Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RlVISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZET;
Monday. October 18. 1993
turkish daily news
Eight-month trade gap at $9.29 bn.
• Exports stand at $9.45 billion while imports reach
$18.75 billion in the January-August period of 1993
• Export-import ratio down to 50.4 percent
Turkish Daily News months rose,slightly to $9.45 billion
ANKARA- Turkey's foreign compared to last year's $9.27 biltrade
deficit widened by 83.9 per- lion, a very small increase of 1.9
cent to a record high $9.29 billion in percent. On the other hand, Turkish
the first eight months of the year Imports went up from $14.33 billion
compared to the same period of last last year to $18.75 billion, repreyear,
official figures revealed on senting a considerable jump of 30.9
. Friday. percent. The economy's export-
The deficit, already on a sharp import ratio declined from 64.7 perrise
since early this year, climbed cent last year to 50.4 percent this
radically from $5.56 billion last year in the January-August period.
year in the January-August period to The DIE also revealed that
$9.29 billion in the corresponding Turkish foreign trade volume in the
period this year, according to the same period rose to $28.2 billion
State Institute of Statistics (DIE). from $23.6 billion of 1992.
Turkish exports in the first eight In addition, Turkish exports in
August declined by 7 percent while
imports rose by a high of 39.1 percent
compared to the same month of
last year. Exports in August
dropped from last year's $1.2 billion
to $1.12 billion this year, while
August imports went up froni $1.86
billion last year to $2.59 billion.
The trade deficit in this month
widened by a high of 123.5 percent
and reached $1.47 billion when
compared to last August' s trade
deficit of $660 million. .
DIE figures disclosed that exports
grew in the industrial sectors while
they decreased in the agricultural
sectors. Industrial exports rose by
2.9 percent in this penod compared
to last year's corresponding period,
while agricultural exports dropped
by 1.8 percent. The largest share in
Turkish exports in the January-
August period again .belonged to the
industrial sectors with $7.78 billion.
which represents 84.7 percent of the
total Turkish exports.
However, agricultural exports,
which rank second in whole exports
by 13.7 percent, decreased from last
year's $1.31 billion to $1.29 billion
this' year, a decrease of 1.8 percent.
Besides, mining and quarrymg sectors
exports dropped from last
year's $174.7 million to $151.5 million
this year, producing a larger
decrease of 13.3 percent. Mining
and quarrying exports represented
1.6 percent of the total exports in
the first eight months of 1993,
according to DIE reports.
As the situation gets out of hand...
WASHINGTON
The clandestine Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK)seems to be clearly
dominating the domestic agenda
in more than one way os it
continues to terrorize everyone in eastern
and southeastern Turkey with special
emphasis on Diyarbakir, the provincial
capitol of the region.
Very recently the PKKhod threatened
oll the local provincial chairmen of Turkish
political parties and demanded their
resignations. Later, the PKKbanned the
distribution of oll moss circulation Turkish
newspapers in the area and was so
successful that in the end, newspaper
vendors were completely intimidated
and in many places no one dared to sell
any publication. .. The latest PKK
publicity stunt again concerns Turkish
publications The PKKhas demanded the
resignation of oll the representatives of
Turkishnewspapers and periodicals in the
region and the closing down of the
bureaus.
It is of course one thing making 0
threat and another thing actually carrying
out that thrèat. Yet, we sow from the
example of the halting of the distribution
of newspapers in the area that the PKK
intimidation campaign in southeastern
Turkey is very successful.
Of course oll these examples
immediately bring to mind the crucial
question: What has happened to the
'3ffectiveness of the State in this region?
The State, unfortunately, has lost the
confidence of the people in southeastern
and eastern Turkey. The mosses no longer
oelieve in the ability of the State forces to
protect them against the militants so no
one dare~ adopt 0 defiant mood against.
the PKK..
If the PKKcon make 0 threat and corry
it out, then the effectiveness of the State
will of course be questioned. If Prime
Minister Tansu Çiller, os the chief
executive of our c9untry. and President
Süleyman Demirel os weil os Chief of Staff
General Dagon Güre$ really wont to
overcome the PKKproblem in Turkey,
they hove to come to terms with the
realities and realize that the firstpriority
has to be to restore confidence of the
mosses: That the State con and will
protect them and that certain èvil forces
outside the PKKwill not work under
various disguises like the counter-guerrilla
ilnur Çevik
EDITORIAL
or special crock teams.to harass the
people ...
Let us make no mistake that the
problem is in our country and the
remedies hove to be found there.
Creating alibis like 'outside interference'
con only buy time but will never stick.
Çiller told lJS at 0 press conference here
early Sunday that her men ore now
working on measures to hold safe
local elections in the Southeast in March
7994,,, Yet. she seems to forget that if
the State cannot even create the
conditions for the safe distribution of
newspapers in 0 region. how con it talk
about the security of elections and fair
ploy?
We feel the prime minister and for that
matter the president should be better
informed about the true picture in
southeastern Turkey and the rapidly
deteriorating situation. Or else, day
dreaming will get us no where.
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