Seventh resignation leaves Turkey teetering
Ismail Cem was the seventh Cabinet minister to leave Mr Ecevit’s administration since Monday.
Economy minister Kemal Dervis, the architect of Turkey’s economic recovery programme, submitted his resignation but said later that at the request of President Ahmet Necdet Sezer he agreed for his “resignation not to be put into effect”.
Mr Cem’s resignation and Mr Dervis’ request to leave are a devastating blow to a government struggling to stay in power despite the mutiny of many of its officials.
The developments come amid reports that Mr Cem and Mr Dervis are planing to form a new political party.
Deputy Premier Husamettin Ozkan, whose resignation on Monday triggered the crisis, is reportedly also planning to join the new party.
Mr Dervis is crucial to Turkey’s economic recovery programme, which is backed by over 30bn in IMF loans.
Mr Cem’s resignation comes as both of Mr Ecevit’s partners in his three-party coalition are calling for early elections. The nationalist party has already collected enough signatures to call parliament back from recess in September to vote for new balloting. The centre-right Motherland Party is demanding voting in September.
The government has been largely paralysed since 77-year-old Mr Ecevit became ill in May.
Mr Cem has served as foreign minister under three different governments since 1997. He played a key role in developing Turkey’s ties with the EU and establishing ties with arch rival Greece.
He has won public praise for his frank appraisal of Turkey’s dire economic problems.
The resignation of the foreign minister comes as the country takes over leadership of the international peacekeeping force in Afghanistan and Washington considers military action against Iraq.
Turkey borders Iraq and still hosts RAF and US aircraft which patrol the northern no-fly zone imposed at the end of the Gulf War.
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