Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ANKARA4120
2006-07-14 13:15:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Ankara
Cable title:  

HAYMANA SUB-PROVINCE: RURAL UNDERDEVELOPMENT NEAR

Tags:  PREL PGOV ECON TU 
pdf how-to read a cable
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R 141315Z JUL 06
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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7266
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RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
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RUEKDAI/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC//J-3/J-5//
RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEUITH/ODC ANKARA TU//TCH//
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEUITH/TLO ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/TSR ANKARA TU
RUEHAK/USDAO ANKARA TU
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004120 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2021
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON TU
SUBJECT: HAYMANA SUB-PROVINCE: RURAL UNDERDEVELOPMENT NEAR
TURKEY'S CAPITAL

Classified by Political Counselor Janice Weiner for Reasons
1.5 (b,d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 004120

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2021
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON TU
SUBJECT: HAYMANA SUB-PROVINCE: RURAL UNDERDEVELOPMENT NEAR
TURKEY'S CAPITAL

Classified by Political Counselor Janice Weiner for Reasons
1.5 (b,d)


1. (C) Summary: On July 13, we visited Haymana, an
agricultural sub-province located 70km from Ankara. Despite
its proximity to the capital, Haymana suffers from rural
underdevelopment. Outward migration to cities and abroad has
been a fact of life for over three decades. Education is not
always a top priority for area parents. Suspicions of
America and belief in anti-American and anti-Israel
conspiracy theories are common. Most of the people turn to
state bodies for assistance, suggesting strong belief in
state control and little confidence in elected officials.
End Summary.

--------------
Economy and Investment
--------------


2. (SBU) Haymana's economy is 90% agriculture, and many of
its villages are only now in the process of getting
irrigation and/or roads. Wheat and barley, Haymana,s main
crops, are purchased entirely by state agencies. Commodities
prices are lower than in past years. Officials and party
leaders repeatedly said that most in Haymana suffer from
economic hardship. At the same time, however, the appointed
sub-governor Kazim Tekin noted that sometimes people make
poor economic choices, giving the example of farmers
typically owning fancy air-conditioned tractors. The elected
Haymana town mayor Bunyamin Adaci and his office works on
attracting investment to Haymana's thermal water spas. He and
the sub-governor also hope that Haymana's inclusion in State
Minister for Tourism and Culture Koc's Tourism Plan will lead
to state assistance for the development of this sector.

--------------
Barriers to Getting a Good Education
--------------


3. (C) The Haymana sub-governor, mayor and the local AK
party leader, as well as the mayor of the nearby village of
Balcikhisar (population 1,500),described the question of
youth as a painful one. They said that unemployment is high,
there is little activity beyond the harvesting season, and
most youth spend their time in coffeehouses. The Haymana
sub-governor said that parents - fathers, in particular - do
not place high priority on children's education, in part
negating efforts by his office to provide financial and
logistical assistance so that all children can attend school.
Access to high schools from Balcikhisar is very limited,
even for those who can afford to attend. The closest high
schools are 40km away in a sub-provincial town or 100km
distant in Ankara.

--------------
Anti-American Sentiment
--------------


4. (C) Most interlocutors with whom we met said they opposed
American policies. Haymana local AKP leader Haci Aysu and
his subordinates questioned us about USG support for Israel
and the "killing of innocent lives in Iraq and Palestine."
We observed that Aysu recorded our response to his question
about why the U.S. does not solve the Israel-Palestine
problem when it "could have done so in 24 hours." When
asked, Aysu could not describe what actions the USG might
undertake within 24 hours to resolve the situation.

--------------
Women Undervalued
--------------


5. (C) A traditional view of women prevails. In Haymana, the
sub-governor said that the majority of children who are not
sent to school are girls. In Balcikhisar, when we asked a
village man if he had any children, he responded that he had
four sons. The Balcikhisar mayor pointed out that the man
also has two daughters, to which another village man
critically responded that there are still people who
subscribe to the saying, "at the dinner table, a cow has a

ANKARA 00004120 002 OF 002


place before the woman." Another villager said most village
girls are married when they are 15 to 16 years-old and have
on average four children. At a local wedding celebration, we
observed that the bride was a teenage girl who did not appear
very happy when dancing with her young groom. A villager
told us that she was brought by her family from Germany to be
married to her first cousin.

--------------
Reliance on the State
--------------


6. (C) Villagers strongly rely on the state for assistance,
and have little confidence in elected officials. For
example, the sub-governor, who is appointed by the central
state administration, said that villagers sometimes come to
him with an odd request to remove the village administrator,
aka "muhtar," whom they elected. The state is viewed as the
ultimate bastion of control, as well as power. However, the
Balcikhisar mayor claimed he does not receive state help
because his party is not in government.

Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/

WILSON