To: Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan From: Ms. Ayla Bakkalli Date: July 2, 2001 Subject: Globalization: Is Turkish politics part of the solution or part of the problem? cc: Mr. Muammer Saka and Mr. Süleyman Kaya Since our last acquaintance one year and half ago in Istanbul arranged by your respected supporters, Mr. Muammer Saka and Mr. Süleyman Kaya, our continual professional dialogue has brought this memorandum to your desk. As you may recollect, I hold a membership status with the Committee for Human Settlement. It is a committee that holds a consultative status with the United nations that monitors collectively the implementation of commitments set forth in the Habitat Agenda and Agenda 21 of the Conferenge on the Environment and Development. It promotes the provisions of adequate shelter for and sustainable human settlements development in an urbanizing world. We were also the host committee for the Istanbul plus 5 HABITAT Conference, June 6-8, 2001 in New York City and as the spokeswoman on good governance, I discussed of your leadership during your term as Mayor of Istanbul in addressing the squatter dwellers issue in the greater Istanbul area. I am also president of my own private company defined as an emerging market real estate strategic consultant firm represeting public and private partnerships between United States/Canada and Turkey. I construct the private sector role in mitigating the issues on human settlement with the public sector and provide strategic solutions and link between Turkey and International community, conforming along the lines of United Nations/International and National standars. As Turkey finds itself sizx months into the 21st century, its realization of a globally inter-related and inter-dependent world has shown Ankara that conventional solutions to Turkeys problems are no longer viable or acceptable. As the world becomes more globally inter-dependent, a consensus emerged that stability without an institutionalized democracy system is not possible. Democratic rule at the grassroots level is essential in overcoming poverty in devoloping/transitional economies. The correlation between growing desire for democracy and the role of decentralization of governments, first to improve mobilization of resources and secondly, to empower local governments administer their own affairs can release central government from local concerns. The need to develop new mechanisms to deal with the effect of the globalization process that is bringing forth new concepts to Ankara, who by the way is simultaneously trying to understand and undermine this process finds it difficult to define a vision for its people. Ankara is coming to the realization that it cannot survive on its own needs. Globalization does not allow any nation to be an island. An integrated relationship calls for many actors, the participation of civic society organizations, communities, private sector, local authorities and national governments all need to participate in designing solutions where national laws regulations and standards block their path. These reforms require bottom up dynamic approach. Both in devoloping and devoloped countries experience is showing the top-down approach imposed by national and local authorities have failed. Team work/partnerships have succeeded where democratic processes have succeeded. Turkey the world community but fails to fully comprehend the substantive changes it must undergo before it can assume a leadership role. Turkeys challenges faced by corruption, weak administration, inefficient government, environmental decay, poverty, inequalty, injustice, lack of inclusiveness of all sectors within its society must produce concrete solutions before it can even think of taking a leadership role. It is ironic that international institutions have placed form to Turkish citizens a platform in which to raise their grievance within a democratic environment. The prospects of Turkey obtaining a European Union accession gave a Turkey citizens an autlet and an alternative to seek rights of redress where Turkish constituents did not trust their own judicial system. Turkish citizens taking advantage of this international exposure filed over 2,000 cases against Ankara. The political representative who has the leadership ability and capability to communicate the inter-relation between globalization and democracy will not only gain natioanal constituent support for being progressive and forward looking but also gain acceptance by the powerful international community which has been playing a key role in assisting Turkey with its consistent political and financial crisis. Turkey blessed with a geo-strategic location affords it political and financial support from the international community. Ankara must be cautious so as not develop a dependent policy and assume that because of its strategic importance a Washingtonian foreign policy will accord Turkey the time, attention and expertise warranted by its intrinsic impotance. One cannot be always certain that the American oficials within US government have the requisite experience, knowledge and grit to completely understand Turkeys complicadet status. To with, for the last quarter century Turkey was placed at the US State Department under European (EUR) bureau of the State Department; before that it was in the Near Eastern (NEA) bureau. The core Turkey issues in the State Department have traditionally been related to NATO or the former Soviet Union case of EUR or the Arab-Israeli conflict in the case of NEA. This is reflective of Turkeys lack of a sophisticated foreign policy failing to devolop the depth of professional cadre to deal with Turkeys geographical paradigm - Western and Eastern. European and Asian (and Middle Eastern as well). Muslim and secular. Democratic and authoritarian. Market oriented and statist. Ankaras sole effort to get on the same page as the EU has neglected a well defined foreign policy for the Turkish nation. It is Turkey alone who must realize its own potential and not rely on other countrys foreign policy to define Turkeys interest. Only Turkey can know and understand its own personality. Turkey must devolop Turkey. Turkey is new on the international foreign scene. It needs to develop a highly sophisticated communicative ability to explain its needs and issues within a Turkish context and not rely on other countrys foreign policy to understand Turkey, because it really does not! The increasing challenge for devoloping economies lay in its ability in narrowing the gap between rich and poor which is expected to widen as globalization creates knowledge based industries. The inability to catch up will be the biggest hurdle facing upcoming Turkish leaders. Therefore, it is beholden on Ankara to understand the necessity of globalization regardless of whether the real sector wants it or not. It must adapt to the rules of the world not cherry pick the rules it wants to implement and reject when it does not suit its own agenda. Another world for globaliziation is urbanization, which go hand in hand. Nowhere before has the human civilization lived in such close proximity to one other as they are in urban conglomeration. These urban trends are having an unprecedented effect on cities and towns. It is clear that globalization has exacerbated the problems on human settlements in cities, towns and villages in devoloping countries. Governments are entering un-chartered territory where experiences and lessons from the past will not apply to the present and the present will no longer apply to the future. The challenges facing urban centers are overcrowding, poverty disease, inefficient system of mınicipal finance, lack of service delivery resulting in ineguality and increase in crime will broaden the definition of poverty not just to include the lack of material wealth but also lack of personal security and feeling of powerlessness if use of urban areas are not efficiently managed. The increasing importance of cities and the increasing role of local governments should provide a strong mativation for Ankara to develop a new urban strategy to launch a more comprehensive approach on urban issues. An example in point is the volatile issue on eviction of squatter dwellers in urban areas throughout cities in Turkey. The cause of unequal land distribution and inability of Ankara in addressing fast growth of urbanization have led to large-scale displacement of people who have put up tent without securing title to land. The Ottoman Law of 1858, entitle any citizen to claim unused State land and occupy it for as long as they used it. Naturally when migrants from rral areas arrived in big cities, thet did not consider they where acting outside the law by applying a traditional approach, though the local authorities have failed to implement an urban policy to take into consideration a historical precedence that has not been repealed thus claim holders may carry a degree of legitimacy. Needless to say, these issues are highly complex require flexible and elastic policies from the central government in creating acts which pass autonomy to local governments and decentralize national government functions to the local level. The recent crisis in Turkey has profoundly galvanized the political and economic and social process in Turkey. Ankara became overwhelmed with the avalanche of issues that it had to confront. Its lack of knowledge and political will proved to be the major obstacle in resolving its house issues. It is worth noting that political success today will depend largely on the leaders ability to link knowledge and technology between its cities and local authorities, national governments, civil society, academia, research institutions, media and its private sector. Knowledge has become the world production asset and is a key factor in becoming globally competitive and alleviating poverty. Not only access to knowledge is reguired, so are the opportunities to produce knowledge that is considered a highly expensive raw material requiring high degree of education among a countrys residence population. The extreme lack of investment in research and development by Turkeys private and public sectors has stifled its ability to apply effective knowledge during its conflict and crises situations. Nowhere has it been so evident as the recent several crises experienced by Turkey. The biggest hurdle facing upcoming leaders in developing economies is the ability to create, manage, disseminate and share knowledge with all sectors of its society. The world is now asking governments to deliver on the promises made to the international public as well as to their own public. The stick is international censure and the carrot is legitimacy and respect. Mr. Saka and Mr. Kaya and I appreciate very much the attention that you will give to this memorandum. With Respect, Ayla Bakkalli, President of Bakali Corp. 445 Park Avenue Suite 1040 New York City, New York 10022 E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 917-886-9105 Fax; 917-322-2105
Posted on: Mon, 03 Jun 2013 14:41:03 +0000
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