TURKEY: GUL'S APPOINTMENT TO HIGHER EDUCATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002944 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/12/2017 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: GUL'S APPOINTMENT TO HIGHER EDUCATION COUNCIL OF PROFESSOR WHO OPPOSES HEADSCARF BAN SPARKS CONCERN FROM SECULAR ESTABLISHMENT REF: ANKARA 2922 Classified By: Political Counselor Janice G. Weiner, reasons 1.4 (b),(d ) 1.(C) Summary: President Gul's December 10 appointment of a moderate professor who opposes the headscarf ban to chair the Higher Education Board (YOK),a pillar of the secular establishment, is triggering a societal debate certain to grow in coming weeks. Middle East Technical University (METU) sociology professor Yusuf Ziya Ozcan is seen as an enlightened moderate by many of his colleagues in academia, but as a conservative ideologue by many within the Kemalist establishment. Ozcan may have sincere plans to modernize Turkey's university system, but his already outspoken beliefs on the headscarf ban may ultimately overshadow his legacy. End summary. -------------- Gul Appoints Sociology Professor to Head YOK -------------- ¶2. (SBU) President Gul's December 10 appointment of sociology Professor Yusuf Ziya Ozcan as chairman of YOK has already made waves throughout Turkey. As YOK chairman, Ozcan will oversee the body that supervises and regulates all universities in Turkey, and enforces the existing ban on the headscarf in universities. Ozcan follows former chairman Erdogan Tezic, a secularist who ran YOK as a staunch protector of the Republic's Kemalist values (reftel). Ozcan was born in 1951 in Ankara into a poor family. He graduated from Ankara University with a degree in Sociology in 1973. Ozcan then spent eight years in the U.S. on a Ministry of Education scholarship, earning masters and doctorate degrees from the University of Chicago in 1978 and 1981. He has since served as a lecturer and professor of sociology at METU. From 1992-1994, he was a guest professor at Malaysia's International Islam University and has lectured at the Police Academy here on his terrorism research. Ozcan is also currently an aide to the chairman of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and heads the scientific board of the Ankara-based think tank International Center for Strategic Research (USAK). He has published on Islam, Muslim social movements, and the police. Tufan Turenc of "Hurriyet" daily claims that Ozcan is close to religious leader Fethullah Gulen. Ozcan is currently married to his third wife, a professor of economics at Bilkent University. They have a 4-year-old son. ¶3. (C) Although he does not have any particular high-level administrative experience, he is "an extremely smart man and has excellent contacts both from the left and the right of the political spectrum," according to hard-core secularist Ersin Onulduran, Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission, from which Ozcan resigned upon his appointment. He observes that Ozcan does not drink and that he fasts at Ramadan, but claims that that is the extent of Ozcan's religiousness. Embassy officers describe Ozcan as affable and thoughtful, but not a hard-charging leader. ¶4. (SBU) Professor Ozcan has been outspoken about the "needless fears" about the headscarf in Turkey and took the opportunity December 11 to continue in the same vein. In televised remarks, Ozcan stated, "I have two visions. One is to remove all bans at universities, the other is to give more importance to the scientific approach which is the basic duty of universities. I believe universities should be completely free institutions and should only be concerned with learning.... If we can do this, I think problems such as the headscarf will be overcome." -------------- Ozcan: A Moderate Professor... -------------- ¶5. (C) Numerous academics welcomed the appointment of Ozcan as a positive step forward for Turkey's university system. METU colleague Sencer Ayata, Dean of the Graduate School of Sociology, told us that Ozcan is a "no-nonsense academic with many years of relevant experience who will turn YOK into a ANKARA 00002944 002 OF 003 more efficient institution." METU sociology professor Aykan Erdemir called Ozcan a critical thinker who would bring heretofore nonexistent perspective to an institution dominated by uncreative engineers and lawyers. Erdemir believes Ozcan will revitalize YOK by focusing on increasing international educational partnerships and instilling YOK with a modern outlook. Erdemir fears, though, that Ozcan's work and ultimately his legacy at YOK will be clouded by the contentious headscarf issue. METU International Relations professor Ihsan Dagi, who co-founded the Pollmark public opinion research firm with Ozcan, sees the headscarf as secondary to substantive issues; he claims Ozcan will not move to change the ban, but may in two or three years soften the approach. He dismisses the term conservative, calling Ozcan liberal in outlook. Dagi describes Ozcan as someone who can build bridges with social and academic circles and return YOK to its "normal, legal" role of improving universities. ¶5. (C) Ankara University Anthropology Professor Tayfun Atay described Ozcan as a liberal conservative with balanced views. Although he expects critiques and expressions of disappointment from nationalistic circles in the press and bureaucracy, Atay believes that "deep down, even Ozcan's critics know that he is neither a reactionary nor extremist. He will be the most civic and civil president YOK has seen." Dr. Sedat Laciner, Director of the International Center for Strategic Research (USAK),told us that after having worked closely with Ozcan at USAK, he feels strongly that he is an "American-style, results-oriented person, who is the right man for the job." Laciner predicted that Ozcan would not become preoccupied with the headscarf issue, and would not allow his ties with President Gul to cloud his independent thinking. -------------- ...Or a Conservative Ideologue? -------------- ¶6. (C) Bilkent University Professor Umit Cizre, an expert on civil-military relations, cautioned us to look beyond Ozcan's "smiley and nice" exterior. Cizre believes the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) selected Ozcan because he is sympathetic to AKP's views. His deeply conservative outlook makes him inappropriate for YOK -- an institution endowed with the responsibility of preserving the secular nature of the university education system. Cizre's claim that Mrs. Ozcan's refusal to wear short sleeves is indicative of their conservative ideology may reflect an idee fixe of secular skeptics; Embassy officers have seen Mrs. Ozcan in light clothing at a beach resort. ¶7. (C) Cizre highlighted several other things that make the establishment wary of Ozcan: Ozcan, on several occasions, made public remarks in favor of abolishing the headscarf ban; he founded Pollmark, a polling company used by the AKP; he taught at Malaysia Islam University; and he had close relationships with several AKP leaders, including Prime Ministry foreign policy advisor Ahmet Davutoglu, and Minister of Interior Besir Atalay. Cizre believes the military and secular establishment will await Ozcan's actions and policies in the coming weeks prior to making any strong public reaction. ¶8. (C) Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) member of the parliamentary Education Committee Muharrem Ince also expressed deep concerns about Ozcan's selection. He viewed Ozcan's connection to Pollmark as evidence of Ozcan's political bond with the AKP, terming it a company "fed by the AKP." He feared that with Ozcan at the helm, all prohibitions would be lifted; once the headscarf was allowed on campus, uncovered girls would be forced to conform or be forced out. ¶9. (C) Comment: In an emphatic gesture of censure after the appointment, YOK vice chairman Aybar Ertepinar resigned from his post and stated his intention to resign from YOK altogether (the direct connection between the appointment and the resignation was disingenuously downplayed by Islamist English-language paper Today's Zaman). Widely diverging ANKARA 00002944 003 OF 003 media coverage hints at the prospect of a renewed battle between old guard Kemalists and AKP and the President. Some play up Ozcan's Islamist interests, assiduously list Islam-related titles from his publication record, and assert his close connections to AKP bigwigs, while others emphasize his moderation and omit details like his time in Malaysia. Ozcan will likely become a lightning rod for an elite class that sees flexibility on the headscarf question as the thin edge of the Islamic wedge. End comment. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON