US embassy cable - 03ANKARA1420

UNCLAS ANKARA 001420 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
STATE FOR DRL/IL(WHITE); LABOR FOR BRUMFIELD 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ELAB, TU 
SUBJECT: GOT SYMPOSIUM: "RESTRUCTURING THE CIVIL SERVICE" 
 
 
(U) Classified by Acting Political Counselor Nicholas S. 
Kass.  Reason: 1.5(b)(d). 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: Prime Minister Abdullah Gul opened a two-day 
symposium Feb. 22-23 to support civil service reform. 
Turkish academics and union leaders participated on panels 
reviewing the cultural, economic and legal barriers to 
revising the Turkish civil service and suggested possible 
changes, but did not offer action programs.  End summary. 
 
 
2. (U) Gul opened the symposium by noting it "was not 
possible to administer a country efficiently with a classic 
understanding of a civil servant."  Gul stated that his 
government was exerting serious initiatives on public 
management reform; a bill on the issue would be submitted to 
Parliament.  Academics offered analyses of new approaches, 
privatization, flexible employment, wages, career planning 
and social impact.  Each session, except for one presented by 
labor leaders on social issues was attended by a capacity 
audience at the Ankara Hilton ballroom. 
 
 
-- European Institute of Public Administration human resource 
specialist Sean Fitzpatrick gave the keynote speech.  Drawing 
upon thirty years of experience as an Irish civil servant, 
Fitzpatrick focused on the demand today for civil service 
management to get things done in comparison to the "old style 
bureaucracy" which emphasized inputs rather than results and 
explained that accountability is an important issue for tax 
paying publics today. 
 
 
-- Professor Umit Bergman stressed that reforming the Turkish 
civil service to make it compatible with European Union 
practices is an important issue as the EU considers Turkey's 
candidacy.  He commented that it is a given there will be 
social costs to pay for civil service reform, especially as 
Turkish society will have to decrease its dependence on the 
country's extensive social services. 
 
 
-- Istanbul Teknik University Associate Professor Kadriye 
Bakirci noted that reform of the civil service is expected to 
cause an increase in unemployment as well as political 
dissatisfaction. The speaker observed that Turkey's 
increasing population growth is already causing higher levels 
of unemployment, making reform especially important. 
 
 
3. (U)  Attendance at the trade union segment, the last 
session on Sunday afternoon, was sparse.  At the conclusion 
of each union leader's presentation, a group would clap 
enthusiastically and then leave the auditorium, until at the 
end of the union program, only one-quarter of the seats in 
the ballroom remained occupied, compared to the full house 
attendance of the previous sessions.  It was during the labor 
union session that one of the speakers urged the attendees to 
not support Turkey's involvement with a possible war with 
Iraq, and accused the US of working against Turkey's 
interests by initiating a war, as well as being responsible 
for IMF-imposed reforms.  After applauding the speaker 
loudly, his constituent group walked out en masse as well. 
 
 
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COMMENT 
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4. (SBU) For all the activity, presenters avoided discussing 
specific, comprehensive civil service reform programs or 
cost/benefit analyses -- in effect, talking about talking 
about reform.  The EU is planning to revive an initiative to 
assist the GOT with civil service reform as part of Turkey's 
EU accession bid. 
PEARSON