TUSIAD ELECTS NEW CHAIRMAN; DECRIES DINK MURDER

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000053 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EUR/SE AND EB TREASURY FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - J.ROSE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON EINV TU SUBJECT: TUSIAD ELECTS NEW CHAIRMAN; DECRIES DINK MURDER REF: A. ISTANBUL 42 ¶B. ANKARA 112 ¶C. ISTANBUL 38 ISTANBUL 00000053 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. Summary: During the January 25 Annual General Assembly TUSIAD (Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's Association) members elected a new board of directors, naming Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag the first female chairman in the group's 37-year history. Yalcindag's election was a foregone conclusion, a fact that prompted two members to call for greater democracy in the election of the next board as well as an impassioned defense of a system that rotates responsibility on the TUSIAD board among Turkey's leading business families by several current board members. Outgoing Chairman of the Board Omer Sabanci and High Advisory Board Chairman Mustafa Koc used their remarks to decry the January 19 murder of newspaper publisher Hrant Dink and to call for reforms to the educational system as well as improvements in the political climate and increased democratization in society. End summary. ¶2. In a decision that had been accurately predicted by the press and the subject of conversation within business circles, TUSIAD members elected a new board of directors on January 25. For the first time in the organization's history the board chairman is a woman, Dogan Television and Radio CEO Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag (biographic info contained in para 8). This decision prompted a number of speakers to address the irony of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessman's Association being headed by a woman and to highlight the powerful role that women play in Turkey's business community. Women's increasingly important role in business was underscored by the January 24 Turkish Businesswomen's Association Award Ceremony where keynote speaker PM Erdogan personally handed out the awards and congratulated the honorees, including Businesswoman of the Year Hanzade Dogan, Arzuhan Yalcindag's U.S.-educated younger sister. ¶3. Two members chided the group for a seemingly undemocratic election, noting that Yalcindag's selection as TUSIAD Chairman had been openly discussed in the press for over a week, in some cases disparagingly with a play on the Dogan Group's campaign to increase the participation of poor and rural girls in the education system "Daddy send me to school" with "Daddy send me to TUSIAD." They argued that because TUSIAD, in its role as the 'voice of the private sector', frequently calls for greater openness and representation in Turkish politics it was important that TUSIAD abide by its own recommendations in its internal workings. These complaints prompted board member Cem Boyner, whose nephew Osman Boyner recently became engaged to Hanzade Dogan, to describe a system of consensus-based 'burden sharing' whereby Turkey's leading business families rotate the responsibility of serving on the TUSIAD board. Boyner's comments were echoed by several other board members who argued that this system was representative and appropriate for a voluntary business association. ¶4. Two recent deaths - the January 19 shooting of Turkish-Armenian newspaper publisher and activist Hrant Dink (reftels) and the January 24 death of former Foreign Minister Ismail Cem - featured in prepared remarks given by outgoing TUSIAD officials. High Advisory Board Chairman Mustafa Koc used his remarks to decry the January 19 murder of newspaper publisher Hrant Dink as well as to call for improvement in a charged political climate that had given way to politically-motivated assassination. Koc cautioned that some circles were resisting political reform and called on the business community to oppose those who would seek to change Turkey's orientation away from modern politics and a functioning market economy. He noted that a healthy economy is not possible without a strong regulatory framework and active civil society. He described education as vital both to society and to the economy and called for greater private sector support for educational reforms. He repeatedly stressed the importance of maintaining a focus on the West, although he noted that a focus on the West should not come at the expense of relations with Turkey's neighbors. Strong relations with the EU and the United States would complement good relations with neighboring countries. ¶5. Outgoing Chairman of the Board of Directors Omer Sabanci described Hrant Dink's murder as an event that would isolate Turkey in the world as well as destroy advances in freedom of speech and threaten creative thinkers. This effect was confirmed by newspaper columnist and political science professor Soli Ozel who told us the murder would have a ISTANBUL 00000053 002.2 OF 002 chilling effect on intellectuals and writers who would censor their comments to avoid endangering themselves. Sabanci described TUSIAD's support for democracy as a key principle, noting that democracy protects the market economy as well as conserving resources, preventing internal conflict and creating political and economic stability. He argued that Turkey still had a long way to go before achieving a developed democracy and called for TUSIAD members to work to change the political status quo. Sabanci argued that politicians needed to be aware of what they say and of how their words affect listeners. A charged political climate laid the groundwork for Dink's murder and it was society's responsibility to instead foster a climate that supported democracy. ¶6. Responding to criticism of TUSIAD's recently released report on 130 Years of Turkish Democracy by MHP party leader Devlet Bahceli, Sabanci explained that TUSIAD played an important role as the voice of the private sector. As a voluntary organization, unlike Chambers of Commerce and Industry in which corporate membership is mandatory, TUSIAD is truly a non-governmental organization. Now that Turkey has embarked upon accession negotiations with the European Union, TUSIAD must develop a new vision and a new mission, Sabanci argued. When TUSIAD was first formed it was one of the few supporters of the market economy and EU membership. Now these goals are broadly accepted by intellectuals, however the bureaucracy and politicians still work to preserve the role of the state in the economy. The private sector needs to remain vigilant with regards to efforts to keep Turkey out of the EU, government backsliding on privatization, and anti-democratic articles in current legislation. Sabanci sees TUSIAD's new goal as advancing the vision of Turkey as a contemporary, secular, innovative and technically advanced nation. ¶7. Comment: Omer Sabanci, who is stepping down after three years as TUSIAD Chairman, was a forceful advocate for modernization and transparency both in the economy and in politics. Over the years he used his role as TUSIAD Chairman to criticize government decisions not to amend Article 301 of the Penal Code (criminalizing insulting 'Turkishness') as well as more recent decisions to delay privatization of the state run electricity distribution company. Arzuhan Yalcindag is the face of a younger generation, but clearly has the support of a business establishment that is market driven, Western-oriented and devoted to a vision of Turkey as a modern, secular democracy. It remains to be seen whether she will harness the prestige and influence of TUSIAD as her predecessor did. End Comment. ¶8. Biographic Data: Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag was born in ¶1965. The eldest daughter of media baron Aydin Dogan, she is a graduate of Bosphorous University. She has worked in retailing, banking and media. She established and managed a mail order company MILPA Co in 1990 and headed that firm until 1992. From 1993-1995 she served as a board member of Alternatif Bank. She moved to family-owned Milliyet newspaper in 1995 where she headed the finance division. In 1999 she developed a television news project that lead to a partnership with Time Warner and the creation of CNN Turk, which has been on the air since 2000. She is currently the CEO of Dogan Television and Radio, a company established by her father Aydin Dogan, whose Dogan Media Group is the largest media corporation in Turkey. She is active in civil society and belongs to a variety of business organizations as well as groups that support education and volunteerism. She is married and has two children. JONES