TURKEY: WHIRLING ISSUES BYPASS KONYA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 002002 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2018 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OSCE TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: WHIRLING ISSUES BYPASS KONYA Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady, reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (C) Summary and comment: The central Anatolian city of Konya has a rich history and unique modern-day economic and political importance to Turkey. In the past decade, this "Anatolian Tiger" of 1 million people has built a dynamic economy centered on industrial agriculture but expanding rapidly into manufacturing, tourism, and research and development. Meanwhile, Konya has retained a conservative religious social structure that has made it a stronghold of center-right political parties. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept to power in Konya by winning some 75 percent of the vote in 2002 national elections and 2004 local elections, and currently holds 13 of 16 parliamentary seats representing Konya province. Meeting November 12-13 with a wide range of Konya contacts, we confirmed that Konya remains solid AKP country. Although corruption, a sagging economy, the Kurdish problem, and other issues may hurt AKP in March 2009 local elections in other areas of the country, Konya remains insulated. The body politic that epitomizes AKP's grassroots base will ensure the party's political dominance in Konya for the foreseeable future. End summary and comment. -------------- Konya: Rich In History -------------- ¶2. (U) Located on a fertile plateau in south-central Anatolia, Konya's economic importance to Turkey is eclipsed perhaps only by its rich history. In the 7th century BC, inhabitants drawn to the region's rich soil established the world's first known city, Catalhoyuk, several miles outside of the modern-day city. The region was later populated by a series of civilizations -- Hittite, Phrygian, Lydian, Persian, Roman, and Byzantine -- who sought to capitalize on the region's importance as a trade crossroads. After capturing the city in 1071, the Seljuk Turks established their capital in Konya and over the next century expanded their rule outwards to the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Eastern Anatolia. The Seljuks ruled until 1243, when they began to lose hold of lands to Mongols and Karamanogullari Turks. Konya's most famous citizen, the Persian Sufi poet and theologian Mevlana Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi, known as "Rumi" or "Mevlana," fled a Mongol invasion of modern-day Afghanistan for Konya in 1228. From Rumi's teaching that music, poetry, and dance could allow one's spirit to connect with the divine came the practice of "whirling" that is used to this day by dervishes of the "Mevlevi" order. -------------- Conservative in Culture -------------- ¶3. (SUB) Konya's multi-cultural history contrasts with the homogenous nature of the region today. Selcuk University Professor Birol Akgun told us Konya epitomizes the nationalistic beliefs of central Anatolia and is a highly religious region, where approximately 70 percent of women cover their heads. A large majority of residents support AKP, "or at least do not oppose it," while fewer than a quarter are sympathetic to the social democratic values espoused by opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Akgun said Konya residents are well-educated and economically sound relative to most Turks, and are open to modernization, so long as it does not jeopardize basic principles like the importance of maintaining a unified Turkey. ¶4. (C) Elcin Kuzucu, a vocational school teacher and former International Visitor Program (IVP) participant, told us that Konya's conservative social structure places enormous pressure on newcomers to assimilate and adopt the city's social and political norms. Kuzucu said that she stands out as the only uncovered woman in most public places in the city, and often feels that, "I am in Iran." She noted that many wealthy men in Konya openly marry more than one wife. In her view, the high degree of pressure placed on those who do not fit the city's conservative mold belies the oft-repeated claim by Konya officials that Konya is a bastion of respect and tolerance. -------------- ANKARA 00002002 002 OF 003 Eye of the Anatolian Tiger -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Known to Turks as "the bread basket of Turkey," Konya derives economic strength not only from agriculture but from food processing, tourism, manufacturing, and scientific research and development. AKP mayor Tahir Akyurek told us that agricultural production in Konya meets one-fifth of Turkey's food needs. Although the lack of water poses difficulties, the local, provincial, and national government are progressing on the "Konya Plain Project" and "Blue Tunnel Project" to bring river and subterranean water to Konya. Akyurek said Konya's economy benefits greatly from the presence of Selcuk University, Turkey's largest educational institution, with more than 85,0000 students who attend the 24 campuses and vocational schools spread throughout the city. Akyurek told us that construction had just begun on a new university that, when completed, would complement Selcuk's strengths in research and development and other areas. ¶6. (SBU) Tourists are flocking to Konya in ever-increasing numbers, Akyurek said. More than 2 million visited last year, as opposed to 500,000 five years ago. The bulk of international tourists come from South Korea and Japan, and enjoy staying in Konya's two recently opened five-star hotels. Several new Hilton business hotels now being planned would help draw additional tourists. ¶7. (SBU) Konya's economy has thus far escaped severe repercussions from the global financial crisis, according to Provincial Governor Osman Aydin. He told us that official statistics show Konya's unemployment rate at 9 percent -- just under Turkey's national rate of 10 percent -- but that the real rate is likely lower because many who work informally in subsistence farming also apply for unemployment benefits. Aydin credited much of Konya's economic resilience to the self-sufficient nature of its economy. He explained that most Konya business leaders developed their companies through family financing, leaving them relatively insulated from credit crunches or fluctuations of currency and interest rates. -------------- AKP Country -------------- ¶8. (U) In the center of Turkey's heartland, conservative religious parties have long dominated Konya politics. Since the 1970s, the city has been a stronghold of AKP's forerunner parties -- Necmettin Erbakan's Milli Selamet Partisi (National Salvation Party),Refah Party (Welfare Party) and Fazilet Partisi (Virtue Party). AKP swept to power in Konya in 2002 national elections, when it won 14 of 16 MP seats. In 2004 local elections, AKP won 25 of 31 mayorships, and 94 of 112 seats on the provincial general assembly. AKP demonstrated its continued dominance in 2007 national elections, when it captured 13 MP seats (MHP won 2; CHP 1). ¶9. (C) Konya AKP Provincial Chairman Faruk Dugen told us that in local elections Konya's conservative residents typically support the ruling national party. He predicted that AKP would retain or slightly increase the number of mayorships it holds in Konya, and would strengthen its hold on the provincial general assembly and municipal assemblies. He said the party set a goal that 20 percent of its candidates for the provincial general assembly election will be drawn from the party's women's auxiliary and 15 percent from its youth auxiliary. Konya voters' top issue, according to Dugen, is the quality of municipal services. AKP had performed well in this area by improving roads, keeping the streets safe, and advancing projects to bring water to the city and to build a high-speed train connecting Konya to Ankara that will be completed in 2010. Akyurek said AKP estimates such solid management will translate into the party winning approximately 75 percent of the vote, followed by Nationalist Action Party (MHP) in distant second, CHP third, and Saadet, Democracy Party (DP) and Motherland Party (ANAP) thereafter. ¶10. (C) Ahmet Ozer, President of KonTV, Konya's largest television station, told us that AKP will dominate Konya ANKARA 00002002 003 OF 003 politics for at least one more term. Even though the economic crisis had begin to hit home, evidenced by KonTV recently having to lay off 25 of its 200 employees, AKP support stands at 63 percent, according to KonTV's latest monthly poll. Ozer credits much of this success to the lack of a viable opposition party. He believes that voters in Konya, as in the rest of Turkey, resent opposition parties' pattern of attacking AKP without offering any realistic alternative approaches. -------------- CHP's Naive Optimism -------------- ¶11. (C) CHP provincial chairman Imdat Sen acknowledged that Konya has long been a stronghold of conservative center-right politics, but he maintains an optimism regarding local elections that seems out of touch with reality. CHP will increase its two of 31 mayorships to more than 20, according to Sen. In the Provincial General Assembly, the party would quadruple its 8 current seats. Although CHP would not be able to make inroads in Konya city, an area that he alleged is dominated by tarikats (illegal religious orders) and religious foundations, it would make inroads in sub-provincial mayoral races, some of which it lost by less than 100 votes in 2004 local elections. AKP connections to the Deniz Feneri (Lighthouse) scandal and a wide range of other national and local corruption incidents, as well as mounting economic difficulties, will be the driving force behind CHP's success in Konya, according to Sen. A limiting factor would be the difficulty of taking CHP's message to the people and exposing AKP's corruption in light of a local media dominated by AKP cadres. Sen said AKP loyalists control nine of 10 local newspapers and all five local TV stations. -------------- Don't Rock the Political Boat -------------- ¶12. (C) Konya Stock Exchange President Mehmet Kara told us that Konya businessmen are pragmatic when it comes to politics. In local elections they tend to vote in favor of the party running the national government in order to bring greater national funding to the province. According to Kara, many Konya businessmen are lukewarm about AKP but will continue to vote for the party because they see no other viable alternative. Selcuk Ozturk, President of the Konya branch of the Independent Industrialists and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD),told us that most Konya MUSIAD members are satisfied with AKP for now, and would help develop an alternative "when Turkey believes it is necessary." These conservative yet entrepreneurial Turks, who typify AKP's base and in many ways epitomize the mainstream central Anatolian voter, are preoccupied with economic stability first and the fight against terrorism second, according to Ozturk. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey SILLIMAN