"A Very Unfortunate Impression"

By Kenneth W. Banta

Despite a crackdown, the return to democracy stays on schedule

From the day Turkey's generals took power in a bloodless coup in 1980, they promised to return the country to democracy as soon as they thought possible. But over the past five months, the regime of President Kenan Evren, 65, has cracked down, sometimes harshly, on journalists, academics and cultural personalities who have expressed even mild opposition to the government. The measures have raised fears that the military leaders of NATO's easternmost member may renege on their pledge. Says the often pro-government columnist Metin Toker: "Whatever they do, it will not create an atmosphere in which democracy can function smoothly."

Since November, the government has fired 40 university professors for being too leftist; 280 more have resigned. Because of increasingly vigilant press censorship, newspapers have not been able to comment on the purges. In one of its most controversial actions, the regime briefly shut down the left-wing Istanbul newspaper Cumhuriyet. Reason: the paper had reprinted a tough 1961 editorial criticizing reactionary efforts to subvert Turkey's cultural institutions. A military prosecutor charged Publisher Nadir Nadi, 75, who wrote the editorial, with "openly provoking people to commit a crime." The authorities also brought to trial Actress Isik Yenersu, who had read two poems by the Communist poet Nazim Hikmet Ran at a cultural event in Paris late last year. She was charged with "acting to disgrace Turkey."

Evren's approach has aroused concern in Western Europe. Karsten Voigt, foreign policy spokesman for West Germany's Social Democratic opposition, has challenged Bonn's $165 million economic aid to Turkey, saying that there is "no moral justification for criticism of martial law in Poland" if West Germany does not take action to reduce human rights abuse in other countries, like Turkey. Last week 90 French intellectuals staged a protest demanding "the immediate end of the repression and militarization that has hit the universities." And in a public show of displeasure, the U.S. consul in Istanbul turned up for Nadi's trial. Privately, American diplomats have reminded the military that NATO is "an association of democratic nations," warning that the new policies create "a very unfortunate impression" that could imperil congressional support for future military aid.

The government has forced civil servants to wear ties and shave off beards to give an appearance of greater discipline. It has urged women to wear long-sleeved dresses instead of jeans, and to use less perfume and makeup. Many Turks are irritated even by seemingly reasonable decisions, such as increased enforcement of the country's generally ignored traffic laws. Says an Istanbul journalist: "We are not a nation of 45 million small soldiers as Evren wants. We are civilians."

As loud as some of the complaints may be, the fatherly, silver-haired Evren remains popular for having pulled the country back from the brink of chaos. By imposing martial law, forbidding all political activity, and making mass arrests of dissidents, the government ended the savage wave of terrorism that until 1980 was killing as many as 30 people a day. The military regime has revived Turkey's economy with a stringent austerity program. Gross national product, which was stagnant in 1980, grew by more than 4.5% last year. Inflation has dropped from an annual rate of well above 100% when the generals took over to 25.5% in 1982. Village bazaars and city stores are once more stocked with consumer goods. Evren has effectively shielded the population from the everyday evidence of military rule. Most soldiers are back in their barracks, and their armored vehicles are rarely visible on street corners.

Many Turks, moreover, respect the military as a guarantor of their democratic institutions. They recall that it was General Kemal Atatuerk who proclaimed the country a democratic republic in 1923. Honoring that tradition, Evren held a national referendum last November, in which he won overwhelming support for a new constitution and for plans to hold parliamentary elections next October. Many intellectuals, however, have expressed concern about elements of the new constitution. Evren automatically became President for a seven-year term, with the right to dismiss the 400-member parliament. The new charter also bans all political parties that existed before the coup, and prohibits 100 former politicians, including former Prime Ministers Suleyman Demirel and Buelent Ecevit, from participating in politics for ten years.

Despite the extensive powers Evren retains, few Turks believe that the recent crackdown signals a plan to prolong military rule. Instead, the generals may be curbing civil liberties because they fear a resurgence of terrorism during the transition to civilian government. Says Columnist Toker: "The military has good intentions and wants to create a suitable atmosphere in which a Western-type democracy can function. But they overreact to each slight."

Turkey has taken on particular importance for NATO since 1979, when the regime of Ayatullah Ruhollah Khomeini closed down all U.S. bases in Iran. Some 5,000 U.S. servicemen are stationed in Turkey. Americans at a dozen intelligence posts monitor military activities in the Soviet Union, which shares a 370-mile border with Turkey. President Reagan has asked for an increase in military aid to Turkey from the $400 million already appropriated for 1983 to $755 million for 1984, in order to transform Turkey's 600,000-man army into an independent force that could help prevent Soviet expansionism in the area. Says a State Department official: "Ninety-five percent of Turks think the situation is better than before, and so do we."

Two developments suggest that Evren may be easing the pressure on his countrymen. Last week a military prosecutor reduced the charges against Publisher Nadi to "encouraging people to act against the law," and asked for a prison term of 2 1/2 instead of six years. The military court trying Actress Yenersu referred the case to a civil tribunal, which is likely to be more lenient. Evren, it seems, is learning that respect for civil liberties is a cornerstone of democracy.

--By Kenneth W. Banta. Reported by Walter Galling/Rome

With reporting by Walter Galling/Rome This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.