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1. Coming to Terms with Forced Migration: Post-Displacement Restitution of Citizenship Rights in Turkey

Author:
A. Tamer Aker, Ayşe Betül Çelik, Deniz Yükseker, Dilek Kurban, and Turgay Inalan
Publication Date:
08-2007
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The large number of civil wars in the world in which ethnic groups are involved has given rise to a growing body of literature about how to rebuild nations so that they do not lapse back into violence. Among these is the well-researched new book by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (“TESEV”), Coming to Terms with Forced Migration: Post-Displacement Restitution of Citizenship Rights in Turkey. Its five co-authors, Dilek Kurban (TESEV), Deniz Yükseker (Koç University), Ayşe Betül Çelik (Sabancı University), Turgay Ünalan (Hacettepe University) and A. Tamer Aker (Kocaeli University) dig deeply into the causes of conflict and displacement in Turkey, seeking to go beyond official versions and to unearth what really occurred in their country and how best to move forward to resolve the political, economic and social divisions. Each of the authors brings a different discipline to the book, together examining displacement from a broad perspective, encompassing the sociological, political, psychological, demographic and legal. Reinforcing their two years of academic research is rigorous field work in the provinces of Diyarbakır, Batman, Istanbul and Hakkâri where they interview municipal leaders, civil society and the people who were forcibly displaced. Among their major findings is one especially important for the government and the international community to register: that internal displacement in Turkey is not just a security problem confined to a limited number of hamlets in the southeast but a widespread and large-scale phenomenon with impact on “the whole nation.” After all, some one million men, women and children were forcibly uprooted from rural areas in the east and southeast of the country as a result of the armed struggle from 1984 to 1999 between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan - “PKK”) and the Turkish military. Large numbers fled to urban areas all over the country where they have long experienced poverty, poor housing, joblessness, loss of land and property, limited access to physical and mental health care services, and limited educational opportunities for their children. Acknowledging the plight of the displaced in both rural and urban areas and developing effective policies and programs to help them reintegrate is therefore critical not only for the lives of the displaced but also for the coherence and stability of the country as a whole.
Topic:
Human Rights, Migration, Minorities, Democracy, Citizenship, and Displacement
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

2. The Problem of Internal Displacement in Turkey: Assessment and Policy Proposals

Author:
A. Tamer Aker, Ayşe Betül Çelik, Deniz Yükseker, Dilek Kurban, and Turgay İnalan
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The resolution of the ―village guards‖ question and the ―return to village‖ of persons displaced during the armed conflict in East and Southeast Anatolia is clearly among the most pressing issues that Turkey will encounter in the near future. The European Union’s (EU) Progress Report dated October 6, 2004 contains a section entitled ―Economic and Social Rights‖ which addresses the situation in East and Southeast Anatolia and notes the improvements concerning security and fundamental rights; however, the report also describes the situation of internally displaced persons as ―still critical.‖ The steps the government have taken so far to solve the problem are limited to the ―Return to Villages and Rehabilitation Project‖ which intends to secure the economic infrastructure for return, and the ―Law on Compensation of Losses Arising from Acts of Terror and the Measures Taken to Fight Against Terror‖ (Law no. 5233), enacted by the Turkish Parliament in July 2004. However, it is generally felt that these measures do not suffice to solve the problem, and that the village guard system, the landmines, the region’s economic under-development, the danger of renewed armed conflict, and other factors present obstacles to return. TESEV—with its mission to support Turkey’s efforts towards democratization and EU membership—has decided to approach the problem from a different and more comprehensive perspective and to evaluate the problem and the solution efforts from a new vantage point. Although the efforts to overcome the obstacles to return to villages in the context of the EU membership are commendable, we believe that it is wrong to reduce the problem simply to one of ―return to village‖ and to limit the geographic scope of the problem to the region of East and Southeast Anatolia. The topic goes beyond the ―technical‖ measures that need to be implemented during the EU accession process, as it is one of a more profound, social nature. The armed conflict has not only resulted in all types of ―pecuniary losses,‖ but also in the violation of citizenship rights of a number of citizens in this country, as expressed in the 1998 report of the Turkish Parliament’s Investigation Commission. At the same time, ―the health‖ of not merely those left behind, but also of the entire society has been affected at a much more profound level. With these ideas in mind, TESEV has decided to address the issue in a way that diverges from state-centered modes of thinking, which have been hardened and immobilized by the conflict, and that does not favor any kind of ideological position or camp; in a way that aims at the restitution of citizenship rights and social rehabilitation; and in a way that addresses the human dimension of the problem from multiple angles. This report has been put together by expert and academic members of the ―TESEV Working and Monitoring Group on the PostDisplacement Restitution of Citizenship Rights and Social Rehabilitation.‖ It considers the problem from social, political, psychological, legal and other aspects, and it is the first product of a much broader study. Furthermore, the members of this group are co-authoring a book, containing a review and evaluation of international and national literatures, reports on fieldwork conducted in Diyarbakır, Batman, Istanbul and Hakkâri, as well as recommendations for solutions. This book will be published by TESEV within the next few months.
Topic:
Democratization, Migration, European Union, Citizenship, and Internal Displacement
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East