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Cablegate: Turkish Youth: Attitudes Toward Politics,

VZCZCXRO5940
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHAK #3652/01 1721112
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211112Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY ANKARA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6738
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUCNNAF/NORTH AF NEA AND SOUTH ASIAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHDA/AMCONSUL ADANA 0895
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0839
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 003652

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ECON SCUL SOCI TU
SUBJECT: TURKISH YOUTH: ATTITUDES TOWARD POLITICS,
RELIGION, AND THE ECONOMY

REF: ANKARA 3651

ANKARA 00003652 001.2 OF 002


THIS IS THE SECOND IN A SERIES OF THREE CABLES ABOUT TURKISH
YOUTH COMPILED BY FIRST- AND SECOND-TOUR OFFICERS THROUGHOUT
MISSION TURKEY.

1. (SBU) SUMMARY: As a part of ongoing efforts to reach out
to Turkey's booming youth population, we met with young
people throughout the country to gauge their opinions on
domestic politics, the economy an unemployment, and
religion. Overall, Turish youth are apolitical and
unsatisfied withthe current economic situation. Religion
eliited more varied responses. The majority of yong
people, however, believe women should have the right to
choose to wear the Muslim headscarf. End summary.

--------------------------------------------- -------
CHILDREN OF THE COUP: POLITICAL APATHY PLAGUES YOUTH
--------------------------------------------- -------

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2. (SBU) Young people we met with throughout Turkey were
relatively reluctant to discuss their own political views,
which, as became evident, may be a result of their parents'
experience with the 1980 coup, during which political
activity was punished. A fourth-year student at Marmara
University in Istanbul told us that her generation has been
taught to be apolitical and avoid involvement in such
organizations, as their parents felt that political
involvement only brought danger and possible punishment. She
said that even though her parents' generation may not have
explicitly told their children to avoid politics, it was
evident through their actions and their emphasis on
livelihood, income, and family. In contrast, a member of the
Young Leaders of Anatolia (YLA) felt that his parents'
generation had been more vocal about their opposition to
political involvement -- he told us that "families used to
advise us not to join NGOs or political parties, saying it
was dangerous to be involved."

3. (SBU) The Marmara University student also told us that her
peers are afraid to discuss politics at school, as they worry
it will affect their grades and what type of job they will
get. She added that her generation equates those involved in
politics with corruption and abuse of office for personal
gain.

4. (SBU) Although we found that most young Turks are not
involved in politics, it is worth noting that all of the
major political parties have youth branches throughout the
country. Membership numbers are not published. The ruling
Justice and Development Party's (AKP) group is by far the
largest, but we believe membership numbers for all of the
parties are small.

----------------------------
MIXED FEELINGS ABOUT THE AKP
----------------------------

5. (SBU) Like the population as a whole, Turkish youth are
divided on their views toward the ruling AKP, with opinions
appearing to fall along socioeconomic lines. Ibrahim
Ozdemir, a middle-class 30-year old who runs his family's
hotel in Pamukkale (a tourist destination in Southwestern
Anatolia), told us that the AKP has done great things for the
economy and that, in contrast to how he felt several years
ago, he can "see (his) future now." He explained that the
AKP's economic policies have directly affected the well-being
of his family. In contrast, the English Language Fellow
(ELF) posted in Ankara told us that her students (mostly
upper- and upper-middle-class) were disappointed with the
AKP's policies but simply grumbled in private rather than
publicly protesting. The Marmara University student also
expressed dissatisfaction with the AKP, saying that it
changes positions often and does not keep its word.

------------------------
IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
------------------------

6. (SBU) The economy and job prospects weigh heavily on the
minds of Turkish youth. A group of 40 students from Ankara's
Gazi University told us that, while the overall economic
situation in Turkey appears to have improved, their families
are not benefiting. In a roundtable of nine university
students from five different universities in Ankara, all nine
students agreed that the economic situation is worsening,

ANKARA 00003652 002.2 OF 002


with the cost of living ever increasing and the value of
their wages decreasing.

7. (SBU) With unemployment rates for university graduates
ages 20 to 24 hovering around 39 percent, all nine roundtable
participants expressed concern about finding a job upon
graduation. The students said that nepotism is an issue, as
is underemployment. Dilek Ozgun, a 27-year-old working at a
foreign mission in Ankara, told us that she was considered
lucky among her peers, as she was only unemployed for one
year after graduating from Bilkent University. She told us
that many of the friends she graduated with in 2001 are still
looking for jobs, and those who have jobs are underemployed,
often working as cashiers and waiters.

--------------------------------------
YOUTH WEIGH IN ON THE HEADSCARF DEBATE
--------------------------------------

8. (SBU) Of all the topics we discussed with youth throughout
Turkey, religion elicited the most varied responses. A
woman's right to wear the Muslim headscarf is a particularly
polarizing issue in Turkey today, dividing the country into
fiercely antagonistic camps on the issue. (Note: regulations
currently prohibit women from wearing Islamic-style
headscarves in government offices, state-run institutions,
and universities. End note.) The Gazi University students
universally supported the right of women to wear headscarves,
saying it is undemocratic to not allow students to wear them.
Both the Gazi students and some of the roundtable students
from Ankara universities pointed out a double-standard in the
dress code at universities, with women being allowed to wear
miniskirts, but not headscarves.

9. (SBU) Many young people noted the fine line between a
woman's right to wear a headscarf and women being forced to
wear them. Ibrahim Ozdemir told us that his 48-year-old
mother had just recently started wearing a headscarf, but
that it was her own choice and that he felt she should have
the right to do so. Several of the students in the Ankara
roundtable said the headscarf was a symbol of radical Islam
and male dominance. Many feared that, should the rule about
headscarves be relaxed, women in remote areas would be forced
to wear them. The Ankara-based ELF told us that her more
liberal students are upset about the increase in the number
of women wearing headscarves since the AKP took power in
2002. The ELF in Kayseri noted that her students describe
the headscarf as a political tool.

-------------------------
LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE
-------------------------

10. (SBU) While Turkish youth are as varied as the country
itself, several key points emerged from our conversations.
Opinions on religion appear to vary regionally, with
city-dwelling young people less observant than their rural
peers, while political apathy and unhappiness with the
economic situation cut across regional boundaries. Youth
unemployment is clearly a major issue. It remains to be seen
if dissatisfaction about joblessness will translate into
increased political activism on the part of Turkey's youth.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON

© Scoop Media

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