The United States depends on Turkey as a vital military and political ally in Southeastern Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. That makes it welcome news that Turkey's troubled politics has now taken an encouraging turn. President Suleyman Demirel last week named Mesut Yilmaz, a firm secularist and democrat, to succeed the Islamic leader, Necmettin Erbakan, as Prime Minister. Mr. Yilmaz has assembled a coherent parliamentary majority, a requirement for effective government his recent predecessors have lacked.

It would be naïve to gloss over the formidable challenges awaiting the new Prime Minister, including assertive generals, a brutal war against Kurdish separatists and growing voter disenchantment with the scandal-stained political establishment. But under Mr. Yilmaz, his country's least tainted secular political leader, Turkey will have a chance to strengthen its democratic institutions and repair its damaged international prestige.

Turkey has been in political crisis since its last election, in December 1995, left no party with a clear majority. Mr. Erbakan's Islamic-oriented Welfare Party got the most votes and eventually formed a coalition Government. During his one year in office, Mr. Erbakan upset relations with Washington by courting Iran and Libya. But at home, he respected the rules of democracy and upheld secularism as Americans understand it.

What cost him his job was his bid to bend the strict anti-religious rules formulated decades ago by modern Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. Turkey's military leaders responded with threats to remove the Government by force.

After three military coups in the last four decades, Turkish political leaders must take such threats seriously. The army's excessive influence has also thwarted attempts to seek nonmilitary solutions to the Kurdish unrest and to resolve the long confrontation with Greece over Cyprus.

No Turkish politician has dared to challenge the generals over these policies, which have cost Turkey dearly at home and abroad. But if Mr. Yilmaz hopes to rally Turkey's alienated electorate and repair relations with Western Europe, he must try, and America should support him.

Copyright 1997 The New York Times Company

New Prime Minister Named in Turkey (1 July 1997). Mesut Yilmaz was named Turkey's new Prime Minister after forming a new government that appears to have support from the Military. Tansu Ciller, who was expected to take the PM spot, was left off the ticket and responded by calling the new government "disgraceful to democracy." Mrs. Ciller also loses her immunity and the Turkish Supreme Court plans to investigate corrruption charges aginst her (New York Times, 1 July 1997).

Turkey's Islamist Prime Minister Announces Resignation (18 June 1997). Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, the first Islamic fundamentalist to lead modern Turkey, said Wednesday he had resigned in a power-sharing deal with his pro-Western coalition allies. "A short while ago I presented my resignation to the president," Erbakan told reporters after a 45-minute meeting with President Suleyman Demirel, Reuters reported. Erbakan earlier held talks with coalition ally Tansu Ciller and a rightist leader on a proposed caretaker government to take the country into early elections under Ciller's leadership. Since coming to office 11 months ago, Erbakan has angered the country's generals, by pushing an Islamic agenda. He hoped to allay their fears by stepping aside (NYTimes online, 18 June 1997). Click here for a similar Washington Post story.

Click here for a AP chronology of Erbakan resignation.

State Dept. queried on Islamic and Military threat to democracy. (16 June 1997) The following exchange is taken verbatim from the 16 June 1997 State Dept.briefing. Click here to see the full transcipt of the 16 June State Department Briefing.

QUESTION: Could you bring us up to date on the situation in Turkey? I hear there's been a lot of phone contact with Ankara.

MR. BURNS: Well, the United States, obviously, since Turkey is a valued NATO ally, is following the political events in Turkey quite carefully. As Secretary Albright said late last week, we have full expectation that Turkey's secular democracy will continue and be strong. We know this is a difficult time in Turkey. We know that there is a lot of political in-fighting underway. We choose not to participate in that. We're not going to take sides. We just expect that the continuation of secular democracy, civilian authority will be maintained.

QUESTION: Aren't those opposite ideas here? Civilian authority and secular democracy?

MR. BURNS: No, I don't believe they are opposite at all. The president of Turkey is a civilian, Suleyman Demirel. Secular democracy has been flourishing in Turkey, although it is under attack internally in the country, but we choose not to participate, interfere in that domestic debate between those who prefer one course or another. We prefer just to say that Turkey's secular democratic basis has been important to the United States for a long time.

QUESTION: Are you worried at all about a coup there?

MR. BURNS: Well, we expect that civilian rule and secular democracy will continue in Turkey. We hope very much that there will be no resort to any extra-constitutional measures, including a coup d'etat, that would disrupt the secular democratic tradition of Turkey itself.

Turkey's stability matters to the United States. The tradition of democracy is very important in the rule of law, very important.

QUESTION: Has Albright or any other senior U.S. official been in contact with high-level Turkish officials, including the army, to communicate exactly that message?

MR. BURNS: I can tell you that the very strong view of the United States - that secular democracy must continue - has been communicated to the highest levels of the Turkish government. That includes the Turkish military.

QUESTION: And can you be more specific about that?

MR. BURNS: I don't care to be more specific, for obvious reasons. Those contacts will remain confidential. But I can tell you, they were very high-level on our part, and high level on the Turkish part as well, and recent.

QUESTION: Nick, you say secular democracy is under attack. What's under attack by - by whom?

MR. BURNS: Oh, I think that's obvious to anybody following events in Turkey. But what we don't want to do, as a friend of Turkey, is insert ourselves into that political debate and say that we agree with one side or another. We must respect the right of the Turkish people and politicians to work out these problems among themselves. But I think just a reading of the newspapers will tell you that there's a debate going on. There's no sense in denying that.

This is a difficult time for Turkey. We think Turkey will see it through. We think that secular democracy and democratic government will succeed in Turkey, as it should succeed.

QUESTION: But it's really not clear to me. Could you - there's two ways to look at it. Either it's under attack by the Islamists, or it's under attack by the Turkish military. Can you specify which --

MR. BURNS: You're smarter than I am on these issues, and you can certainly write the articles that you wish to write. But I don't care to be a political science professor and describe the basic debates that are underway, because they're obvious to anyone following events in Ankara and Istanbul and other cities in Turkey.

But what we have to care about is our relationship with Turkey. It's sound, it's an excellent relationship; Turkey's ability to fulfill its commitments to NATO, its commitments in Bosnia - which it is currently doing. That's what matters to us. But you heard Secretary Albright say that we obviously would not support any extra-constitutional measures. That was a very clear recitation of American policy. She said that, I believe, on Friday.

QUESTION: But that's - Sid's question follows on the question that I asked - why the suggestion that those two things are opposed. The Islamists are a threat, one would presume you're saying, to the secular nature of Turkish society; and the military is potentially a threat to the democratic part of Turkish society.

MR. BURNS: I am choosing not to be specific about what we think the basic fissures are in Turkish society. I want to talk about American policy, which of course relates to our foreign policy with that government, but which does not insert us into a political debate that is properly for Turks to resolve, not Americans.

QUESTION: Last week I asked a question about some area countries, for example Saudi Arabia, Iran and Sudan as exporting this fundamentalism to Turkey. You took the question last week. Do you have any answer on the subject?

MR. BURNS: No, I still don't. I'm not aware of any kind of effort by those countries together to affect Turkey's internal political situation. I'm simply not aware of that. Obviously, Iran has tried to export its own radical brand of politics to many different countries in the region. I'm not sure that's true about Saudi Arabia. We hope that Saudi Arabia and Turkey will continue to be friends.

We hope that Turkey has stable relations with all of its neighbors. Turkey is a very important country.

Turkish Prime Minister to Step Down. (13 June 1997). Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan--head of the Islamic Rafah Party--today agreed to a power swap with Deputy Prime Minister Tansu Ciller. The shift is expected to take place on 18 June. Ciller had threatened to quit and break up the coalition if Erbakan did not relenquish power to her. (AP, 13 June 1997)

State Dept. opposes "extra Constitutional" measures in Turkey (13 June 1997). The following is taken verbatim from the State Dept. briefing on 13 June 1997. Click here to see the full transcipt of the 13 June State Department Briefing.

QUESTION: Turkey -- the Secretary got into this subject a little bit this morning. Does the U.S. consider this to be a crisis situation?

MR. BURNS: In what --

QUESTION: Turkey.

MR. BURNS: I'm sorry. Turkey.

QUESTION: What does she mean by she would prefer they don't use - any party use extra-constitutional means? What is the danger there?

MR. BURNS: Well, I don't know if I would term it a crisis. That is for other people to determine, but certainly it is a very difficult time for Turkey. Turkey has been, for many months now, in the midst of a national debate about the nature of its political order and about the role of Islam in a secular society. As you know, we believe that Turkey's political difficulties ought to be resolved democratically. The Secretary said specifically, without resort to non-democratic means or extra-constitutional measures -- meaning, we believe that the Turkish constitution ought to be respected. The tradition of secular democracy, both those words being very important, ought to be respected.

Certainly, the military has a role to play in Turkish political life if you look at the Turkish constitution and look at Turkish history. But we believe in secular democracy. That is the foundation of our policy. We actually believe that Turkey has great inner strength, that its democratic institutions have survived crises in the past and we believe that the democratic institutions of Turkey ought to be allowed to function according to the Turkish constitution. That is what the Secretary meant. We are confident that will take place and we are not going to involve ourselves in the internal affairs of that country, but we remain a friend and we will watch this with great interest.

QUESTION: I'm still a little uncertain about democratic institutions and all those references. Has the U.S. seen on the horizon any kind of a political deal involving power that it thinks may not be all that constitutional? Is that what you're aiming at?

MR. BURNS: No. It is simply, I think it is prudent for us to remind everyone at a time like this that the basis of Turkey's success as a country in the last decade or so has been its democratic tradition and its secular tradition and we believe those institutions should be preserved. We also believe that the constitution should be respected. That is a very clear statement, Barry, I think, of purpose.

...

QUESTION: Nick, did Strobe Talbott come away from his meeting last week in Ankara with General Bir reassured on the first two points that the Turkish military would not move to take the government over in the next week or so? And that their operation in Northern Iraq would be limited in scope and duration?

MR. BURNS: Well, Sid, of course, you wouldn't want me to reveal the diplomatic contents of a high-level meeting like that, nor would you expect me to. I cannot do that. But I know that Strobe has discussed all of these issues with the Turkish leadership, as well as with General Bir. Our position on these issues which Secretary Albright enunciated for you earlier today - crystal clear.

They are well known to the Turkish leadership, both civilian and military. There is no problem in communicating between us because we are such close allies. I know that Strobe had a very productive visit. We work with Turkey on a lot of issues -- on Nagorno-Karabakh, which was Strobe's direct concern in his trip; the effort by Russia, France, and the United States, as tri-chairs of this new international group to try to push forward a solution on Nagorno-Karabakh. Turkey has a pivotal role to play there.

We deal with the Turks on Bosnia, on equip and train. We deal with the Turks on the issue of Israel, and of course, on Cyprus and Greek-Turkish issues, as well as the NATO issues. So there is a lot to talk about in those meetings, not just these issues that you have talked about. But the Secretary of State said today that we do not believe that there should be any resort or recourse to extra-constitutional measures. You can rely on her as the leading spokesperson for our foreign policy. That was very deliberate statement .

Turkish Military Threatens use of Force. (13 June 1997). The Turkish military said that it would use force, in neccessary, to bloc any moves to create an Islamic society. The military called in various individuals in key position to warn them about the direction they are heading. Click here to see the full Washington Post Story.

U.S. State Dept. queried on role of military in Turkey. (12 June 1997) The following exchange is taken verbatim from the State Department Briefing on June 12, 1997. Click here to see the full transcipt of the 12 June State Department Briefing.

QUESTION: Nick, on a NATO-related issue, dealing with Turkey. You mentioned at the top that civilian control of the military --

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: -- was a basic ground rule for NATO membership.

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: Also a democratic - democratic government.

MR. BURNS: Yes.

QUESTION: It appears today that Turkey is not really meeting either of those standards. Its military seems to be doing pretty much what it wants, and it seems to be exerting extremely heavy-handed control over the government. Do you have anything to say about --

MR. BURNS: Well, Sid, I don't accept the premises of your question. With respect to you, due respect, Turkey is a secular democracy. Turkey has had a secular foundation to its country since the early 1920s. Mr. Erbakan came to power - his party came to power and its coalition via national elections, which were considered by all accounts to be free and fair elections.

There are a variety of political parties that compete for power. We see that all the time in Turkish politics. There is a very vigorous press in Turkey. Several people here can account for that. Turkey is a democracy. It is a secular democracy. It is in NATO as such. It is a very valued member of NATO, and we have no reason to question Turkey's political credentials to NATO. Turkey has proven to be one of the most important and one of the most loyal members of NATO and one of the best friends of the United States. We proceed with our relationship on that basis.

QUESTION: By your information, who is controlling the Turkish military now? Erbakan?

MR. BURNS: Sid, I don't think it is appropriate for you to ask me to be a political science professor and to analyze who is up and who is down in the Turkish Government. We don't comment on the internal workings and affairs of NATO allies. We respect the fact that Turks should answer those questions, not Americans.

QUESTION: I'm not asking you to be a political science professor, and I don't appreciate you minimalizing the question to such a basic denominator. You said at the top of this briefing that a basic precept of NATO membership was civilian control of the military. Now, I am calling your own card. Do you think there is civilian control of the military in Turkey?

MR. BURNS: Sid, look at the organizational chart of the Turkish Government. Look at the way their system functions. Look that the roles of prime ministers there for many, many decades. I think you will get the answer to your question. Turkey is a secular democracy. The President of Turkey is a civilian. The Prime Minister of Turkey is a civilian. The Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister is a civilian. They are not military officers.

Now, Turkey has had in its past several periods with military control. The United States supports secular democracy and civilian control of that government.

QUESTION: So you are unwilling to say who is controlling the military in Turkey right now, in your opinion?

MR. BURNS: Sid, I just answered the question. The President, the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister are civilians. They are not military officers. That is the hierarchy of the country. Okay, I'll play the political science professor. That is the hierarchy of the country. The military is subservient to the civilians.

I know that you are reading the same thing that I am reading, that there is lots of action and lots of talk about the relationship between various entities of the Turkish Government. But it's not appropriate for me to comment on that. But we are very satisfied with Turkey as a NATO member. No reason to question Turkey as a NATO member.

Ciller gives Ultimantum to Prime Minister (12 June 1997). Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tansu Ciller who heads the center-right True Path Party (DYP) gave Turkish Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan of the Welfare Party (RP) a week to yeild office to her. Ciller threatened that if Erbakan did not step down, the DYP would end their 12-month coalition. Furthermore, Turkey is in state of panic as the military has told Army officers not to leave the country untill August, and many are suspecting a coup. The last one occured in 1980. (Washington Times, 12 June 1997)

Another resignation (30 May 1997). The Islamic-led government lost its formal majority in Parliament today when a deputy resigned from a center-right party in the governing coalition. An ultra-nationalist party has been supporting the coalition, so the government was not in immediate danger of falling. But the resignation added to pressure on government leaders trying to stave off its collapse amid tension between the Islamic Welfare Party -- the senior coalition party -- and secular forces, including the True Path Party and the military. The resignation of True Path's Yildirim Aktuna was expected, since he quit his Cabinet membership as health minister a month ago to protest Welfare's moves to put a stronger Islamic stamp on Turkey. It was the fifth resignation from True Path in two weeks and brought the number of Welfare and True Path seats to 275 in the 550-member Parliament (AP, 30 May 1997).

Policemen arrested (30 May 1997). Five policemen on trial for killing a journalist remain free despite arrest warrants issued two days ago, a human rights official said today. A court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of five of 11 police officers charged with killing reporter Metin Goktepe in January 1996. The five are said to have struck the fatal blows, while the six others allegedly contributed to Goktepe's death. Daban Dayanan of the independent Human Rights Association said no arrests have been made. The 11 officers have been on trial for seven months, but have not appeared in court. Turkish law requires their appearance, but the panel of judges had until Wednesday refused requests by Goktepe's lawyers to order their arrest. "We expect the court to issue arrest orders for the six as well if they continue not attending," Dayanan said. The officers have been suspended.

Turkey to Hold Early Elections (29 May 1997). Turkey's pro-Islamic coalition government has agreed to hold early elections, deputy prime minister Tansu Ciller said Thursday. But the ruling Welfare Party and Ciller's True Path party apparently have yet to settle on a date for the vote. That depends on when and for how long Mrs. Ciller takes over the premiership from Welfare leader Necmettin Erbakan (AP, 29 May 1997).

26 May 1997. Turkey's generals summoned Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to a closed-door meeting Monday and afterward announced a purge of pro-Islamic officers from its ranks. The expulsions signaled a deepening rift between the military, which considers itself the guardian of Turkey's secular system, and the governing Welfare Party, which has been seeking to put a greater Muslim stamp on Turkey since assuming office in July. The brief statement issued by the military after the six-hour meeting did not specify how many pro-Islamic army officers had been dismissed. ``Domestic and foreign threats to Turkey'' also were discussed, the statement said. The army deems radical Islam such a threat. Erbakan apparently was pressured into approving the dismissals. In the past, he has tried to avoid openly defying the generals even as he has resisted their demands to end Islamic policies. The military, Turkey's strongest -- and according to polls, most trusted -- institution, urged Erbakan in February to take measures to protect secularism, including closing down religious oriented schools and banning Islamic attire (AP, 26 May 1997).

24 May 1997. Another lawmaker resigned today, further undermining the Turkey's Islamic-led government as it fends off attacks from the secular establishment. Deputies of the Center-Right True Path Party, launched a rebellion to force their leader, Tansu Ciller, to dissolve the coalition partnership with the Islamic Refah (Welfare) party. Two deputies resigned from the party Friday and Ilhan Akuzum followed suit today. A close aide to Ciller also quit as True Path's deputy chairman on Friday. Akuzum's resignation left the government with 277 seats in the 550-member Parliament. More True Path deputies were expected to step down in the coming days (AP, 24 May 1997).

13 May 1997. Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan, trying to calm fears in the Turkish military, is seeking to impose hard-line Islamic rule in Turkey, pledged Tuesday not to emulate Iran or Algeria. The ruling Welfare party, which has pressed for a more activist Islamic government, was the best assurance that secularism would prevail in the country, Erbakan said. "Turkey will not become Algeria or Iran," Erbakan told his party's deputies. "The Welfare Party is the true guarantor of secularism in Turkey." Turkey's army views itself as the country's main protector of secularism. In February, senior officers ordered the Islamic-led government to curb radical Islamic groups and to restrain efforts to institute Islamic practices. The military has toppled the government three times since 1960, with the most recently in 1980. Analysts have warned of a possible coup if Erbakan's government refuses to heed the military's wishes. Erbakan has resisted such military demands as cracking down on Muslim religious schools (many of which were established under the 1980 military regime in an effort to head off leftish influence in Turkey), even though the pro-Western wing of the coalition government, led by former Prime Minister Tansu Ciller, ordered ministers to enforce laws against Islamic attire (AP, 13 May 1997).

12 May 1997. A Muslim theology student grabbed a security guard's automatic rifle at a leading newspaper Monday and shot and injured a janitor, police said. "The man said he did not like our newspaper's views," said Ertugrul Ozkok, editor-in-chief of Hurriyet. The janitor said the attacker told him he wanted to shoot the paper's owner, Aydin Dogan, because the newspaper "had insulted Islam." The janitor was shot when he tried to stop the assailant, who surrendered immediately when police arrived. The attacker, identified as Huseyin Vuran, a student at the Marmara University School of Islamic Theology, had a toy gun which he used to confiscate the guard's MP-5 submachine gun at the entrance (AP, 12 May 1997).

12 May 1997. A firebomb touched off a small fire at an American-run high school that had been named as a target by a militant Islamic group. No one was injured. Police said they were seeking two men who were seen running away after Sunday night's attack on the Izmir American School for Girls, where most of the teachers are Americans and the pupils are Turkish. Only minor damage was reported. The fire was put out quickly. It was the second attack in two weeks on a foreign school in the Aegean port of Izmir. The French-run St. Joseph High School was firebombed on April 30, causing a fire but no injuries. No one claimed responsibility for either attack. However, the militant Islamic Great East Raiders Front announced last year it would bomb foreign schools and published a list naming both the French and American-run schools in Izmir. The group aims to form an Islamic state in Turkey (AP, 12 May 1997).

11 May 1997. In Turkey's largest rally in decades, hundreds of thousands of people chanted verses from the Koran on Sunday to protest the secular military's directives for closing Islamic schools. With women covered in black chadors and men in Islamic garb, the 300,000 people at the rally represented everything that the secular establishment stands against. "Isn't this a Muslim country? I want my children to learn about his religion while getting an education,'' said Ali Akyar, a shoemaker, leading his 12-year-old son by the hand into the crowd. Turkey, although predominantly Muslim, has been a secular republic since 1923, when it was founded on the ruins of Islamic-ruled Ottoman Empire. The country's influential National Security Council, whose members include top generals, has been fighting efforts by the Islamic Welfare Party-led government to make Turkey more religious (AP, 11 May 1997).