Turkish Daily News, 96-06-03

Turkish News Directory - Previous Article - Next Article

From: Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs <http://www.mfa.gov.tr>

TURKISH DAILY NEWS
3 June 1996

CONTENTS

[01] Habitat II conference sits down to business

[02] Gonensay hopes Greek decision to postpone talks a passing phase

[03] Boutros-Ghali declines to offer new proposal to Cypriot leaders

[04] Turkey's state firms have TL 1.144 quadrillion debts

[01] Habitat II conference sits down to business

NGOs: Representatives of 2,000 non-governmental organizations also are gathering for a long list of workshops, seminars and other events; other activities are planned based on age and sex

By Don Cofman
Turkish Daily News

ISTANBUL- Conceived four years ago in worry about the future of the world's cities, Habitat II, the second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, opens here this morning with a heavy schedule of events and some controversy.

After U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali declared the "City Summit" open in the new Lutfu Kirdar International Congress Hall on Sunday, Turkish President Suleyman Demirel addressed the conference, followed by Dr. Wally N'Dow of the Gambia, secretary- general of the conference.

The rest of the opening day was devoted to a "general exchange of views": statements by representatives of Costa Rica (on behalf of the "Group of 77" developing nations), Italy (speaking for the European Union), Colombia (on behalf of the Nonaligned Movement), and 18 other nations or international organizations, ranging from the United States and China to Ghana and Kyrgyzstan, from the U.N. Industrial Development Organization to the Council of Europe.

The two-week-long conference is expected to draw around 20,000 people from the world's nearly 200 nations: officials of national and local governments, members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and representatives of the private sector and academic community. They will gather in:

plenary (general), committee and working group meetings;

one-day "dialogues" on 10 different issues such as finance, water, urban employment, transport, communications and health; and

"partners forums" devoted to varied segments such as foundations, parliamentarians, labor unions, business, science and NGOs.

Those representing NGOs -- perhaps up to 5,000 individuals may arrive from 2,000 different organizations -- also are gathering for a long list of workshops, seminars and other events. Other activities are planned based on age ("youths," apparently defined as university-age, have a full schedule of events ending with a farewell party June 13) and sex (the conference guidebook refers to "42 gender-focused events").

Twelve examples of "Best Practices" in improving the urban environment will be honored. There's a major trade fair, sports and fashion shows, and a long, varied list of cultural activities.

The conference culminates in a "high-level segment" June 12-14, which is expected to attract around 40 heads of government or state. N'Dow told journalists Saturday that the U.N. General Assembly had not designated the Istanbul meeting an official "summit." This was done, for example, for the 1994 international gathering in Cairo on population, but not for last year's conference in Beijing on women's issues.

During this "high-level segment" the conferees are expected to give final approval to a plan of action, or "Habitat Agenda," which is intended as a guide for the sustainable development of the world's urban areas -- cities, towns and villages -- into the first two decades of the next century.

Two particularly contentious issues face the conferees as they debate the "Habitat Agenda," according to Dr. G. Khonje of the Zambian Ministry of Local Government and Housing, who heads the "Informal Drafting Group" for the document. They will be debated in various venues, including informal gatherings, but may be resolved only when the "high-level" officials approve the "Habitat Agenda":

is the idea of adequate housing more than a need, goal or aspiration? Does a "right" to adequate housing exist under international law?

Dr. Jay Moor, a member of the U.N.'s Habitat II Secretariat, noted that a "mix" of developed and developing nations exists on both sides of this issue, which he called "one of the most critical" to face the conference. But Dr. A. P. Sinha of the Indian Ministry of Urban Affairs and Employment, who heads India's delegation, denied contention exists, saying he was "not aware of any particular country that has taken a stand that the right to adequate housing does not exist."

Further, according to Sinha, there is no need to declare adequate housing a human right by itself, since it is already a "component of other existing rights," as set forth in many international documents starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Instead, he argued, the focus should be on spelling out the content of the right and on focusing on how to implement it: a "progressive realization" over time within a framework of an "enabling approach," giving all segments of the population responsibilities.

Where will the resources come from to pay for whatever new or expanded measures are approved?

Dr. Khonje said he sees this as more a matter of perception than substance, since questions of financing have tended to be looked at in terms of a "donor/recipient relationship." Such an approach is "in the final analysis not sustainable," he argued, calling instead for looking at "how to enable individual countries to obtain the (needed) resources," whether from internal or external sources.

Other issues in the Habitat Agenda include women's rights ("quite contentious," Moor called it, splitting nations along cultural rather than economic lines), economic growth versus "sustainable development" (the G-77 nations and China argue that they must first approach the economic level of the developed nations before they can turn major attention to protecting the environment), debt relief (developing nations contend this is necessary for progress on solving contemporary social crises), and the degree to which urban areas and their rural hinterlands are mutually dependent.

Finally, there is the question of whether to include in the action plan references to "good governance": the need to develop institutional frameworks, management skills and enabling processes; their absence often leads to corruption. Some delegations have not accepted the phrase, Moor noted, because it "implies criticism of existing governments."

While the conferees focus on those items of dispute, others exist. Many Turkish NGOs, headed by the Human Rights Association, have felt "left out" of the process of preparing Turkey's "national report," which all country delegations are submitting. They therefore organized an "Alternative Habitat," which began on Thursday with a series of discussions and exhibits in two Istanbul meeting halls.

On Friday, however, police closed down the "alternative" conference, saying it had not received permission to be held. IHD officials and others disputed the need for official sanction.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, controlled by the Islamic- minded Welfare Party, is reportedly miffed at being shortchanged by Ankara's secular central government in planning the host country's role in Habitat II. It has arranged for a parallel "City Summit: Alternative Housing Systems and Administering Cities." which opens this afternoon. It is to include daily discussions through June 12 on such topics as the relations among "city, religion and culture," multiculturalism, "youth, narcotics and mental illness," and city planning.

The Sisli Local Municipality, which includes the "Conference Valley" where most major Habitat activities will take place, and the Beyoglu Local Municipality, site of many major hotels, restaurants and shops which the participants and those traveling with them will patronize, have repaved streets, relaid sidewalks, planted trees and flowers, cleaned up messes and otherwise helped Istanbul to present its best possible face to the visitors.

Still in dispute is just how many people are coming to Istanbul for Habitat. As recently as Friday the U.N. Information Center in Ankara put out that "some 30,000 people" will be here. But N'Dow Saturday reduced that figure to 20,000 -- "perhaps a little more."

Among them are upwards of 2,000 journalists. They include representatives of all the world's major media, lots of minor ones, many "freelancers," who peddle their wares to smaller media outlets which haven't sent regular staff members to Istanbul, and workers on special, often partisan journals and irregular publications which cater to the special interests being discussed here.

Whatever the numbers, hotels, restaurants and shopkeepers throughout Istanbul are expected to relish the extra income this last major international conference of the millennium will bring to Istanbul. Many of the guests are expected to move on to (or have come from) other touristic and historic sites in Turkey.

And two weeks from now, all concerned hope, Istanbul will have an enhanced image that will bring it closer to its next goal: the Olympic Games in 2004.

[02] Gonensay hopes Greek decision to postpone talks a passing phase

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- Foreign Minister Emre Gonensay says he hopes the Greek decision not to talk to Turkey is temporary and warns a lack of dialogue between the two countries may create a situation where both countries may be the losers.

Gonensay, speaking to reporters on his arrival in Berlin to attend the NATO ministerial council, said he hoped the avenues to start dialogue between the two countries would not remain closed permanently and added: "I hope common sense will prevail in Athens and the Greeks will agree to finding a mutually acceptable solution to our outstanding disputes."

Gonensay said he had met with Greek Foreign Minister Theodoros Pangalos in Toronto, Canada during the Bildenberg conference and reported "We shook hands, had coffee together and our talks always remained within the limits of a civilized conversation," Gonensay said.

The Turkish foreign minister was due to meet with Pangalos officially during the Berlin NATO council but Greece announced it had cancelled the talks because it felt the political instability in Ankara would prevent fruitful discussions.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz will fly to Brussels this evening to meet European Union officials and press them to find a way to overcome Greek obstructions to Turkey's membership of the customs union.

According to the customs union agreement, the EU is supposed to give Turkey ecu 375 million in aid but this has been stalled by Greece. Greece is also obstructing Turkey politically at the EU.

Yilmaz, who will be meeting with EU Commissioner Jacques Santer, will press for the EU to tame Greece, sources close to Yilmaz said.

Yilmaz is expected to return home on Wednesday after meeting Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene.

[03] Boutros-Ghali declines to offer new proposal to Cypriot leaders

Turkish Daily News

ANKARA- U.N. Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali said on Sunday he would not impose any proposals during his separate meetings with Turkish Cypriot President Rauf Denktas and Greek Cypriot President Glafkos Clerides.

Speaking at a press conference in Ankara's Esenboga airport before his departure to Istanbul for the opening of the Habitat II conference, Boutros-Ghali denied the reports about plans to force Ankara to withdraw its troops from the Mediterranean island.

"I have not come out with such a proposal. It is the two communities living on the island who will decide on this. We are not in a position to impose any solution. As the United Nations, our role is a fair mediation," he said.

Boutros-Ghali reportedly plans to confer with Denktas in Istanbul on June 5 and with Clerides in Geneva on June 11.

"I have observed a sincere will in the attitude of Ankara toward a peaceful and lasting solution."

Asked whether he agreed with the complaints about the United Nations' failure to stop the war in Bosnia, the secretary-general said: "We have been criticized not only for our role in Bosnia, but also for our peace operations in El Salvador, Angola, Somalia and Mozambique. We failed in Somalia. However, we were able to stop the war in Cambodia that had killed over a million people. We also reached a solution in Angola and Bosnia. We are trying solve huge problems with a limited fund. That is really a difficult task."

The secretary-general said the U.N. oil-for-food deal with Iraq was only a humanitarian decision and had nothing to do with other U.N. regulations against Iraq.

"This is the first step. The implementation of the deal could create a new atmosphere for the development of relations between Iraq and the international community," Boutros-Ghali said.

[04] Turkey's state firms have TL 1.144 quadrillion debts

ANKARA- Turkey's mostly loss-making state economic enterprises, including those slated for privatization, had an outstanding debt stock worth TL 1.144 quadrillion at the end of March 1996, official figures have revealed.

That compares with a debt stock of TL 1.001 quadrillion at end 1995 and TL 714 trillion at end 1994, the Treasury said. The debt stock rose 14.3 percent from end 1995 and 60.2 percent from end 1994.

It said TL 598.2 trillion of the debt stock at end March, or 52 percent, was domestic debt and TL 546 trillion, or 48 percent, foreign debt. At end 1995, TL 532.3 trillion of the debt stock, 53.2 percent, was domestic debt and TL 468.8 trillion, 46.8 percent, foreign debt.

However, the Treasury pointed out, the debt stock in fact dropped by 20 percent from 1994 to 1995 in real terms (taking into account the going rate of inflation).

Also, the share of state firms' debt stock in M2 money supply dropped from 63 percent in 1994 to 42 percent last year.

The debt stock includes financial liabilities to the commercial banks, private entities, government agencies, producers, other state firms and to the Treasury, as well as items such as rediscount loans, tax debts and social security premiums. Of those, the Treasury said, tax debts, totalling TL 160.6 trillion at end 1995, accounted for the largest debt item. Debts to the Treasury were TL 115.2 trillion and to the government agencies TL 79.8 trillion.

The Treasury statistics showed that state firms' foreign debts from 1994 to 1995 increased in Turkish lira terms but decreased in U.S.-dollar terms. They said the foreign debt stock went up from TL 312.2 trillion in 1994 to TL 468.9 trillion a year after but dropped 5 percent in dollar terms.

Treasury economists said the fiscal pressures on the economy sourcing from those debts diminished last year. The decline, in real terms, was an indication of this, they said.

They also said one primary reason for the decrease was Turkey's commitments to the IMF as part of a standby agreement commenced in July 1994, which expired last February.

A set of performance criteria that Ankara committed to the IMF brought obstacles to the borrowing of state economic enterprises. Limitations particularly curbed borrowing at the Turkish Grain Board (TMO), national power company TEAS, power distribution firm TEDAS, state sugar refineries Turkseker, coal company TTK, state monopoly administration Tekel, state railways firm DDY and steel and iron producer TDCI.

Turkish News Directory - Previous Article - Next Article