Peer Reviewer 1:
Overall, the report describes the current situation in Turkey in a satisfactory manner. However, I think that there are some points that need to be clarified.
In the first paragraph, Turkey's economy is described as "one of the Europe's poorest economies", but actually Turkey is one of the big emerging markets, and is cited as a member of the BRICET countries that are economically developing, alongside Brazil, Russia, India, China, and Eastern Europe. Additionally, Turkey has the 17th largest economy in the world and the 6th largest economy of the European Union (www.invest.gov.tr).
In the 2007 Corruption Perception Index, Turkey is ranked 64th among 179 countries, with a score of 4.1, while Brazil, China, India and Mexico rank 72nd with a score of 3.5, and Russia ranks 143rd with a corruption score of 2.3.
I was able to verify the growth rate in Turkey, but I was not able to verify the other figures that are cited in the first paragraph. I agree with the reporter that corruption is widespread in Turkey, but I am not sure that it is as endemic as proclaimed in the notebook.
The reporter presented all the recent cases of corruption, nepotism, favoritism and bad governance of the AKP government, and of former governments.
There is actually a fight against corruption in Turkey. We can notice that The Law Fighting Corruption and Bribery (no. 3628) was enacted in April 1990, and that since 2002 there have been governmental efforts to increase transparency and enhance good governance in the public sector in Turkey. However, as the reporter indicated, I also believe that the efforts in fighting corrpution should be much more sustained.
Peer Reviewer 2:
The Reporter's Notebook documents the presence of corruption in Turkey in a factually impeccable manner. It describes several actual stories of fraud, bribery, nepotism and favoritism that have been perpetrated by Turkish politicians and government elites. However, the reporter should mention that the rate of corruption among government officials is relatively low in Turkey, if compared to many other Middle East and former Soviet countries. Most government servants are well-educated, reliable, diligent citizens, who are working in a relatively well-organized system. The notebook also neglects to provide a history of corruption in Turkey, which goes far beyond the AKP government.
I find that the report focuses only on negative aspects and ignores positive movements and events, such as recent economic and political reforms, which will help to eliminate overall corruption in Turkey. Starting in 2008, in the first two years of its new term, the government will give momentum to second and third generation reforms. If rapidly delivered, they will put Turkey back on its sustainable annual growth path of 6.5-7 percent, while unemployment will be falling towards 8-9 percent. Here are some reform attempts: § Fiscal side reforms: 1) fiscal anchor required after the IMF program expires in May 2008; 2) tax reform that guarantees improvement in competition, tax collection, and normalization in the ratio of direct/indirect taxes. § Social security reform: an accident waiting to happen with the welfare deficit spiraling up to 4.6 percent of GDP, the trend must be reversed through the reform pending in Parliament. § Labor market reform: 1) the legislation that limits labor demand should be revised: tax burden on employment should be eased for better flexibility; 2) the quality of the labor force should be enhanced through a specially designed education reform. § Better auditing of the financial system: apart from the banking sector, the private sector risk assessment should also be closely carried out in order to limit excess private sector borrowing/risk taking. § Incentive policy reform: to encourage innovation and competitiveness with a time limit.
Peer Reviewer 3:
I generally share the reporters views regarding the Turkish economy and state of corruption, but I would like to add a few things.
The Infrastructure minister from the 1999 government was charged with corrupting the tender for earthquake reconstruction works and received a sentence of 222 years. However, the final court decision cleared him of these charges despite all evidence.
In addition, since the Military Coup of 1980, more than 20 ministers (including four prime ministers) have been accused of corruption in huge energy, defense and other tender corrupted deals and were tried in courts. Eventually all have been cleared by the Supreme Court and none went to jail.
Politicians cant sustain corrupt behavior without the assistance of the judiciary. There is a system of solidarity between the government and the judiciary, and they share the benefits of corruption. If you look around Ankara you will see that more than 100.000 new villas have been constructed or are under construction. Ankara is mainly the government seat, where the average salary of state-employed staff is between US$100-1500. The price of a villa is around US$250.000, but no one checks where the money to build such villas comes from.
That clearly shows that the resources of the Turkish economy are enormous, but because of corruption they aren't used for the development of the country but for the benefit of certain individuals.
Peer Reviewer 4:
Im no huge fan of Erdogans, but from my own experience and talks with the "average Turk" (if such a thing exists), corruption has fallen under AK Partesi. While I wouldnt want to debate with the Notebook writer about this, I would highlight that the review is very anti-AK party. I think the report could be more effective if it focused on the administration (which, in fact, is the real source of corruption) instead of focusing so heavily on the political class -- and only on one party. Such a focus would remove suspicion that the writer is aligned with CHP.
Seriously, besides this main point, the report is interesting and well-informed. I think it could gain from a slight refocus on on-the-street examples that would provide a different flavor. The reporter gave up a nice chance here to explain what the OECD Convention is and highlight that Turkey has signed the convention.
I should point out for the readers who are not familiar with Turkey that the military acts as the ballast for the political system. I find this important because the report draws a clear division between military and civilian cases.
I would reduce the last paragraph to one sentence. Brevity will add more power (and it reads a bit poetic now.)
Overall, I enjoyed the piece.
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