Turkey

The year 1991 produced several important changes for Turkey, both internationally and domestically. The contradictions in President Ozal’s role derived from the fact that his personality and political experience clashed with Turkey’s constitutional rules and traditions. The dominant trend within the party could be broadly defined as pro-Western liberal, attached to the vision of a democratic, modernized and capitalist Turkey aligned with the Western powers, while preserving its national traditions. Of the other issues in the election campaign, foreign policy was a notable absentee, in spite of Turkey’s enhanced international role in the Gulf crisis. the Kurdish ethnic minority, which probably accounts for around 15%—20% of the total population, has been denied even the most limited cultural rights, let alone the right to self-determination. The relationship between Ankara and the Iraqi Kurdish leaders was also fraught with problems. Thanks to external instability, and continuing defects in Turkey’s economic structure, 1991 was a difficult year for the Turkish economy.