Thousands protest against IMF in Turkey
Thousands protest against IMF in Turkey
ANKARA (Reuters): Thousands of demonstrators took to the
streets in cities across Turkey on Saturday to protest against
IMF-backed economic reforms.
Shouting "IMF go home," they gathered mainly in downtown
Ankara and in Istanbul while a heavy police presence looked on.
The protests came as the government met union leaders and
employers in a bid to muster broad public support for a new
economic program after a devastating financial crisis.
The government was expected to call for sacrifices on all
sides at the Social Council meeting to allow Turkey to make the
reforms that economy minister Kemal Dervis says are essential to
win support from international lenders and the markets.
Dervis, a former senior World Banker, was brought in to take
over the reins of the economy at the start of March after a
crisis that ripped apart an $11 billion IMF program.
Major unions under the umbrella of the Labor Platform plan to
present an alternative program they believe will be better for
the people.
They say a new IMF-backed economic program based on the
principles of the Fund will be unacceptable and that protests and
stoppages will be the response.
In particular they want wage rises to match real inflation
rather than price targets which have been missed in the past.
The latest financial crisis was sparked by a political row
which quickly engulfed the markets.
Turkey was forced to float the lira on February 22, abandoning
a crawling currency peg that had been the centerpiece of a three-
year IMF-backed disinflation program. The lira has since lost
around a third of its value against the dollar.
On Friday, Turkish military and political leaders signaled
unity in efforts to combat the crisis, condemning speculation the
government could soon fall to make way for an "interim regime".
That helped drive shares up 12 percent on Friday.
The High Planning Council, a government forum for economy-
related ministers and bureaucrats, issued another reassuring
statement later on Friday, saying drafts of key reforms would be
sent to the prime minister's office next week, paving the way for
swift passing of new laws.
Worries about apparent friction within the three-party
coalition over Dervis's stewardship and the government's ability
to implement reform laws had sent markets tumbling earlier in the
week.
But the military-dominated National Security Council (MGK)
tried to scotch such talk on Friday, saying it had discussed
speculation about an "interim regime" -- a euphemism for a non-
political government sponsored, if only tacitly, by the military
which has carried out three coups since 1960.
Turkey reached a framework agreement with the IMF earlier this
month on a new economic program which it aims to finalize with a
letter of intent to the Fund to be signed by the end of April.
The IMF wants to see concrete evidence that Ankara is
implementing its promises, particularly in reforms of the banking
sector, before it will discuss any new lending.