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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ISTANBUL 000103 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU
SUBJECT: ROMA ASSOCIATION PRAISES LOCAL GOVERNMENT, STARTS 
TO ORGANIZE 
 
REF: 08 ISTANBUL 435 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  Edirne's Roma community enjoys a 
progressive relationship with the city's municipal 
authorities, which has helped bring tangible benefits to the 
community and led to increasing interest among Roma there in 
participating in party politics.  According to Edirne Deputy 
Governor Aydin Akkor, Roma compose 30 percent of Edirne's 
population and Roma Association president Edinc Cekic looks 
forward to a time when the Roma might have a "gypsy soul in 
Parliament" to represent the needs of this minority.  Roma 
associations throughout the country and Europe will meet in 
Ankara on International Roma Day (April 8) to plan future 
programs for development. End Summary. 
 
Edirne: A Model for Government-Roma Relations 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶2. (SBU) During a March 4 visit to Edirne, on Turkey's far 
western border with Greece and Bulgaria, Deputy Governor 
Aydin Akkor told us Roma comprise 30 percent of Edirne's 
population and are provided significant social services, 
including health care.  The Edirne Roma Culture Association 
praised the Edirne local government for its progressive 
relationship with its Roma minority.  Association president 
Erdinc Cekic labeled it as "the best relationship with the 
government among all minority communities in Turkey" and a 
model for other cities in Europe.  He contrasted the 
contentious urban renewal project in the Istanbul suburb of 
Sulukule (reftel) with a renovation project in a Roma 
neighborhood supported by the Edirne Governor's office on 
which the community was consulted at the outset. According to 
Cekic, the Governor's office said the project will occur 
after the election to avoid speculation that the project is a 
cynical bid to garner votes. 
 
Getting the Ball Rolling: Political Representation 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In general, Cekic, noting that the Roma support any 
politician who supports equal rights, pointed out that the 
Roma feel more aligned with the AKP than CHP in Edirne. 
(Note: The AKP generally acts more as an advocate for the 
poor and disadvantaged in ways that other parties largely do 
not. End note.) This year, the Roma community put forth two 
individuals for candidacy in the municipal and provincial 
elections under the AKP banner.  While ultimately neither was 
selected by the party, the step was a landmark move by a 
minority community that traditionally has remained removed 
from political rights and suffrage.  According to Cekic, the 
Roma have ambitions to aim higher for the future. "We believe 
we have people who can contribute to solve the problems of 
the country," and the community would like to see a "gypsy 
soul in Parliament."  Eventually, the Roma Culture 
Association hopes to be able to inspire its youth through 
role models who have attained positions of power to inspire 
its youth. Cekic acknowledges that this will take the work of 
more than a generation, but pointed to the Civil Rights 
Movement and its ultimate achievement of electing an African 
American president in 2008 as inspiration. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Overall, Cekic described the Roma situation in 
Turkey as 90 percent "good" though problems remain with 
access to public authorities for the Dom Roma in Diyarbakir 
and for two distinct Roma populations in the Black Sea 
industrial center of Zonguldak. He noted the association 
enjoys very good relations with Alevi organizations 
throughout Turkey, adding that the association's closest 
civil society relationship is with Pembe Hayat, a 
gay-lesbian-bisexual solidarity association. 
 
Something New: Building Organizational Capacity 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Cekic emphasized the need for role models for the 
youth, asserting that talents who have excelled in the music 
and dance businesses no longer suffice.  The association 
would like to show the next generation what it means to 
contribute to society.  Toward this end, the association is 
working on improving its organizational capacity, admitting 
that "organizing is something very new for us."  Cekic 
explained that the association's funding limitations have 
been compounded by the current economic crisis, though he 
acknowledged authorities would more likely  provide funding 
for projects if the Roma were more organized.  The 
association is currently working with the Open Society 
 
ISTANBUL 00000103  002 OF 002 
 
 
Institute and continues to have good relations with the Dutch 
and Swiss foreign missions in Turkey. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Representatives of the Roma associations of Turkey 
will meet in Ankara April 8 - 10 with the Roma Rights Center 
of Hungary to commemorate International Roma Day and to begin 
an organized planning program with politicians and 
associations across the country.  The Roma association in 
Istanbul did not celebrate Roma Day in 2008 in protest of the 
impending urban renewal project in Sulukule and their 
relocation to apartments outside of Istanbul. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: The Roma in Turkey do not traditionally 
support as a bloc any particular political party.  However, 
their lifestyle would not predictably align them with the 
more socially conservative AKP.  Nevertheless, AKP municipal 
leaders in Edirne recognize minority votes are worth 
soliciting. The Roma's economic impoverishment and benign 
history in Turkey allow government leaders to reach out and 
assist them far more easily than they do to other minority 
communities. Other communities are perceived, particularly by 
nationalist circles, as more of a threat to "Turkishness" or 
the integrity of the Turkish state.  The efforts by Edirne's 
Roma community, and perhaps among Turkey's Romas at large, to 
organize themselves after years of ad hoc campaigns may make 
advocating for additional community support from the state 
more successful. End Comment. 
Wiener