NEW TUSIAD BOARD UNVEILS AGENDA, DIVES INTO

C O N F I D E N T I A L ISTANBUL 000067

SIPDIS

DEPT PLEASE PASS USTR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/23/2019
TAGS: ECON EINV ETRD EFIN PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: NEW TUSIAD BOARD UNVEILS AGENDA, DIVES INTO
POLITICS

REF: ISTANBUL 37

Classified By: Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL SHARON A. WIENER FOR REASO
NS 1.4(B) AND (D)


1. (C) Summary. The Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen's
Association (TUSIAD)'s recently elected board of directors
kicked off its new term with a "new approach" laid out in the
board's recently released activity plan for the upcoming
year. TUSIAD board members predict that the new term will
usher in a new era for Turkey's leading business NGO, with a
higher degree of professionalism and focus. Chairwoman Umit
Boyner's call for constitutional change and political reform
during a recent press conference and visit to Ankara suggest
that TUSIAD's new leadership will not shy from political
debate. End Summary.


New Board, New Approach
--------------


2. (C) On February 11, Istanbul Consul General and Deputy
Principal Officer met with TUSIAD leadership board member
Cansen Basaran-Symes, President of PricewaterhouseCooper
Turkey. Symes shared her perspective on the initial steps
taken by TUSIAD's new board and her expectations for its
work. Symes said the new board, which was more professional,
balanced, and focused than the previous board, would take a
"whole new approach" and predicted that it would be more
engaged with its members and "in touch with the people."


3. (C) Symes acknowledged that business cannot be separated
from politics and welcomed the board's engagement with Prime
Minister Erdogan and President Gul in Ankara. She dismissed
the notion that the new board might fear engagement with the
government, even if the past board's relationship with the
government had been tense. At root, the new board and the
government shared "all the same objectives," and Symes
assessed that the government needed help which the new board
would offer. Symes said that when it first came to power, she
was impressed by the Justice and Development Party (AKP) but
the party has been "spoiled" and the new board would have to
assess the AKP's receptivity to TUSIAD before deciding how to
proceed with the relationship. Regarding Turkey's investment
climate, Symes lamented that Turkish accounting principles
had been designed to conceal rather than to disclose, and
described current laws as "regulated corruption" used to
conceal corporate governance and finances.


4. (C) TUSIAD's recently released 2010-2011 activity plan,
described by newly elected Chairwoman Umit Boyner in a press
conference following the new board's first meeting, covers a
wide range of issues including unemployment, Turkey's
unregistered economy, fiscal policy and energy supply
security. In her statements to the press about the activity
plan, Boyner commented that even with an optimistic GDP
growth scenario of 5.9 percent in 2010, GDP growth would not
be enough to overcome Turkey's current unemployment problems.
(Note: Turkey's official unemployment rate is 13 percent, and
many people believe this figure understates the actual rate
given the large unregistered economy. End Note.) Boyner said
that the national budget deficit is "alarming" and TUSIAD's
agenda includes a new fiscal system proposal and a public
expense reform conference. Guidance for small and medium
sized enterprises (SME) is key to keeping those businesses
out of the gray market, according to Boyner, and creation of
a liberalized energy market, energy pipeline policy and
energy supply security also featured high on the list of
priorities for TUSIAD in the plan. The press reported that
Boyner raised these issues with Turkish government officials
in Ankara during her visit on February 18. Tayfun Bayazit,
Yapi Kredi Chairman and another new TUSIAD board member,
echoed these priorities in a meeting with US officials on
February 19, calling for the structuring of more SMEs to
formally integrate their financial reporting into the
national accounting system.


Boyner's "Manifesto of Democracy"
--------------


5. (U) In addition to economic issues, Boyner jumped into
political discourse during her press conference, receiving

glowing coverage from Today's Zaman columnist Bulent Kenes
for addressing these issues in a proactive way. Calling
Turkey's political problems "structural," she said that the
country was in urgent need of a new civilian constitution to
undo the authoritarian structure put in place under military
rule. She said that TUSIAD's "democracy package" will
emphasize constitutional reform as a centerpiece of political
goals. Following her meetings in Ankara, Boyner said that she
had discussed political issues, including judicial
independence, with government leaders as well. Columnist
Kenes welcomed Boyner's reformist statements as rectifying
the damage done to TUSIAD's image by the previous board,
chaired by Arzuhan Yalcindag, which turned TUSIAD into what
Kenes called a "carbon copy of Hurriyet newspaper" and of the
Republican People's Party (CHP). In what Kenes described as a
"manifesto of democracy," Boyner discussed the need to
strengthen the impartiality and independence of the judiciary
and commented that the Supreme Board of Judges and
Prosecutors should not be under the influence of the
executive. Calling on the government to "thaw the ice"
between itself and minority groups, Boyner said that the
state should reconcile with its Kurds and Alevis, and do away
with the 10 percent election threshold before the general
election scheduled for 2011.


Comment
--------------


6. (C) Boyner's public statements so far suggest that she is
continuing her initial push for a vocal and more central role
for TUSIAD in the national political debate. TUSIAD's
political agenda has not changed; its new leaders have the
same secular, pro-Western orientation as their predecessors.
Under the previous board, TUSIAD leadership was open to
criticism that it was too closely linked to Dogan Holding;
the previous chairwoman Yalcindag is the daughter of Aydin
Dogan. While her comments indicate that Boyner will not
hesitate to publicly criticize the government, her
willingness to engage in frank conversations with government
officials potentially could lead to a more constructive
dialog under TUSIAD's new board. We will be meeting with
Boyner soon to discuss her views and get a readout of her
recent Ankara meetings.

WIENER