The range of contacts in Turkey and objectives of the delegation were limited and these reflections should be considered as background for a better informed assessment by CMEP of the public policy issues relative to Turkey and the Middle East that emerge in Washington, DC.

1. Turkey is a fascinating amalgam of Europe and Middle East cultures and history. Turkey's role relative to the Middle East is increasingly significant. The breakdown in the initiative to have Turkey accepted as a member of the European community makes the Middle Eastern face of Turkey more prominent.
2. The U.S.- Turkish military alliance, founded during the Cold War with NATO, is coming under some criticism by Turkish people because of the negative ramifications for Turkey from the 1991 Gulf War and continued sanctions on Iraq. Turkey has been reluctant to authorize U.S. use of Incirlik base to attack Iraq (during February 1998 crisis.)
3. The role of the Turkish army as guarantor of the secular state and its democratic institutions is generally accepted by the public. The army serves as an avenue for advancement and education in Turkish society and is highly respected. Military intervention in the courts and political parties is widely known and surprisingly accepted as an anecdote to the considerable corruption.
4. The involvement of the police in thuggery and human rights abuses is also well known. The "Susurluk scandal" will lead to the emergence of more facts and debate that will shatter illusions about Turkey's democracy.
5. The economy of Turkey is perilous with an inflation rate of 100%+. Turkey spends about 1/3 of its budget on the military, however there is no discussion of decreasing the military budget. Only the military is allowed to use a multi-year budgeting process. An "economic earthquake" is predicted by one commentator.
6. Turkey supports the U.S. economic isolation of Iran and joins the U.S. in wanting to prevent oil and gas pipelines routes through Iran. However, the cost of transport of oil/gas across Turkey may be excessive. Some analysts consider the isolation and punishment of Iran as destabilizing to the region and likely to give rise to Azeri and Kurdish action against any Turkish energy route.
7. The makeup of Turkey includes numerous minorities besides Christians. This complexity is obscured by the "we are all Turks" ideology of Ataturk. The assertion that Turkey is 90+% Muslim overlooks that this population includes groups that see themselves as minorities - Alawite Kurds, Turkish Alawites and Sunni Kurds as well as Arabs.
8. The economy of the southeast has been decimated by the civil war with its "evacuation" of village populations and elimination of their agricultural production. The situation is worsened by the blocks on transport and trade with Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War. Clearly, government investment in the southeast region since the 1930's has lagged the needs of a growing population.
9. The Kurds and Souryani Christians have some common ground - seeking the right to teach in their own language, feeling repressive pressure from the government and survival in the underdeveloped southeast. The recognized churches, Armenian and Greek Orthodox, are focused on the survival of their culture and communities. Restrictions on schools and the buying and selling of church properties are problems. In the Refah-Ciller period the Armenians were allowed for the first time to rebuild a church. "Refah has a warm feeling for believers."
10. The expression of the worldwide Islamic resurgence in Turkey is viewed as primarily a reform movement which lacks the fanatical tendencies of Algeria, given as an example. Some Christians saw a more prominent Islam as exercising a more lenient governance, not more fanatical. There were objections to the "outrageous" rhetoric of some Refah leaders, including Erbakan's anti-Semitic conspiracy theorizing, accompanying a more general appreciation of Refah. It is expected that the 150 Refah parliamentarians will reformulate themselves in one or more new parties. (March 3 update: One new party has formed named Fazilet, which means virture.)
11. The Kurdish party HADEP was closed and the office ransacked during our visit. This action, following the closure of the Refah party, brought expressions of concern about the institutions of democracy, especially the courts who issued the rulings, being manipulated by the army. A prominent newspaper editor said a military coup would have been preferable because it would have been transparent.
12. Some see potential in Turkey for the meshing of Islam and democracy in a moderate fashion. The secular ideology of Ataturk is coming into question as a sound basis for Turkish life. The Fethullah Gulen phenomena is further evidence of the popular appeal of religious-based values. (Gulen, a moderate Islamic intellectual and promoter of tolerance who met with the Pope in January, has a TV program, sells books and videos, has started hundreds of secondary schools and publishes "Zamen" a daily newspaper.) Even though Gulen is seen as a potential bridge to the secularists, it is said the Army considers him dangerous and will move against him soon.
13. While the morale of human rights activists is bolstered by the international attention given their efforts, the conclusion is that the situation of abuses (mystery killings, torture and terrorizing Kurds and those who bring attention to the situation) has only gotten worse.
14. Some contacts voiced the suspicion that the U.S. has Kurdish independence or at least autonomy in the southeast as a policy objective. We heard no support from Kurdish and pro- Kurdish activists for that goal; rather we heard of Kurdish identification with Turkey and an insistence on full political rights and cultural identity. Many commented that the answer to the Kurdish problem is political, not military.
15. The military alliance with Israel received mixed reviews. There appears to be genuine sympathy with the Palestinian people. One journalist with political ambitions said that "we have to help the Jews out in this Middle East area, if not it could be explosive - but definitely not at the expense of the Palestinians."

Corinne Whitlatch
Churches for Middle East Peace