US State Department Director Douglas Hengel, Office of Southeastern European Affairs gave a briefing on his recent trip to Turkey and his observations of the Turkish elections held on November 3 rd. While Hengel would not speculate on the future of the new Turkish government, he and the State Department await the formation of the new government and look forward to working closely and constructively with the Justice and Development Party (AKP. ) The AKP is currently preparing to form a new government that will be headed by someone other than its leader, Tay yip Erdogan, who was banned from running for the Turkish Grand National Assembly and can not therefore become prime minister. The AKP has been long called an Islamic party, but it would be wrong to categorize the AKP as such.
Though they find deep roots in the Islamic party and they view the world very much in a Muslim perspective, Erdogen has maintained that the AKP is a conservative, democratic party. The party has moved considerably to the center and embraces the west and Europe. Erdogen understands one thing and that is that they can not remain in power unless they democratize Turkey and implement reforms that the European Union would like to see in Turkey. Hengel noted that the parties represented in the new parliament reflect the aspirations of the Turkish people for continued progress on the paths toward European Union membership and for the implementation of political and economic reforms. The AKP’s main priorities will be to deal with the economic crisis that pushed them to power. The IMF programs that the AKP promised to maintain make it difficult for a quick reduction in unemployment.
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After his party’s victory, Erdogen promised to seek a review of current programs with the IMF. Another challenge that the AKP faces is in their international affairs. A critical point for them will be in mid-December at the Copenhagen summit of the European Union. Turkey’s economic situation make it difficult for the EU to proceed with accession negotiations with Turkey in the near future. A compromise with the accession issue will require a decision on Cyprus’ accession to the EU which has been hanging over Turkish-EU negotiations. The State Department hopes to work with the government on these issues as well as reaching a settlement in Cyprus.
Another international affairs issue that Turkey and the AKP faces is the possibility of war in Iraq. The AKP does not want conflict in Iraq, but will support UN sanctioned military actions. Hengel went on to state that the US would like to see an agreement anytime on Cyprus and believes there is an opportunity to have it at the Copenhagen summit because a number of things will come together there.
