadamente los estándares europeos. No obstante, para el club comunitario hay una serie de reformas que aún están pendientes.
Descontando las disputas con Chipre, el problema kurdo, los escasos avances en materia de derechos civiles y mejoras del sistema judicial, hay trabas económicas que siguen siendo un problema. En sus sucesivos informes sobre la adhesión, la Comisión ha advertido que la autoridad monetaria no es lo suficientemente independiente del poder político y que las autoridades públicas no terminan de desligarse del sistema financiero. En al ámbito del empleo, la UE ha detectado incumplimientos relativamente importantes en lo que se refiere al respeto de los derechos sindicales, a la lucha contra el empleo no declarado y a las capacidades administrativas.
Temas pendientes
Otro de los temas aún pendientes para la UE es la fiscalidad y su escasa adaptación al acervo comunitario en temas como el IVA y los tipos aplicados, la estructura y los tipos de los impuestos especiales y la fiscalidad directa. No obstante, la Comisión reconoce que, en cuanto a la competencia, la armonización con el acervo en el ámbito de los acuerdos entre empresas está ya muy avanzada y que la adaptación legislativa en este ámbito continúa progresando. También destaca la consolidación de la intermediación financiera, aunque aún se detectan problemas en el avance de sectores clave como la energía y los transportes.
Por su parte, la OCDE agrega que se debe hacer más esfuerzos para atraer al inversor extranjero, además de trabajar para reducir los elevados tipos de interés y mejorar la flexibilidad de los mercados laborales, lo que debería ayudar a la economía a mejorar su competitividad. En su último informe de 2007, la Comisión advierte un panorama positivo para la constitución de empresas.
Esto ha permitido que la inversión extranjera directa (IED) haya tocado niveles récord durante 2007. Los últimos datos del Gobierno turco indican que este indicador pasó de los 1.700 millones de euros de 2003 a los 16.000 millones de euros hasta octubre de 2007. Un dato que en su mayoría se debe al proceso privatizador que se está emprendiendo y que podría disparar hasta los 30.000 millones de dólares la IED.
Precisamente la inversión es uno de los puntos clave para las empresas europeas y españolas. Durante 2006, más del 70% de las inversiones llegadas al país llegaron desde los países europeos, superando los 10.500 millones de euros durante 2006 y los 2.700 millones hasta abril de 2007. Los sectores más apetecidos son la construcción, el turismo y las infraestructuras. Pero no sólo eso. Con más de 80 millones de habitantes, los intercambios comerciales de Turquía con Europa van en alza. En 2005 se dirigieron a la Unión Europea el 52,3% de las exportaciones turcas. En importaciones turcas, en 2005, el 42,1% de las mismas procedían de la UE. El saldo comercial es tradicionalmente favorable a la UE.
La conexión española
La apuesta de Zapatero por Turquía, manifestada esta semana, no es una casualidad. En los últimos años, las cifras de intercambios comerciales entre ambos países marcan sucesivos récords. En 2007 se alcanzaron los 7.000 millones de euros, frente a los 6.000 millones del ejercicio anterior. El propio Erdogan ha señalado que su deseo es que esta cifra se eleve a los 10.000 millones cuanto antes. De esta manera, las exportaciones de la economía española hacia Turquía alcanzaron en 2006 un 2,8% de la cuota de mercado. De acuerdo con los datos de la Oficina Económica y Comercial de España en Ankara, España fue el sexto país receptor de exportaciones turcas en 2006 con un 4,3%.
Según el Instituto de Comercio Exterior (Icex), el punto débil en las relaciones económicas y comerciales entre España y Turquía es la inversión. La concentración de las inversiones españolas en países de Latinoamérica y la UE hace que Turquía no sea un objetivo prioritario. Con todo, los datos oficiales del país euroasiático indican que Turquía es el undécimo receptor de la inversión española al extranjero, con 333 millones de euros acumulados hasta marzo de 2007. Las posibilidades españolas están centradas en sectores como las infraestructuras, el turismo y la energía.

Turkey economy slowed sharply in '07-

Reuters
Tuesday January 15 2008
(Adds comments from interview with minister)
By Daliah Merzaban
DUBAI, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Turkish economic growth last year slowed significantly because of a doubling in energy prices and a drought, but growth of 4 to 4.5 percent would still be a good performance, Economy Minister Mehmet Simsek said on Tuesday.
"Growth has slowed down significantly in 2007. It is simply a number of supply side shocks; energy prices doubling and a drought," Simsek told an investors' conference in Dubai.
Economic growth of between 4 percent and 4.5 percent would be "quite a strong performance", he added.
Simsek told Reuters in an interview after the conference the government would speed up its privatisation programme and would decide by March how to sell its 75 percent stake in Halkbank.
Agricultural output in the first three quarters of 2007 shrank nearly 6 percent, he said at the conference organised by EFG Istanbul Securities.
Turkey had a 5 percent growth target for 2007, but third-quarter data showed gross national product growing at only 2 percent. The growth target for 2008 is 5.5 percent, and actual growth in 2006 was 6.0 percent.
Simsek said reducing inflation was critical to achieving the government's economic growth targets.
"Inflation is likely to trend downward ... If we continue to privatise, promote competition, attract foreign direct investment and make the labour market more flexible, I think that will help reduce inflation," he said.
Simsek said he was optimistic that inflation in the medium term would be in the low single digits.
Turkey's consumer price inflation in 2007 came in at 8.39 percent, twice the government's 4 percent target.
PRICE STABILITY
"Price stability is absolutely critical because without that it would be difficult to sustain these growth rates," Simsek said, referring to a medium-term 7 percent potential target rate for Turkey.
Simsek said he expected tourism revenues at $18-$20 billion in 2007 and this should rise to $30 billion in the next few years as foreign tourist numbers rise to 30 million from 22 million at present.
Simsek said the government would speed up its privatisation drive in 2008, when Ankara hopes to sell off tobacco firm Tekel, a 75 percent stake in Halkbank , electricity distributions grids and sugar factories.
The government would decide by March whether to sell its Halkbank stake to a strategic investor or via a secondary public offering, with a sale concluded by the end of the year, he said.
Turkey attracted $19 billion in foreign direct investment in 2007 including revenues from privatisation, and would at least match this figure this year, the minister said.
The Halkbank sale alone would generate $9 billion in revenues, according to EFG Istanbul estimates.
"Privatisation is gaining momentum," Simsek said. "While the global backdrop has somewhat weakened, Turkey plans to accelerate the privatisation programme."
Privatisation of the country's electricity production assets would be completed in 2011 or 2012, rather than an initial 2010 goal, he said.
Simsek said the government aimed to have a business-friendly new constitution in the second half of 2008.
"In the second half of 2008, we will have a brand new constitution that will be business-friendly and involve more individual freedoms," he said.
Simsek's ruling centre-right AK Party is drawing up a new draft constitution for Turkey, a European Union candidate country, to replace the current document, which dates back to a period of military rule in the early 1980s.
Turkey is also on target to pass a social security reform law through parliament by the end of the month, he said. (Editing by Selcuk Gokoluk and Stephen Nisbet)

Turkey and tolerance Deviating from the path

Jan 10th 2008 ISTANBULFrom The Economist print edition
A cross-dresser's troubles with a resurgent Islam

FOR more than 30 years a cross-dresser with a razor-sharp wit and a merciless tongue has won the affection of millions of Turks. And his success on television has been vaunted as evidence of the tolerance of Turkey's unique mix of Islam and secularism.
But for the past year Huysuz Virjin (the Petulant Virgin) has been replaced by his less exotic self, Seyfi Dursunoglu, in a show aired on a private television channel. The 76-year-old entertainer claims to have been forced to trade in his trademark blonde wig, silk stockings and sexy gowns for more conventional male garb after Turkey's broadcasting watchdog, the RTUK, put pressure on television stations to ban cross-dressing.
RTUK denies such censorship. But Mr Dursunoglu insists that he is the victim of a creeping conservatism that he believes has infected the country ever since the mildly Islamist Justice and Development (AK) party came to power five years ago. Although he was allowed to appear in drag for a special new-year programme, he says that “as a performer, I am no longer as free”. Similar concerns about artistic freedom and secularism were aired last month by Fazil Say, a Turkish pianist, who accused the AK party of being unfriendly.
Debate over whether Turkey is veering off the determinedly secular course laid down by Ataturk has intensified ever since AK was returned to power for a second five-year term in last July's parliamentary election, when it took 47% of the vote. Most Turks are plainly unfazed by such fears. Recent opinion polls suggest that support for AK has risen to a record 52%. “There is no evidence of a systematic plan by the government to make Turkey more Islamic,” concedes Nilufer Narli, an Istanbul-based sociologist. Yet she adds that “expressions of Islamic piety are becoming increasingly overt, indeed a vehicle for networking and social mobility.”
Awkwardly for AK, an openly gay fashion designer has emerged as its most passionate defender. Cemil Ipekci has declared that AK is the best government to have ruled the country in the history of the republic and that, had he been born a woman, “I would have covered my head [ie, Islamic-style].” Pressed to explain, a demure Mr Ipekci says “I am a conservative homosexual.”

Turkey must move fast to avoid EU setbacks

By Paul Taylor Reuters
Published: January 4, 2008
BRUSSELS: Turkey faces a potential "triple whammy" of blows to its European Union membership bid later this year unless re-elected Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan moves quickly to enact human rights reforms, EU diplomats say.
Ankara's accession talks, launched in October 2005, have already been slowed to a trickle by the suspension of part of the negotiations over its refusal to open its ports and airports to traffic from EU member Cyprus.
Now the Turks face a negative European Commission progress report, renewed pressure from Cyprus, and French demands for the EU to discuss setting final borders, with Turkey on the outside.
"Erdogan needs to push laws through the new parliament on freedom of expression, the rights of religious minorities and other fundamental freedoms quickly to give the Commission something positive to report," a senior EU official said.
Without that, the annual progress report due on Nov. 7 is bound to conclude that reforms have virtually ceased over the last year, he said.
EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn made the point forcefully in congratulating Erdogan on Sunday's landslide general election victory for his Islamist-rooted AK party.
"We need in particular to see concrete results in areas of fundamental freedoms such as freedom of expression and religious freedom," he told a news conference on Monday.
"I trust that the new government in Turkey will immediately relaunch the reform process so we can produce results (before) our next progress report in early November."
Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Assembly, said the top priority was to amend or abolish article 301 of the Penal Code, used repeatedly to prosecute writers and journalists for "insulting Turkishness".
That law was used to prosecute Nobel prize winning author Orhan Pamuk and to convict Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant Dink, later murdered, for expressing peaceful views on the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.
A long-stalled law on religious foundations giving more rights to Christian and other minorities and better treatment to the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul is another priority, Lagendijk said.
Turkish political commentators say Erdogan will face resistance from a nationalist opposition, whose acquiescence he needs to get his candidate for president chosen by parliament. The presidency, though armed with few executive powers, is a potent symbol of secularism for a conservative establishment that suspects Erdogan of harbouring a secret Islamist agenda.
The prime minister must also tread carefully with a military suspicious of his Islamist past and nervous about some EU-driven reforms. The AK party has cut back the generals' formal state powers under these reforms, but they remain a force on the political stage.
Erdogan could win more European goodwill by withdrawing some troops from northern Cyprus, making a concession on trade with Cyprus or opening Turkey's border with Armenia, but such moves seem unlikely as they would inflame nationalist sentiment.
Diplomats said Cyprus and France would likely jump on a critical European Commission report to demand further sanctions against Turkey or a rethink of its candidacy.
That too could provoke a nationalist backlash among Turks.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has repeatedly said Turkey is in Asia Minor, not Europe, and has no place in the EU.
His foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, said on Monday that Paris had a problem with five of the 35 "chapters" or policy areas into which the accession talks are divided, because in French eyes they assumed the outcome of full membership. But it was willing to allow the rest of the negotiations to proceed.
Another senior French official, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, has suggested Sarkozy could be satisfied in December with a summit agreement to appoint a committee to study the future of enlargement and the capacity to absorb new members.
That might kick the problem into touch for a year, but the panel would report back under France's presidency of the EU in the second half of 2008, possibly fuelling Sarkozy's drive to move the goalposts on Turkey's talks.

After 'wasted year,' Turkey turns attention back to economic reform

By Selcuk Gokoluk Reuters Published: January 3, 2008

ANKARA: Turkey hopes to increase its growth rate while reining in inflation in 2008, but economists say that the government's plans are insufficient during a time of tighter credit in global markets.
As part of its plan, the government led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to raise the retirement age, shake up the labor market and increase aid for research and development. But such changes will have a positive fiscal effect on a slowing economy only in the long term, according to some analysts.
Drought, high energy prices and political wrangling prior to parliamentary elections in July - won again by Erdogan's pro-business AK Party - trimmed the growth rate for Turkey's gross national product to just 2 percent in the third quarter. Economic growth averaged a gung-ho 7.4 percent in the years 2002 to 2006, but was expected to come in well below that for 2007.
"Growth will be the most important economic indicator in the next five years instead of public finances," said Pelin Yenigun Dilek, chief economist at Garanti Bank, a midsize Turkish bank. "Growth of 4 percent will worsen unemployment and stoke social and even ethnic tensions."
Turkey needs to keep creating jobs for a fast-growing, young population. Its big cities are also surrounded by large shanty towns occupied by rural migrants, often from the impoverished, mainly Kurdish southeast.
Faruk Celik, the labor and social security minister, recently called 2007 a "wasted year" because of political opposition that stalled much of the government's agenda in Parliament.
At the same time, inflation for the year came in at 8.39 percent - double the target set by the central bank, which cut rates four times since September to try to head off a slowdown amid global economic turbulence.
The government is expecting a 5 percent growth rate for GNP for 2007 and has set a 5.5 percent target for GNP growth in 2008, and is counting on pushing through its legislative agenda to underpin that target.
The draft bills are still in Parliament and subject to change, but they currently call for gradually raising the country's retirement age to 68. Now there is no standard age, but it can be as low as 40.
The government proposals include a program of general health care for all citizens to help head off protests. It also plans to cut social security contributions paid by employers as a way to encourage hiring.
The economy minister, Mehmet Simsek, also is planning to accelerate the pace of privatizations during 2008 and 2009, aiming to sell enterprises like Halkbank, the cigarette company Tekel, and energy production and distribution companies as well as highways and bridges.
Business groups and economists are not entirely convinced about the efficacy of long-term, gradual transitions.
"This is a 15-year plan and it will not have a serious positive impact in the short term," said Gulay Elif Girgin, an economist at Oyak Investment, a unit of Oyak Bank. "General health insurance will create an extra burden on the budget in the coming three to five years."
Business groups also fret that the deterioration in economic indicators might worsen as global liquidity becomes more scarce.
"Improvements in inflation, the budget deficit, the current account deficit and debt dynamics have stopped," Erdal Karamercan, a member of the leading Turkish business forum TUSIAD, said last month. "The improvements have gone into reverse in some areas."
Turkey could have difficulty financing its growth because of scarce liquidity in international markets, he said.
A government official said there were no plans yet to revise the economic targets, because the final data on the last quarter of 2007 could still change the overall picture.
"There was uncertainty and worries due to elections but now these have disappeared and the economy has started to recover," the official said on the customary condition of anonymity. "Our growth targets are certainly within reach."
Economists agree that more privatizations in 2008 could help. Turkey was aiming to attract $25 billion in foreign direct investment in 2007, but likely missed that target.
"Even if prices are not as high as in past privatizations, there will be interest," Girgin said. "There is serious money in the Middle East and Turkey is one of the markets" Arab investors like.