Former Turkish leader discusses U.S. alliance and mission in Iraq

H.E. Suleyman Demirel, right, former president and premier of the Republic of Turkey, prepares to address a Call Auditorium audience, Oct. 7. He was introduced by Robert L. King, left, chancellor of the State University of New York. Frank DiMeo/University Photography

By Sharon Cleary

H.E. Suleyman Demirel, the former president and four-time premier of Turkey speaking at Cornell Oct. 7, asserted his country's strong connection with the United States and its good intentions in Iraq. His lecture, titled "Turkish-U.S. Relations: The New Political Landscape of the Middle East since the Collapse of the USSR," was delivered to nearly 300 people in the David L. Call Auditorium of Kennedy Hall.

Demirel's address was part of a three-day visit to Cornell, during which he met with faculty and administrators to acquaint them with Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Project, known as GAP (for Guneydogu Anadolu Projesi) -- the biggest development project ever undertaken by Turkey, which envisages the construction of 22 dams and 19 hydroelectric power plants on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries. Demirel's visit involved discussion of joint initiatives involving Cornell, the State University of New York system and the Turkish Higher Education Council. Demirel's hosts, Robert L. King, the chancellor of the State University of New York, and Norman Scott, professor of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell, introduced the former president to the Cornell audience.

Demirel focused his comments on current events, stressing both Turkey's role as a secular Muslim country in the Middle East and the importance of U.S-Turkey diplomatic relations. Earlier on Oct. 7, Turkey's parliament voted to send up to 10,000 troops to aid the U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq. Iraq's Governing Council voiced its objections to Turkey's involvement. The United States had granted Turkey a loan of $8.5 billion last month in what many political analysts saw as an inducement to military involvement in Iraq.

Directly addressing the question of Turkey's involvement in Iraq, Demirel said, "Turkey is in a position to contribute substantially to rebuilding Iraq and fully and actively supports the peace process." Throughout his talk, he emphasized Turkey's history of military cooperation with the United States. Demirel said, "The U.S. and Turkey went to Somalia together, to Bosnia-Herzegovina together and the Caucasus together and will take the next step together."

The former president reminded the audience that Turkey's government does not represent extreme interpretations of Islam, but that "a democratic country can be a Muslim country, and a Muslim country can be a secular country."

Demirel said Turkey was following in the economic footsteps of the United States. In the past 50 years, Turkey has "evolved internally and externally from an agriculture-based economy to an export-led economy," he said. He noted that a "dynamic private sector has emerged," and Turkey now exports goods to "134 countries." He mentioned Turkey's free press -- "Turkey has 30 newspapers and 20 television stations that deliver news to the nation's citizens" -- and discussed Turkey's "consolidated democracy," citing Turkey's 15th presidential election nine months ago. He also said that despite these advances, Turkey has no real economic security as long as "rogue-state terrorism has access to weapons of mass destruction." Demirel, offering Turkey as an example, said the "U.S. needs partners with which it can share views of a new world order."

At the end of the evening, Demirel fielded critical questions from the audience.

An audience member asked if the Iraqi Governing Council's objections to Turkey's involvement in Iraq suggested the possibility of violent opposition from the Iraqi people. Demirel responded indirectly: "The temporary government in Iraq is not taking direction from the people in Iraq but from the U.S. government," he said, indicating that Turkey's intent is foremost to cooperate and collaborate with the United States.

Another questioner asked about the possibility of an independent Kurdistan in Turkey. The east and south of Turkey saw civil war from 1984 to 2000 between the secessionist Kurdistan Worker's Party and the Turkish military. Thirty thousand to 40,000 Kurds, 5,000 Turks and 5,000 Syrians were killed during the war and ire between Turks and Kurds remains strong. Demirel said, "For over 1,000 years, the Kurds have lived in what is now Turkey. There was no Kurdish state in that whole time, but there were Kurds." Therefore, "no one should expect an independent Kurdish state," he said.

After studying in the United States as the first Dwight D. Eisenhower fellow from Turkey, Demirel entered Turkish politics. In 1964, he became the chairman of the Justice Party and deputy prime minister of Turkey. Demirel then served as prime minister from 1965 to 1971, when he was ousted over the government's policy on combating terrorism. He became prime minister three more times and served as president from 1993 to 2000, during which he pursued aggressive economic growth.