‘TURKEY IS NOT A FREE COUNTRY’
Joshua Surtees
guardian.co.uk
Sunday 1 May 2011 11.00 BST
Turkey is held up by many as a beacon of democratic reform. But its
youth are frustrated with social and political progress
Many young Turks are concerned about gay rights, religious freedom,
women’s rights and other principles of liberty. Photograph: David
Bathgate/Corbis
Turkey is often held up as a symbol of progressive modernism – a
Muslim democracy on the doorstep of Europe. But the young politically
active Turks I spoke to recently in Istanbul feel that social and
political freedom is not yet a reality in a country still oppressing
its Kurdish population, still tentative on gay rights and still
operating compulsory military conscription.
While Turkey is a long way from revolution, the complaints I heard
in Istanbul are similar to the frustrations voiced by Arab activists
across the Middle East. Those with progressive or liberal inclinations
in Turkey are deeply frustrated by a political establishment that
does not reflect their values.
Hacer Ocak, a 24-year-old teacher, voted for the Republican People’s
party (CHP) at the last elections. Asked about her politics she told
me it is not possible to “be political” in Turkey. “You have three
options – the current government [Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s conservative
Justice and Development party, or AKP], who to me represent the old
religious regime; the MHP, who are a militant far-right party; and
the CHP, which claims to represent the centre-left but drifts further
and further to the right. I voted CHP by a process of elimination.”
Politics in Turkey is extremely divisive. Pelin, 28, a chef, would
not tell me who she voted for. “It can destroy friendships,” she said.
“Turkey is not a free country. You vote according to whether you are
religious or not and Turkey right now is experiencing a huge divide.
The young miniskirt wearers hate the burqa wearers and vice versa.
The secular people are hugely judgmental of the religious population.
Religion is a sensitive subject and cannot be separated from politics.”
When I asked about Turkey’s politically oppressive history in the
context of the current situation in the Middle East – crackdowns and
detentions in Syria and Yemen – it was interesting to note people
were either unwilling to acknowledge Turkey’s dark past or were
simply unaware of the brutal actions of the military dictatorship of
the 1980s.
I put this down to a deep-seated sense of national pride that is bred
through parenting and schooling. There is a strong reluctance in Turkey
to criticise the history of their nation. It is this kind of blinkered
pride that has seen Turkey steadfastly refusing to recognise or
apologise for the Armenian genocide, carried out almost 100 years ago.
As far as the Middle East is concerned, liberal Turks feel that
participating in military intervention in Libya is self-interested
and hypocritical. Not many people I talked to were willing to discuss
the situation in Syria, Libya and Egypt. “We have our own problems to
deal with,” said Leyla Buyum, a peace activist. “How can we think of
supporting Nato or sending troops to fight while in our own country
we have a situation of political repression that isn’t publicised in
the Turkish media and is ignored internationally?”
She was referring to the situation in south-eastern Turkey where
violence between the Turkish army and Kurdish separatists – the PKK –
has continued for decades.
The right to protest is officially sanctioned in Turkey, so protesting
is not a danger as it is in Syria. However, it is certainly not
as straightforward as in European countries. Police tend to react
over-zealously, as seen in the recent use of water cannons on student
demonstrators in Ankara.
But what specific issues are there to protest about? There is little
overt anti-government sentiment. Erdogan has successfully taken the
reins of the economy, has addressed previously taboo subjects such
as the Kurdish question and seems set to be re-elected in June in
elections recognised as free and fair.
Military conscription is widely opposed by Turkish youths who feel
it represents an archaic militaristic ideal. “Why are we being
conscripted? Who are we going to war with?” asked Yavuz Tuncay. “If
Turkey really wants to become progressive this has to be abolished.
And they must let gay [people] in the army.”
Attitudes towards homosexuality, along with religious freedom, women’s
rights and other principles of liberty, are an important touchstone of
social democracy, and an issue that Turkey continues to struggle with.
As I left Istanbul I got the sense that Turkey, while having achieved
much in the past decade to establish itself as a country intent on
progress and social inclusion, still has to deal with issues that its
young population has identified as out of sync with democratic ideals.
It is clear that Turks on the street do not align themselves with
Europe, the Arab world, the US or anywhere else. Turks feel very
independent and fiercely proud of the state created by Ataturk in 1923.
International governments will continue to align themselves with
Turkey for strategic purposes and this may further enhance Turkey’s
diplomatic status. The assumption that Turkey is a burgeoning or even
fully functioning democracy is not entirely accurate yet it is useful
for global superpowers such as the US to promote this idea.
The Arab uprisings have reaffirmed Turkey’s strategic importance to
the world’s political powers including the US, Israel and the Arab
states. The country now occupies a privileged position as the nominal
fulcrum of a newly emerging axis in east-west international relations.
Turkey has played a central role in Libya and spoken out strongly on
Syria. It acts as a base for the US military, a watchdog on Israeli
actions and a prospective member of the EU.
The message from within Turkey is that domestic policy should be a
higher priority than foreign policy. Many Turks feel that membership
of the UN security council and roles in facilitating Nato interventions
in external conflicts distract their government from crucial issues at
home. They also feel the praise heaped on Turkey from abroad as a model
of democratic reform is not yet warranted and may be counterproductive
– there is still lots to get right. They hope Erdogan will continue
to give more attention to Turkish citizens’ expectations and social
rights as part of a continuing momentum towards a freer and more
inclusive society.
From: A. Papazian