Ecevit wants to leave with honour

After weeks of debates and divisions, which have set an unprecedented exodus from his party, and have threatened to wreck the country, ailing Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit has agreed to hold the elections in November.

The decision came at a time when Ecevit's Democratic left Party (DSP) lost the majority in the parliament. The staunch, shrewd politician is the new victim of an erratic political system characterized by the hegemony of the army.

The political crisis in Turkey could be a turning point in a country where turmoil and unstable governments are common practice. The antagonists of this ongoing drama are Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit and his former Foreign Minister Ismael Cem, each defending his cause.

It was the nationalist leader Devlet Bahceli who first sparked the crisis by calling for early elections, causing a spectacular rebellion in the government. Bahceli's party is one of the three in the coalition government.

Ecevit, 77, has been suffering from long-standing neurological ailments and a broken rib. His physicians advised him to take a long vacation and the controversy over his status has grown ever since.

But the ailing Ecevit shrugged off the challenge and said repeatedly that he wouldn't resign and that he had no intention to call for early elections. Elections have been scheduled for 2004.

The crisis came at a critical time for the country. The economy was recovering from the biggest financial collapse in 50 years. The prospects of joining the European Union were high and the Kurdish issue was getting more attention under growing pressure from Brussels.

Unwilling to compromise his post, Ecevit had to face a wave of mass defections from the coalition government. Seven ministers stepped down and 59 lawmakers abandoned The Democratic Left Party.

Will Ismael Cem be the man to shape the political future of Turkey? Cem, 62, is a renowned diplomat who has all the charisma and the background to play a decisive role. He started as a Journalist. His first chance came in 1974 when he was appointed head of the Turkish television.

With his reformist administration, he revolutionized the boring and conservative broadcasts. But he was sacked after one year for his progressive ideas. He had to wait for 12 years to see his political career take off, when he was elected to Parliament as Istanbul deputy representing the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP).

His party merged later with the Republican People's Party (CHP). He served as culture Minister in 1995. In the same year he quit the (CHP) and joined Ecevit's (DSP). In 1997 he was appointed Foreign Minister in a minority coalition headed by Mesut Yilmaz of the center-right Motherland Party (ANNAP).

As a Foreign Minister he has redefined the strategic orientation of his country. His major breakthroughs have been; the candidacy to the European Union, granted after a long period of frosty ties, and the rapprochement with Greece with which turkey has been in conflict over the issue of Cyprus.

Turkey is a country where politics is determined by the army. It was the army, which spearheaded the collapse of the Islamist-led coalition in 1997.

Local newspapers often quote high-ranking military officials saying they would crush any challenge to the secularist system established by Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey.

There is a popular saying in Turkey, which goes as follows: "when the Pashas [top generals] speak, politicians must listen." The coups of 1960, 1971 and 1980 emphasise the power of the army, which has always tried to project the image of the supreme guardian of the country.

Born in 1925, Ecevit has left a fingerprint in many aspects of the modern political life of his country. He was elected the youngest member of the Turkish parliament in 1957 and became the first ever left-wing premier in 1974.

He authorised the military intervention in Cyprus that led to the ongoing division of the island. He was imprisoned twice for criticising the military regime after 1980 coup.

His career seemed to beat an end after he was banned from politics for ten years. But from the ashes he rose like a phoenix to head the newly formed Democratic Left Party (DSP) founded by his wife Rahsan.

His popularity skyrocketed when he announced in 1999 the capture of the Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan. At the end of a long political career, Ecevit is striving at any cost to leave with honour, not an outcast.

Hashem Ahelbarra is an Abu Dhabi Television journalist.