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 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶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