Turgut Özal's Economy and Foreign Policy Equation

Who is Özal?

Turgut ÖZAL, who is trying to create a different Turkey with his NO MORE AID, MORE TRADE approach, with his efforts to create a strong Turkey, with his investments in telecommunication, transportation, education and tourism, has become one of the figures who have an important place in Turkey's economy, management and political history.

By questioning the slow-running bureaucracy, the status quo state policy and all vicious circles, he succeeded in putting vision discussions on Turkey's agenda in the 1980s and 1990s.

Turgut ÖZAL, with the awareness that Turkey should not waste time, has tended to choose the rapidly developing Far East countries as a model instead of the western countries that continue on their way with a low growth rate.

The important thing for him was the development of Turkey and defeating its bad luck. For this purpose, the economic interests of the country have been prioritized in all international relations. Traveling with bureaucrats, who represented the classical understanding of the state in his trips abroad, turned into a journey with business people in his time.

Yes, interest was everything in international relations and the economy was in the first place in today's world. Therefore, it was necessary to associate Turkey's interests with economic interests.

Relations with the USA:

When we first heard the word NO MORE AID MORE TRADE, we did not realize that this was the beginning of a new era with its people and intellectuals. For the first time, a Turkish Prime Minister asked the United States not to reduce aid, but to do more trade. Having indexed their reactions to the amount of aid from the USA, the Turkish public would better understand what the word "Economic" in the defense and economic cooperation agreement meant. Yes, Turkey first increased its exports from 2.5 billion dollars to 10 billion dollars during Turgut Özal's term. Then it increased to $20 billion. Again, for the first time, a Turkish prime minister was voicing an export of 100 billion dollars.

Turgut Özal, taking strength from the developments he initiated, confronted the USA as a trade partner. From now on, Turkey was taking an approach that brought the economy to the fore in all international relations. In line with the desire for more trade, first of all, the quota on Turkish textiles in the US market was broken and the Turkish textile manufacturer was gaining a new market of 1 billion dollars. Not satisfied with this success, Turgut Özal continued to promote Turkey in the USA at every opportunity and to draw the attention of US investors to Turkey.

Just like powerful and rich countries do, advertisements for Turkey appeared in US newspapers. Some of these promotions were financed by Turgut Özal's government, while others were financed by businessmen. The US public, who until now saw Turkey as a "fish in a fishing line," in Rockefeller's words, saw a giant awakening in the Middle East under Turgut Özal's prime ministership. Özal was laughingly watching a balloon, modeled after Suleiman the Magnificent, appear in the skies of the USA, realizing that this was an indication of Turkey's political weight.

The US-Turkey relations, which stagnated after the Democratic Party era, are not only developing; it was changing dimensions from the military field to the economic field. Now, Turkey could finance the election campaign of George Bush, one of the presidential candidates of the USA, with an amount of 1 million dollars and play a decisive role in the Middle East policy of the same country.

Just after ANAP, led by Turgut Özal, successfully emerged from the 1983 elections, then-US President Ronald Reagan congratulated Turgut Özal and announced on January 15, 1984 that the Özal government would play a more active role in the Middle East, starting a new era. This statement was the indicator of Turgut Özal's orientation towards new horizons towards Europe. Upon a question asked on March 10, 1984, he said that Turkey's foreign policy did not consist of Cyprus and Greece, and pointed out that he was turning to new policies.

The US government under Reagan decided to strengthen Turkey in terms of stability in the Middle East. All these developments would cause Turgut Özal to take the wind behind him and direct the US policy in the Gulf War. In January 1996, former US President George Bush admitted to the CNN television channel that not listening to Turgut Özal was a mistake, and is a good indicator of how he can evaluate international events. Because Turgut Özal had told George BUSH, who was visiting Turkey on July 20, 1991, that Iraqi leader Saddam should be overthrown in Ankara. In the same visit, Özal took a loan from Bush for the second tranche of F-16 aircraft and this time turned Turkey's prestige into a loan.

Europe and the Balkans:

When Turgut Özal came to power in 1983, relations with Europe were at the breaking point. In this period, Özal chose the way of influencing European countries one by one, instead of opposing Europe as a whole.

The first concrete target was France. Because France was the country that followed the harshest policy against Turkey. In addition, those who carried out the ongoing Armenian terror against the Turkish representatives were living in France. Özal had been launching a propaganda offensive against France on May 4, 1984. France's tolerant attitude towards Armenian terrorists would be expressed in all international platforms and the damage this caused to Turkey-France trade relations would be investigated. As a matter of fact, a few days after this decision, the French newspaper Le Monde would write that Turkey-France trade had declined by 18% in one year.

France was being bombarded by Turgut Özal. On May 3, 1984, a complaint was filed with the French Hague Court of Justice and the Council of Europe. With Turgut Özal's self-confident attitude, the Republic of Turkey was taking the initiative in relations with Europe after a long time. Within a few months of the Özal government's attempts, the Turkish public would observe that Armenian terrorism had ceased. In particular, the thesis that economic relations were damaged left France in a difficult position in its own public opinion. Turgut Özal was trying another first and making a European giant accept his policy with economic steps. Turkey and France would now become two trading partners. The establishment of Turkish-French relations on an economic platform would be strengthened by purchasing a helicopter from a French helicopter company. In return for the helicopters to be purchased, France would support Turkey in its relations with Europe.

Contracting Turkish satellites to the French aviation industry and sending them into space with French missiles was softening the relations between Turkey and France.

In the period after Özal's rule, the political purpose of giving the satellite contract to the French company would not be noticed due to the vicious conflicts in domestic politics, and the government's transport minister would be accused of corruption.

The thought that pushed France to act moderately towards Turkey was the idea that Turkey is a big market. However, Turkey was no longer a market, but a country that could bargain.

The second country Turgut Özal wanted to influence in Europe was Sweden. Sweden had the reputation of a country that respected human rights. For this reason, it became the first country after Turkey to designate the PKK as a terrorist organization. Turgut Özal wanted this attitude of Sweden to set an example for other countries, especially Germany.

PKK stated that there was no difference between Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, who was killed in a demonstration in Sweden in November 1983, and Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Özal. Olof Palme and Turgut Özal, who came to New York to attend the 40th anniversary celebrations of the UN in October 1985, had an official meeting. This meeting was considered an 'important development' in various circles, especially in the Turkish press. The focus of the talks was on economic relations. In December, a delegation headed by Swedish Prime Minister Undersecretary Carl-Johan Aberg was visiting Ankara. After this visit, it was certain that the Swedish company ASEA would buy the Istanbul metro construction. In the face of this economic step, the Swedish government was withdrawing its complaint petition against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights after the 1980 military intervention.

Other countries, on the other hand, followed the example of Sweden and one after another began to withdraw their complaints to the European Court of Human Rights.

The agreement of ASEA in Turkey and the Swedish government's withdrawal of its complaint were given as important news on the Swedish Radio and Television on December 9, 1985.

The relations between France and Sweden, which developed with the Özal government, would also activate the Germans and on May 23, 1984, Bavarian State Prime Minister Franz Josef Strauß would come to Turkey. Strauß's aim was to sell Airbus planes to Turkey. Turgut Özal would say that the Germans only treated us like a customer, and that buying a plane was a technical issue, only THY could decide. Strauss, who saw that Turgut Özal's Turkey had started to bargain, would have to say that they saw Turkey as European. The era of giving without taking was over.

Turgut Özal was going to try to use our economic power to realize his ideas in his relations with Bulgaria. The policy of assimilation and intimidation, which started to be implemented against our compatriots in Bulgaria in the 1980s, brought the two countries to the brink of war. Our compatriots, who were overwhelmed by the oppression, were looking for ways to take refuge in Turkey. The most important of these was weightlifter Naim Süleymanoğlu. As soon as Süleymanoğlu took refuge in Turkey, he began to receive the highest level of protection from Turgut Özal. He wanted to compete for Turkey in international competitions, but was faced with a 2-year veto of Bulgaria. Turgut Özal offered 2 million dollars to the then Bulgarian President Todar Jivkov to abolish the veto, and the veto was lifted.

The fame that Turkey gained with Naim Süleymanoğlu was too big to be measured by billions.

On the other hand, economic relations with Bulgaria were showing an increase of 90% compared to before 1980. Turkey was supplying electricity to Bulgaria, from which it bought electricity a few years ago. Economic relations were once again softening political relations, and in November 1990 the Turks were given their names back.

Turgut Özal's desire to play a decisive role in world and regional events made Turkey a more active country. Turgut Özal was feeling the pulse by going on a tour of the Balkans in his capacity as President when conflicts broke out between Bosnians, Serbs and Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the time, Hikmet Çetin, was not present during this visit, again due to the vicious conflicts. However, Turgut Özal was going to lay the foundation of the Bosnian Croat Federation by meeting with the President of Croatia. The argument Turgut Özal used in this formation was the 50 million dollar loan to be opened to Croatia. With this formation, Turgut Özal was taking one step closer to the ideal of a great Turkey, which he had set his heart on, and elevating Turkey from the position of the chess piece to the position of the chess player.

Relations with Countries in the Middle East Region:

The ANAP government led by Turgut Özal has turned Turkey's face towards the Middle East since 1983. This initiative was received coldly by many of the intellectuals in the country. However, Turkey's share of the 200 billion-dollar Middle East market had to be increased. The Middle East was a big market for Turkey, especially for Turkish construction companies.

The Özal government had maintained balanced relations with both countries in the Iran-Iraq war that had been going on since 1980, and Turkey had economically profited from this unstoppable war. The total volume of trade with Iran and Iraq was 4 billion dollars.

Projects for the Middle East would not be interrupted. When Turgut Özal put forward the peace water project that would pass through Syria, Jordan and Israel and reach Saudi Arabia, the attention of the world would be turned to this 30 billion dollar project. American engineering firms would immediately begin feasibility studies. Another target for the Middle East was the sale of Manavgat water to Israel by being transported from the sea in medusa bags.

With these projects, Turgut Özal aimed to provide an annual income of 15 billion dollars to the country, to bring peace to the Middle East and to take the initiative in water issues into Turkey's hands. Since Syria was one of the countries that could interrupt these projects, Turgut Özal was landing in Syria with a large delegation in July 1987. During the meetings, the subject of Water and Terror was discussed. Turkey would supply Syria with 500 cubic meters of water per second from the FIRAT, but Syria would not support the PKK terrorist organization. By associating the issues of water and terrorism with each other, Özal actually caught Syria red-handed. For the first time, a country admitted with its own signature that it tolerated activities against the Republic of Turkey. This very important protocol, which would make Syria a war criminal and give Turkey both compensation and self-defense, was taking its place in the archives.

Despite the cold approach of the status quoists and Arab countries in Turkey, Arab capital was heading towards Turkey. With Özal, economic activity was beginning in the Middle East-Turkey relations. Turkey-Middle East relations, which faltered for a while after the Gulf War, continued to develop and the Middle East was becoming the second most important trade region for Turkey after Europe.

Caucasus – Central Asia

This region has a special importance in his struggle to develop his country and to make it one of the world's leading powers. Because the visit he made to the Central Asian Turkic Republics, sick and tired, would wear out his heart and Özal would pass into eternity. After the Turkish Republics started to declare their independence, he would ask THY to arrange a flight to Central Asia in order to bring these communities closer to each other. However, when THY management said that both Central Asia and Japan routes would not be profitable, Özal's answer would be "if we leave this job to bureaucrats, we will not reach Central Asia or Tokyo".

Turgut Özal very much wanted the historical silk road to be opened. It was 1989 and the USSR was still alive when he brought this subject up. This strategic foresight of Turgut Özal also faced resistance from status quo circles and bureaucrats. Süleyman Demirel was saying that if Turkey was interested in this region, we would find the Red Army in front of us. This last statement showed how much resistance Turgut Özal's changes were facing.

He would not be afraid of anything and would do his best to direct world events. When Armenia attacked Nakhchivan in 1992, the TAF had a winter exercise in our eastern region. S. DEMİREL, the prime minister of the time, was giving encouragement to Armenia by saying, "This exercise is not being conducted against Armenia," while Turgut Özal was sending an indirect threat saying, "What would happen if one or two bombs from our planes accidentally landed on Armenia? When the President of Armenia came to Turkey, he would say that the Armenian people loved S.DEMİREL very much.

Turkey, which laid the foundation of the Bosnian Croat Federation by providing a loan of 50 million dollars, would not be able to send 2000 typewriters and a few humanitarian helicopters to this country, which Azerbaijan wanted during the next governments.

Turkey, which retreated into its shell after Turgut Özal and did not support the countries around it, would not be able to achieve the Black Sea Economic Cooperation first, and then it would be from the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

Far East:

With the Far East landing of Turkish Turgut Özal, he would discover this region that controls 40% of world trade and establish many business connections from Malatya to South Korea.

Turgut Özal knew that the world was not just about Europe and was trying to divert Turkey's horizons in different directions. This initiative would bear fruit in a very short time and on May 13, 1984, SABANCI Holding would cooperate with Japan. Today, we see billions of dollars of Japanese capital entering Turkey through Sabancı Holding. (Names and trade volumes of Japanese-Sabancı partnerships are kept confidential)

The powers that could not stop Turkey's openness, growth and development would choose the path of terror, try to scare Turgut Özal's Turkey and murder Özdemir Sabancı treacherously.

Conclusion:

Turgut Özal paved the way by trying to clear the obstacles in front of the Turkey he dreamed of one by one. He not only brought vision, but also succeeded in bringing the forces that resisted change to order. For him, vision was not just a prediction or a prophecy or even a geometric projection of the past, but a passion that wanted to actively strive for the realization of goals.

God Bless his soul.