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Turkish Daily News
Today is Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 9:41 pm GMT+2 UPDATED 10:00 A.M. GMT +2
YTL is confusing me
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Mehmet Ali Birand
The new Turkish lira (YTL) entered our lives on New Year's and has
confused us all. I walked through the markets, and they are in even worse
shape.
A public servant friend said: `I used to earn tons of money. Now I just
received only this much. I feel like I'm poorer.' The situation of the large
stores is somewhat better. People feel more secure. However, total confusion
reigns in the markets.
The biggest fear is the way prices are rounded up. Both the shoppers and
the sellers are confused. While sellers argue that they are losing money,
consumers claim that the goods they purchase are more expensive.
So many zeros had become such a normal thing that no one knows how to
calculate in the new currency.
Actually, this is quite normal.
I researched all the other countries that have removed zeros from their
currencies. They faced the same problems. Just look at the countries that
abandoned their own currencies and switched to the euro. Their
transformation was even harder.
There's no reason to panic.
Don't forget that the old TL we have will be accepted until the end of the
year. In other words, we have plenty of time to get used to the YTL. There
is nothing else to do but get used to it. Eventually, we'll all be forced to
adjust and this process will end.
Ignore this sense of getting poorer. With the YTL, our economy and our
money will gain in confidence. The new currency may result in some
inflationary pressure for the next few months, but if the state continues to
tighten the budget, we will overcome that too.
We are confused, but this time it is a positive development.
[HH] Don't dismiss the Armenian allegations:
I had noted this in my article yesterday. The messages I received from
overseas have shown me once again how serious the issue is.
Specifically, the Armenian diaspora is preparing for a huge campaign that
will be launched on April 24, the 90th anniversary of the 1915 incidents.
Moreover, it's being kept a secret. The purpose is to push the Republic of
Turkey even further to a corner and to make some progress in their endeavors
by the centennial.
At the top of their list is that the U.N. General Assembly hold a session
on `genocide' on April 24. If they succeed in garnering enough support, they
may do just that, and even if it has no official strength, they may even
succeed in getting a resolution passed.
Another objective is to pressure the U.S. Congress to get what they have
striven for for years. In other words, they want Congress to recognize the
1915 incidents as genocide. The only way to get what they want is to break
the resistance of the Bush administration. They have been trying for years
but have failed every time.
I wonder if they can succeed this time.
The attitude of the Bush administration towards Turkey is very important.
It doesn't make sense for the United States to antagonize Turkey at such a
point in time. However, we should not forget the fact that a superpower can
sometimes pursue policies that don't make sense to any of us.
Turkey needs to prepare without hoping that any big brothers will come
through.
In order to put up any resistance to such a huge campaign, the current
public relations policy, which has failed to sway anyone until now, is not
enough. Sixty years of effort by the Armenians can't be erased in a single
stroke.
We need to have creative policies and undertake huge initiatives.
Up until now, Ankara has not appeared to be ready for anything; however,
it should soon start its preparations. If not, we'll end up blaming the
United States and the European Union after all is said and done. The
Armenians will have won another round, and we'll be pushed further into a
corner.
Come on! Let's do something.
Today is Wednesday, January 5, 2005, 9:41 pm GMT+2 UPDATED 10:00 A.M. GMT +2
YTL is confusing me
Wednesday, January 5, 2005
Mehmet Ali Birand
The new Turkish lira (YTL) entered our lives on New Year's and has
confused us all. I walked through the markets, and they are in even worse
shape.
A public servant friend said: `I used to earn tons of money. Now I just
received only this much. I feel like I'm poorer.' The situation of the large
stores is somewhat better. People feel more secure. However, total confusion
reigns in the markets.
The biggest fear is the way prices are rounded up. Both the shoppers and
the sellers are confused. While sellers argue that they are losing money,
consumers claim that the goods they purchase are more expensive.
So many zeros had become such a normal thing that no one knows how to
calculate in the new currency.
Actually, this is quite normal.
I researched all the other countries that have removed zeros from their
currencies. They faced the same problems. Just look at the countries that
abandoned their own currencies and switched to the euro. Their
transformation was even harder.
There's no reason to panic.
Don't forget that the old TL we have will be accepted until the end of the
year. In other words, we have plenty of time to get used to the YTL. There
is nothing else to do but get used to it. Eventually, we'll all be forced to
adjust and this process will end.
Ignore this sense of getting poorer. With the YTL, our economy and our
money will gain in confidence. The new currency may result in some
inflationary pressure for the next few months, but if the state continues to
tighten the budget, we will overcome that too.
We are confused, but this time it is a positive development.
[HH] Don't dismiss the Armenian allegations:
I had noted this in my article yesterday. The messages I received from
overseas have shown me once again how serious the issue is.
Specifically, the Armenian diaspora is preparing for a huge campaign that
will be launched on April 24, the 90th anniversary of the 1915 incidents.
Moreover, it's being kept a secret. The purpose is to push the Republic of
Turkey even further to a corner and to make some progress in their endeavors
by the centennial.
At the top of their list is that the U.N. General Assembly hold a session
on `genocide' on April 24. If they succeed in garnering enough support, they
may do just that, and even if it has no official strength, they may even
succeed in getting a resolution passed.
Another objective is to pressure the U.S. Congress to get what they have
striven for for years. In other words, they want Congress to recognize the
1915 incidents as genocide. The only way to get what they want is to break
the resistance of the Bush administration. They have been trying for years
but have failed every time.
I wonder if they can succeed this time.
The attitude of the Bush administration towards Turkey is very important.
It doesn't make sense for the United States to antagonize Turkey at such a
point in time. However, we should not forget the fact that a superpower can
sometimes pursue policies that don't make sense to any of us.
Turkey needs to prepare without hoping that any big brothers will come
through.
In order to put up any resistance to such a huge campaign, the current
public relations policy, which has failed to sway anyone until now, is not
enough. Sixty years of effort by the Armenians can't be erased in a single
stroke.
We need to have creative policies and undertake huge initiatives.
Up until now, Ankara has not appeared to be ready for anything; however,
it should soon start its preparations. If not, we'll end up blaming the
United States and the European Union after all is said and done. The
Armenians will have won another round, and we'll be pushed further into a
corner.
Come on! Let's do something.