MILLIYET- Columnist Fikret Bila comments on the struggle against corruption and poverty promised by the Justice and Development Party (AKP). A summary of his column is as follows:
The Turkish nation’s new expectation is for a struggle to be waged against corruption and poverty. Clearly, the results of the Nov. 3 elections have a great deal to do with this expectation. Among the results of Turkey’s two recent big economic crises is the ‘economy of corruption.’ So many steps were taken to combat corruption by the previous government, but this effort faced numerous setbacks and problems. Things came to a head when the anti-corruption efforts hit the political and commercial power centers. The forces hit were so strong that some valiant ministers and administrators were unable to keep their posts. Now the new government has to wage this struggle anew, even if means hitting these centers again. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has enough seats to do this, and its single-party rule will also help the struggle. The shield of immunity should denied to politics and the bureaucracy in order to fight the centers of power established by political-business ties. However, the government’s reluctance on the immunity issue is disappointing the Turkish nation. AKP leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Abdullah Gul shouldn’t shrink from taking this step. If they do so, they would sow doubt concerning the AKP’s ministers and deputies and shake the nation’s faith that it showed on Nov. 3. Another issue that the government should deal with immediately is the struggle against poverty. The bill for Turkey’s two economic crises has been borne largely by its workers with small, stable incomes. The salaries of workers, state officials and public servants and retired people decreased greatly in terms of their purchasing power, and those who lost their jobs were forced to the brink of hunger. Another expectation from the AKP is that it will transfer enough income to these people so that they can live securely and humanely. This transfer shouldn’t be limited to meager food, clothes and fuel aid, because this won’t really address the problem. The new government should create new jobs, encourage investments, provide these people with renewed income and increase their salaries with a comprehensive public personnel reform program. The new government shouldn’t forget that the bill for the two economic crises in Turkey was paid mostly by these people.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION