BY TAHA AKYOL
MILLIYET- I was in Davos for the Turkish Night on Saturday. Victor Halsberstadt, an international relations expert, compared Turkey and Russia, saying both used to be empires, both countries are nationalistic, the economies of both are rapidly growing, the strategic positions and roles of both are impressive, and they're both modern countries. He said by `modern' he meant they are governed by elected politicians with a central, rational bureaucracy. Despite this comparison, he said Turkey is on better ground, because it's open to postmodernism. In other words, Turkey is ahead of Russia on such issues as the development of civil society, decentralized administration gradually gaining ground, pluralism, openness to the world, and a dynamic entrepreneurial class.
Hanzade Dogan Boyner of the Dogan Group touted Turkey's role as a strategic corridor by citing figures on international oil and gas production and consumption. As a banker, Suzan Sabanci stressed Turkey's economic dynamism in the eyes of finance. Foreign Minister Ali Babacan got positive reviews for his speech full of detailed economic data and covering such issues as Armenia, the Kurds, Article 301, the military and democracy. Then I ran into UN Development Program head and former Economy Minister Kemal Dervis and told him Bill Gates' `humane capitalism' was like his `social-liberal synthesis.' `Yes, it's like that in terms of humane pursuit and sensitivity towards poverty,' Dervis said. He added that but he wouldn't use the term capitalism, because, as its name indicates, it's pro-capital. Dervis also said that it's something good that this humane need is felt in the capitalist world. According to Dervis, no economic crisis should be expected either in the world or Turkey, but stagnancy will create problems.
Meanwhile, Sedat Ergin, the Ankara bureau chief of Milliyet daily, was talking to Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Behram Salih. I joined in their conversation and heard that they met each other when Ergin was a correspondent in Washington. Salih told me that Iraq's Kurds are becoming more Iraqi and terrorism is on the wane. I told him that this was a good development and that Turkey should support this process, and he agreed. He believes relations between Ankara and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani will develop. Babacan and the businessmen also showed great interest in Israeli President Shimon Peres. I also joined them and told Peres his presence shows the Turkish-Israeli friendship. He told me he shared those feelings.
There was a French Night in the hall upstairs at the same time. Everybody was going there as well and wondering which event was better. There was French wine and music at the French Night. At the Turkish Night, besides drinks, there was Turkish food, a whirling dervish performance, a tabor concert by Burhan Ocal and songs by Demet Tuncer and Kenan Dogulu. The guests flocked to scarves and ties given out by Vakko as party favors. As the issue of religion was also discussed in Davos this year, Protestant and Catholic clergymen from France, whose secularism is mature, got a lot of attention. What would happen if the head of our Religious Affairs Directorate or high-ranking imams had come? I don't know if our young secularists would be angry. Maybe I'm speaking too emotionally, I don't know, but I think the more colorful and lively Turkish night was better than the French night, and our businessmen paid $3 million to make it happen!