What do Russia, Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Bulgaria and Romania have in common?
You probably remember the beginnings of the Egyptian Awakening. It was Dickensian: the best of times, the worst of times. Happiness and anxiety were in the air, fearful talk was spreading of Islamists taking power in Cairo.
Regional disparity is an important issue in Turkey. Take for example, the top 1,000 industrial companies list of the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ISO-1000). Have you ever looked at the geographical location of the companies in the list? Let me tell you: There are no factories in the east of Turkey. Let me correct: If you look for provinces with at least three companies on the ISO-1000 list, then the whole east of Turkey looks empty. It is sad.
TRT, Turkey’s public broadcaster, launched its Arabic-language station about a year ago. This was supposed to be the landmark for Turkey’s return to the region. What a return! Prime Minister Erdoğan has started his tour of North Africa right after the Arab Spring. He was disembarking the plane. All Turkish channels were broadcasting the event live. I switched to TRT-Arabic. I was just curious.
Palestine could be the first Arab country to industrialize. The potential is there. Regarding capabilities, other than the skilled labor force, Israeli infrastructure is ironically an important asset. Israel is one of the two industrialized countries in the region, the other being Turkey. Theoretically, Palestinians should have no problems connecting to the world.
Not that I know of. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was in New York yesterday, speaking to the U.N. General Assembly. He described the poverty he saw in Somalia and said he considered the situation there a disgrace to the international community.
Hosni Mubarak is on trial. His country is in transition, and the youth of Tahrir Square is lost in disillusionment. I have been looking at the photos of Mubarak facing prosecution on his sick bed. It’s tragic, but what goes around comes around, I suppose.
There is disillusionment with the pace of change in Egypt. Take the 1958 emergency law, which former president Hosni Mubarak limited to the regulation of narcotics and terrorism at the demand of Tahrir Square protesters.
Are you following the organizational mess surrounding the earthquake in Van? Those coordination failures highlight Turkey’s underlying problems. What, really, is the mother of all problems in Turkey?
