Reid’s visit to Turkey marked by crisis

Benjamin Grove

Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2001 | 11:22 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., as part of a traveling congressional delegation, visited Turkey last week for three days just as the nation's beleaguered economy tanked and a firestorm of political controversy erupted.

Turkey is among the most valued U.S. allies in Europe. U.S. pilots based in Turkey are leaders in a United Nations effort to enforce a no-fly zone over Iraq. Reid is a member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on defense spending.

The senators arrived in Turkey three days after U.S. and British warplanes launched an attack on defense and radar sites near Baghdad on Feb. 16 in an attempt to thwart Iraq's improving ability to target allied planes. The attack brought widespread condemnation, some from U.S. allies, including Turkey.

The senators visited the Incirlik Air Base and met with U.S. and British officials for briefings on Iraq.

At another point in the trip, Reid and four other Democratic senators, led by Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota, met with U.S. military officials stationed in Kosovo. Reid said U.S. military operations in both areas are "clearly necessary."

The senators did not meet with Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit as planned because Turkey's long-struggling economy hit bottom while they were there. The crisis started when Ecevit and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer got into a public spat the over allegations of corruption on the day the senators arrived. Sezer even hurled a copy of the Turkish constitution at Ecevit and mocked his understanding of law.

Ecevit canceled his meeting with the senators.

"They were in a knock-down, drag-out fight," Reid said, adding that they met with other Turkish officials.

Three days later, the day the senators left Turkey, months of economic upheaval including persistently high inflation got much worse as the Turkish lira plummeted 36 percent and the nation's stock market suffered its worst day ever. That crisis was triggered Thursday when government leaders decided to scrap currency exchange controls and allow the lira to "float" freely against foreign currencies.