IV. POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT NATURE OF BILATERAL RELATIONSHIP WITH THE UNITED STATES U.S.-Turkish relations have expanded significantly in recent years. Turkey's cooperation in the Gulf War expanded its public recognition in the United States. The United States and Turkey are seeking to broaden the bilateral relationship beyond traditional security interests, by exploring new areas of potential cooperation through expanded economic and trade cooperation and increased high-level political consultation. The bilateral security relationship remains important. U.S. military aid to Turkey of approximately US $400 million annually is one concrete example of this fact. At the same time, the United States is in the process of reducing its military presence in Europe, and Turkey is no exception. The United States and Turkey currently are negotiating a number of base closures and force reductions to reflect this drawdown. The largest remaining group of U.S. forces in Turkey serves at the Turkish air base at Incirlik, near Adana, where U.S. aircraft train for NATO missions and where the Provide Comfort II Combined Task Force headquarters is located. In addition to cooperation with Turkish, British and French forces in Operation Provide Comfort to provide humanitarian relief to northern Iraq, the United States has also worked with Turkish forces in peacekeeping operations in Somalia and Bosnia under the auspices of the U.N. The U.S.-Turkish Joint Economic Commission is an effort to expand areas of cooperation with Turkey beyond the traditional military spectrum. The first meeting of the JEC in many years was held in Ankara in December 1993, focussing on investment, trade, and other issues, and was deemed highly successful by both sides. The United States is also working with the Turkish Government to improve protection for U.S. intellectual property rights in Turkey. MAJOR POLITICAL ISSUES AFFECTING BUSINESS CLIMATE The current coalition government, composed of the ruling True Path Party (DYP) and the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP), has been in power since national elections in 1991. The government, led by Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, initiated a program April 5, 1994 to deal with the severe economic crisis Turkey is facing. PM Ciller's government also introduced a democratization package May 18 which includes revision of the constitution as well as the implementation of rights involving political party membership, voting age and labor union participation. Although the Prime Minister faces stiff opposition, she increased control of her party and the government through her first year in office (July 1993 - June 1994). Terrorism. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) is a threat primarily in southeastern Turkey, although the PKK has planted several bombs in the urbanized west and Aegean resorts to harm the Turkish tourism industry. For the past ten years, the PKK has sought to establish an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey and uses terrorist attacks as one of its principal tools. The PKK targets Turkish security forces, state facilities and infrastructure, and those who support the government's efforts against the PKK. The PKK has not specifically targeted Westerners, though 19 have been kidnapped since last year--all later released unharmed. The government currently is in the midst of a large counterinsurgency operation, and has met with some success. SYNOPSIS OF POLITICAL SYSTEM, SCHEDULE FOR ELECTIONS, AND ORIENTATION OF MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES Political System. The Turkish political system, as defined in the 1982 constitution, is a secular, parliamentary democracy with executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The executive branch includes the president, who serves as chief of state, the prime minister as head of government, and the Council of Ministers (or cabinet). The president, who has broad powers of appointment and supervision, is chosen by the Parliament for a term of seven years and cannot be reelected. President Suleyman Demirel was elected in May 1993. The president functions in a non-partisan role, whereas the prime minister is generally the chairman of his or her political party. The prime minister administers the government; the prime minister and the Council of Ministers are responsible to Parliament. The legislative branch of government is the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA), formed of 450 deputies, elected in national elections every five years. Election is by proportional representation. To participate in the distribution of seats, a party must obtain at least 10 percent of the votes cast at the national level as well as a percentage of votes in the contested district. This double threshold mechanism is intended to reduce the likelihood of coalition governments by reducing the number of smaller parties in parliament. The judicial system consists of a constitutional court, a court of cassation, a council of state, and a high council of judges and prosecutors. Elections. National elections, in which the Parliamentary deputies and the prime minister are elected, are held at least every five years. The last national elections were held in October 1991. The next national elections are scheduled to be held no later than the fall of 1996; early elections are possible with the decision of Parliament. Local elections are also held every five years. The most recent municipal elections were held on March 27, 1994; the next are scheduled for spring 1999. Orientation of Major Political Parties Center-Right. The ruling DYP (True Path Party) and opposition ANAP (Motherland Party) are both center-right parties, sharing similar ideologies. The DYP, formed in 1983, was founded in the tradition of the defunct Justice Party of Suleyman Demirel: a heterogeneous, conservative mass party, tolerant of religious belief and supportive of the peasantry as well as of free trade. DYP's strength has been in the rural areas of central Anatolia. The DYP is led by PM Tansu Ciller, and currently has 178 deputies in Parliament. ANAP, also founded in 1983 by former president Turgut Ozal, has attempted to encompass four major political trends: liberalism, conservativism, religion, and nationalism. ANAP is supported by business and its strength has traditionally been in the urban areas. The chairman of ANAP is former Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz; ANAP's deputies number 101. The "New Party", formed in 1993 by the brother of former President Turgut Ozal, Yusuf Ozal, is based on original ANAP principles and has 3 deputies. Left. SHP, the Social Democrat Populist Party, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Murat Karayalcin, is the junior coalition partner of the present coalition government, and holds 55 seats in Parliament. It was formed in 1985 by the merger of the Social Democracy Party (SODEP) and the Populist Party (HP). Led until 1993 by Chairman Erdal Inonu, son of former Prime Minister Ismet Inonu, a colleague of Ataturk, SHP promotes social democratic principles and a concern for human rights. The Republican People's Party (CHP), reopened in early 1992 by Deniz Baykal as a split from SHP, has 18 deputies, and is based on the original CHP founded by Ataturk in 1923. The Democratic Left Party (DSP), led by former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, was established in 1985, and appeals to social democrats and other leftists on the basis of the personal leadership of Ecevit; it has 3 seats in Parliament. The Democracy Party (DEP), formed in 1993, has 17 Kurdish deputies, and promotes Kurdish rights; six of its deputies are now imprisoned and awaiting trial. DEP was closed on June 16, 1994. Far Right. The Islamist Welfare Party (Refah Party, or RP), founded in 1983 by Necmettin Erbakan who continues as its chairman, is a conservative religious party promoting Islamic values and has 39 parliamentary deputies. RP gained significant support in Turkey in the 1994 municipal elections, winning the mayorships of Istanbul and Ankara as well as those of many central and eastern Anatolian provinces. The Nationalist Movement Party, (MHP), founded in 1983 by Alpaslan Turkes, has 13 deputies in the TGNA, and promotes Turkish nationalist values. MHP doubled its support in the recent municipal elections. The Grand Unity Party (BBP) is a new party established by a group breaking off from MHP; it shares the same nationalist values. BBP's leader is Muhsin Yazicioglu and it has 7 deputies.