துருக்கியில் ஜாதிதலைவர்கள் நிர்ணயிக்கும் தேர்தல் வெற்றிகள்

துருக்கியில் அதிக எண்ணிக்கையில் உள்ள ஜாதிகள் தேர்தலில் தங்கள் வலிமையை காட்டி தங்கள் ஜாதி ஆட்களையே தேர்ந்தெடுக்கிறார்கள்.
புரிகி, குரேசினி, ஹனி, எர்டுஸி, பேடிர்ஹான் ஆகிய ஜாதிகள் வலிமையானவை. இது தவிர 48 சிறிய ஜாதிகளும் கிழக்குபிரதேசத்தில் இருக்கின்றன. ஆகவே, சாதாரண மக்களின் வாக்குக்களை விட, ஜாதிகளின் ஒட்டுமொத்த வாக்கே தேர்தலை நிர்ணயிக்கிறது.

நன்றி துர்கிஸ் டெய்லி நியூஸ்

Shadow of clans hangs over elections in the east
Monday, July 2, 2007

GÖKSEL BOZKURT
VAN – Turkish Daily News

An elderly gentleman with snow-white beard sitting at a coffee shop next to the Lake Van grimaced when asked what would happen in the parliamentary elections to be held on July 22. “Before every elections, they come and promise us the world. Then, they forget about Van,” he said.

Considering that the elections are less than a month away one expects Van's main Cumhuriyet Street to be full of hustle and bustle. But people are quietly going about their business, with the elderly and the young spending their time at coffee shops due to the serious unemployment in the region.

Tradesmen are waiting for customers in empty shops and children are selling sesame rolls and polishing shoes to earn some pocket money over the summer months.

By observing the mood of the city no one would think that an election is just around the corner. Only the few offices election candidates have opened and the van of the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) that goes around the main street twice a day makes one remember the upcoming elections.

It seems that only the candidates are excited as they list all the things they will do once in Parliament.

Retired teacher Fevzi Leventoğlu says: “I have been through so many elections, but this one is different than the others. There is no excitement whatsoever. It seems like there will be no elections.”



Population one million:

With migration from Hakkari, the population of Van province has reached the one million mark. Due to migration election profile of the province has changed significantly.

Unemployment is the people's biggest problem and the full coffee shops are a testimony to that. Agriculture and tourism are the main sources of income but they are hardly enough to sustain the economy of the growing city, especially as the recent escalation of terrorism has hurt both sectors.

Trade with Iran is very important for the region too, but it has become such a one-way traffic that the fruit and the vegetables of the region come from there. The people of Van also complain about the import quotas imposed.

The opening of the historical church of Akdamar on an island in Lake Van, and the historical wealth of the region make the province a potential center of tourism. But past and current terrorist activity has resulted in the region failing to achieve its full tourism potential.

In late 1980s, around 200,000 tourists visited the region annually, while the figure is now around 3,000.

The only thing the ordinary people want from the elections is an end to the unemployment problem and serious incentives.

When asked, Van Chamber of Trade President Feridun Irak said he didn't believe anything would change after the elections no matter who won, adding, “The candidates here are appointed from Ankara. The locals have no say in who they vote for. As long as there is no democracy, nothing will change.”



Transformation:

The province in the past was known as a center-right stronghold, with their votes mainly going to the True Path Party (DYP), which has become the Democrat Party (DP).

With the increase in the Kurdish population in the region, there has been a huge shift towards the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP).

Van elects seven deputies to Parliament. In the November 2002 elections, the DTP's precursor Democratic people's Party (DEHAP) was the leading party with 105,000 votes, but failing to pass the ten percent election threshold nationally, none of its candidates made it to Parliament.

The party that came in second, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), received 66,000 and got six of the seats.

The other party that cleared the threshold, the Republican People's Party (CHP), received 16,000 votes and won one seat.

The election spirit has yet to come to the province. The people are disillusioned with the fact that their votes did not reflect in who made it to Parliament.

Despite the fact that the DTP received a notable number of votes in the east and the southeast of the country, none of its candidates won a parliamentary seat. This time around, the DTP has decided to not to enter the elections, instead allowing its candidates to run as independents to by-pass the election threshold barrier.



The clans:

Almost no party leader has come to the province yet. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited a month ago. The quasi-feudal structure dominating the region, known as “aşiret” in Turkish, has made it certain that the candidates do not need too much support from national party leaders. Backing from one of the local clans seems enough. The strongest clans in the region are Buriki, Küresini, Hani, Ertuşi and Bedirhan. There are 48 clans of various sizes in the region. Businessman Mehmet Ali Müküs said that clans are more influential in the elections than the ordinary people on the streets. “They will vote for whomever the clans point to.” This may be the reason why one cannot feel an election mood in the city. Clans will dominate the elections, as the clan members in all parties reveal. The Buriki clan has 110 villages, with, according to some, a vote potential of 50,000.

Every clan has picked it's own party. Among the candidates are clan leaders and representatives of clan leaders. Some clans have even divided their loyalties among more than one party. Saim Kartal from the Buriki clan is an independent candidate from the DTP. Nadir Kartal from the same clan is a candidate from the right-wing Young Party (GP). Halil Kartal is the provincial leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), while the number one candidate from the CHP is Şerif Bedirhanoğlu, a former Motherland Party (ANAVATAN) deputy and the leader of the Bedirhanoğlu clan. Bedirhanoğlu is telling the electorate these days that he is a social democrat. Murat Koç from the Küresini clan is the top candidate from the right-wing Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Halil Kaya from the same clan is at the bottom of AKP's candidate list in the region. The AKP has tried to distance itself from the clans. The top candidate of the party is Education Minister Hüseyin Çelik, who has led the efforts to end the clan domination in the region. Retired Colonel Aziz Aykaç said: “The minister told us that he would demolish the clan structure. That is why the clan members did not make it to the top of the lists. The clans are now upset with the AKP.” İskender Ertuş from the Ertuşi clan is the top candidate of the DP. The number two candidate of the DP is Abdulkerim Kuvaz, from the Hani clan. He told the TDN, “Clans are a fact of life in Van. The AKP is saying that they will demolish the clan structure. What keeps one together are the clans. It is the clan members who fight against terrorism as village guards. No one knows this.”
Women in elections:

The clan structure in the region is the main force that is keeping gender-equality from making its mark on the family life. ‘Honor killings' are the killing of women by their closest relatives for supposedly staining the family honor, which could mean a 13-year-old girl speaking to a man on the street. Many men also fall victim to this crime and efforts to eradicate it has been forced back in the region because ‘honor killings' are an integral part of the clan structure. Women are always on the background and are treated as second-class citizens in clans. They have almost no say.

The AKP efforts in the region seems to have struck a cord with the women and if the AKP candidates are to make it to Parliament, it will be mostly due to votes from women. While women in Van did not really want to talk to journalists, a few who did silently said they would be voting for the AKP.

Election projections:

The current projections show that the AKP is expected to win the elections in Van, with a few other parties sharing the spoils. The AKP is expected to win three or four seats from Van, while the independent DTP candidates winning two. The CHP and the MHP may be able to secure one seat each, with the GP having almost no chance of winning a seat despite putting a clan leader as their top candidate. The AKP former provincial leader, Mustafa Bilici, failed to make it on his party's candidate list and is now a little pessimistic about his party's chances. He says the AKP headquarters in Ankara ignored the local concerns while drafting its candidates' lists, arguing that it may be able to win around three of the seven seats as a result.

The current AKP Van leader Besim Yaviç is more optimistic and believes the public is united behind his party. He believes the AKP will win at least five of the seats.

“People are full of praise towards the government's initiatives on education, health, irrigation projects and mass housing. We are confident of winning at least five seats,” he said. Yaviç gave the impression that the headscarf ban and the problems linked to the presidential elections had strengthened the party, arguing that on terrorism, the problem was mainly economic. Everyone in the local AKP bureau is excited. Yaviç, as he addresses around 300 members, tells them: “What we have done until now is just the proof of what we will do in the future.”

The local MHP leader, Adnan Meltem, said their election campaign gives a message of brotherhood and peace. What he says may be true because not even a single incident was recorded between parties. “We will definitely send a deputy from here,” he said. In the MHP bureau, a dozen young members are rushing around.

The DTP is entering the elections with three candidates in Van. DTP Van chief Abdurrahman Doğar told the TDN that they believed their candidates would significantly contribute to the solving of the Kurdish problem in Turkey. “We are going to Parliament to develop projects aiming to end the violence between the state and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). We need to bring peace to the region. This is why it is important for us to have a presence in Parliament,” he said.

Doğar is certain that all three of their candidates will make it to Parliament. The DTP only female candidate in Van, Fatma Kurtalan, also has alternative projects to tackle. She says, “If I am elected, I will for to introduce a quota for women in elections.”

CHP leader Halil Kartal says they are waging an unequal struggle against the AKP. “We don't even have a fax machine while the AKP utilizes all the resources of being the government and has 15 computers.

Local CHP executive Mürsel Alkan says there has been a conservative wave sweeping the region as of late and adds, “There are serious education, health, security, employment and investment problems here. The AKP has failed to provide any answers.”

The CHP bureau is quiet, with a few people talking amongst themselves. They say they are working in the field.

Apart from the party bureaus, there seems to be a total lack of excitement and energy.



Voters:Taxi driver Ramazan does not know when the elections are but knows who he is going to vote for. “My vote will go to the AKP. They gave us coal last winter.”

Waiter Mahmut said: “I will vote for the CHP. They have Şerif Bedirhanoğlu there.”

Elderly gentleman, Mehmet, asks me: “Is there an election?”

People in Van seem a little guarded when asked about the elections. Some don't give their names, others their surnames.

It is just another election in Van under the shadow of the clans.