[A-List] Turkey: A united front of leftists

[Sabri Oncu <soncu@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

This is very exciting. I have "virtually" been calling for such a
front for longer than four years now, not with the expectation to
be taken seriously of course but, by the looks of it, it may
happen now. Even the possibility of "way-left-of-the-center"
(whatever this means) leftists in the parliament has been beyond
my imagination. By Louis' standards, they are hardly leftists, I
tell you.

I better not get excited too much, though. There is no guarantee
that it will happen. We all know how stupidly sectarian we
leftists are.

Best,
Sabri

PS: Michael K. Your "beloved nationalist" Cem Uzan managed to
improve his party's standing to roughly 5% according to a survey
Deutsche Bank conducted. Not good enough to secure a seat in the
parliament though. By the way, why the hell is this German
financial institution interested in conducting such surveys in my
country in your opinion Chris? To "socialize" our land?

+++++++++++

Leftists ODP, EMEP, SHP and HADEP make alliance
Turkish Daily News, September 3 2002

Turkey's leftist parties seek to make an election alliance in
order to surpass the 10 percent national election threshold to
enter Parliament. Leftists Labor's Party (EMEP), Social Democrat
People's Party (SHP), Freedom and Solidarity Party (ODP) and
Turkey's only pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party (HADEP)
reached an agreement to run for the elections under a single
party's roof.

Receiving Alawite-Bektashi Institutions Union Chairman Ali Dogan
and a mission from the union in his office on Tuesday, ODP leader
Ufuk Uras said that they would make an announcement about the
partnership of these four parties within a couple of days.

Uras informed that they aimed to become a voice of the democratic
and angry majority against the understanding that handed over
Turkey to the IMF, saying that these four parties reached an
agreement on many topics. He added that there were some technical
details left to be resolved but that they could make an
announcement within a couple of days.

Emphasizing that the 'locomotive power' consisted of ODP, HADEP,
EMEP and SHP determined the common ideas and rhetoric; Uras
stated that they made a great progress although there was not
much time left to the elections.

As former state minister and the architect of the economic
program, Kemal Dervis joined the center-left Republican People's
Party (CHP) after severing his links with Ismail Cem's New Turkey
Party (YTP), YTP sought to make an election alliance with Murat
Karayalcin's SHP. Karayalcin flashed the green light for running
on a YTP ticket but he stressed that the alliance should cover
HADEP and ODP. However Cem refused HADEP, saying that alliance
with HADEP was a somewhat problematic issue.

Deserting premier Bulent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party (DSP)
this summer, YTP members, on the other hand, are currently
carrying out alliance talks with center-right Democratic Turkey
Party (DTP).