August 3, 2000
The ten-year U.N. sanctions imposed on Iraq after its occupation of Kuwait on August 2, 1990 have also inflicted great economic and social losses on Turkey, statistics indicate. Prior to the U.N. sanctions, Iraq ranked first in terms of foreign trade volume with Turkey among Turkey's neighbors.
But the U.N. sanctions, which started ten years ago, brought a collateral blow to Turkey's economy, especially in the southeastern region bordering north Iraq. Some economists estimated Turkey's losses have reached nearly 80-100 billion U.S. dollars over the past ten years, Turkish Daily News reported on Thursday.
Parallel to economic ties, political relations between the two countries soured after the Gulf War in which Turkey played a part in the U.S.-led coalition that forced Iraqi troops out of Kuwait. Ties between the two neighboring countries were also worsened by Turkey's role in helping allied planes enforce a no-fly zone in northern Iraq.
Mehmet Aslan, chairman of Trade Chamber in southern province Gaziantep, said "not only Turkey's southeast, but regions all over Turkey have incurred great losses."
"The closure of the border gates to Iraq has caused economic losses and unemployment. Before the crisis we had almost 4 billion dollars in trade volume per year with Iraq. We were making more than 500 million dollars in live animal exports," he said. Iraq had played a bridge for Turkey to reach out to the Middle East. "We also had important economic relations through Iraq with Gulf countries including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain before the crisis," the chairman said.
At present, the trade volume with those countries constitutes only 8 percent of Turkey's total foreign trade, showing that the crisis has paralyzed Turkey's previously prosperous relations with them, he said.
The poor economic conditions led immigrant flows, from southeast in particular, to other parts of the country and intensified terrorist activities by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a 15-year armed struggle for self-rule in Kurdish-populated southeast.
The chairman called on the government to take urgent measures to re-establish its trade with Iraq and other Gulf countries to pre-Gulf War levels.
Gaziantep Industry Chamber Chairman Nejat Kocer described the past ten years as "lost years," urging the government to make efforts to lift the U.N.-imposed embargo against Iraq. In recent months, Turkey has decided to change its current relations with Iraq and is expected to appoint a new ambassador to Baghdad very soon in a bid to upgrade bilateral relations.
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