The Exceptional Voting Behavior of Eastern Turkey
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Japan AssoolatlonAssociation for MlddleMiddle East StudlesStudies Voting Behavior of Eastern Turkey （Natsume） The Exceptional Voting BehaVior of Eastern Turkey Mieko Natsume − Ono CONTENTS Introduction L Geographical and Ilistorical Background of Eastern Turkey II． Voting Behavior of Eastern Turkey in Past Elections III． Voting Behavior of Eastern Turkey in the l991 Election Conclusion トル コ 総選 挙 に お け る 東 部 選 挙 民 の 投 票 行 動 夏 目美 詠 子 “ 本稿 は トル コ の 現 代 政 治 史 を， 共 和 国成立 以 来 の 国民 統 合 と社 会 発 展 の 過 程 で 後進 ” コ い 地 域 と し て 取 り残 さ れ て きた 東 部 トル の 視 点 か ら再構築 し よ う と う試 み で あ る。 “ ” の で ク ル 題 の 論 と を 叫 ぷ 人 民 労 働 党 （PLP ） の ク ル ド系 議 1991年 総 選 挙 ， ド問 議 解決 コ こ ル コ で 員 22名が 南 東 部 トル の 圧 倒 的 支 持 を得 て 当 選 し た と と， や は り東 部 ト 支 持 を ・ こ ル コ に な 集 め た 福祉 党 を 中心 とす る イ ス ラ ム 極 右 連 合 が 躍 進 し た とは ， ト 内外 大 き ・ ・ た は オ ス マ ン か ら そ の 多様 な宗教 民 族 言語 構 成 と 家 衝撃 を与 え 。 それ 帝 国時代 ， 国 ” の 統 治体 制 に 組 み 込 まれ る こ とな く生 き残 っ た 部 族 社 会 の 故 に ， 慣 端 な 辺境 と して 中 “ ” 央 政 治 か ら疎 外 され て きた 東部 トル コ が 初 め て 合 法 的 政 治 手 段 に よ っ て 中央 に 突 き の で ル コ で は つ け た 強 烈 な政 治 要 求 で あ っ た 。 1950年 の 多党 制 導入 以 後 総 選 挙 ， 東 部 ト ・ か つ 地 元 中道 右 左 派 の 二 大 政 党 が 弱 く， 少 数 政 党 や 無所 属候 補者 に 票 が 分 散 し， 有 力 コ ロ ー の が ど の 者に よ る部族 票 の ン ト ル で 唐 突 で 組 織 的 な 支 持政 党 転 換 行 わ れ る な ， そ 工 一 の は こ れ の 特異 な投票行動 が 注 目を集め た 。 しか し中 央 り トや 過 去 研 究 者 ， を東 部 ・ 後 進 性 の 発 露 に 過 ぎず ， 国 全体 の 経 済 社 会 発 展 と と もに こ う し た 後 進 性 は 克 服 され ， “ ” 均 質 な 国民 文 化 の 中 に その 特 異性 は 吸収 さ れ る と い う 進 化 論 的 な 国 家 史観 で 論断 し の の を 分 析 す る こ と に よ りそ の 政 治 的 味 を め て た 。 本稿 は過 去 東 部 選 挙 民 投 票行 動 意 改 い ル コ の と て の 発 阻 して き た こ の 国家 史観 の 致 命 的 な 欠 陥 問 直 し， ト 民 主 国家 し 展 を 害 を明 らか に し よ う とす る もの で あ る 。 Part−time Lecturer， The University of the Air 放 送 大学非 常 勤 講 師 71 一 NII-ElectronicN 工 工 Eleotronlo LibraryLlbrary Service JapanJapanAssociation Association for Middle East Studies AJAMESMiddle No.11'1996 Introduction Turkish society has been said to be deeply divided by cleavage between center and periphery which originated in the ruling system of the Ottoman Empire. The center has traditionally consisted of the military and bureaucratic elites and re- presented the state ideology and the official urban culture. The periphery has errLbraced the masses, both rural and urban, as well as local notables and developed its own extremely varied counter-culture. This cleavage was maintained almost intact under the single-party rule of the Republican People's Party (RPP). When multi-party politics started in 1946, the Democrat Party (DP), the main opposition of the RPP, offered the masses of the periphery a channei through which they could "legitimate bring their daily problems as a concern of politics" before the National Assemb]y. In so doing the periphery itself was brought closer to the center and `national gradually integrated into the culture'i. But there was an area, eastern Turkey, that dropped out from this national integration process owing to not only its social structure but also its own will. Eastern Turkey expressed different political views with its exceptional voting behavior in the general eleetions. By doing so, however, it made itself bouncl to the furthest end of the periphery. The official stand "the of the Republic was always to dismiss not only checkerboard structure of "local Anatolia by passing it under silence" but arso religious or ethnic groups as irrelevant survivals from the dark ages of Turkey."2 The politics of eastern Turkey has been determined by these ethnic, religious and social elements that only provo- ked the contempt of the center. I was in Turkey when the 1991 Turkish general election was held and witnessed the election campaign and the people's reaction to the election result. After the election concern was expressed about the revival of the Islamist power in the Grand National Assembly, which showed much more strength than expected. The Islamist Welfare Party (WP) gained considerable support from eastern Turkey. Another cause for cuncern was the election of Kurdish deputies on the ticket of the Social Democratic Populist Party (SDPP) from southeastern Turkey where bloody guerrilla war has been fought between security forces and the Kurdish Workers' `Kurdish Party (PKK) since 1984. These deputies stated that they would argue the problem' in national politics and demand the right to express their own ethnic identity. It was the first time in Turkish history that the political will of the east, 72 NII-Electronic Library Service JapanJapanAssociation Association forforMiddle Middle East Studies Voting Behavior of Eastern Turkey (Natsume) as expressed through legal procedures, shook national politics. Thus, indispensable for understanding Turkish national politics in the early 1990s is an examination of what has happened inside eastern Turkey and, especially, what the people of the east have expressed in past elections. In addition I see the necessity of studying the 'Turkey geographical and historical background of eastern which must have shaped its political environment. "ethnic, In this paper I will examine first the religious and social checkerboard structure" of eastern Turkey, tracing back its history. Then I will try to elucidate the motives ancl inevitability of the voting behavior of eastern Turkey in past general elections since 1950. Finally I will return to my starting point, the 1991 general election, and reexamine the meaning of the election result in eastern Turkey. I shall be happy if I wi]1 be able to portray the long journey of the east that, despite its destiny to be confined to the most peripheral and historically neglected corner of the country, finally succeeded in articulating its political demands in the nationai politica] scene. I. Geographical and Historical Background of Eastern Turkey 1. The definition of Eastern Turkey According to the decision of the First National Conference of Geography in I942, Turkey's 67 provinces (74 in 1990) are divided into nine regions as shown in table 1 (The provinces with asterisk were created in 1990).3 <Table 1 : The Nine Regions in Turkey> 1. Marmara Region Bursa, Edirne, istanbul, Kirklareli, Kocaeli, Sakarya and Tekirdagi 2. Aegean Region, Balikesir, Burdur, Denizli, Isparta, Manisa and Aydin, qanakkale, izmir, Mugla. 3. North Central Anatolia Region Ankara, Bilecik, Bolu, Cankiri, 9orum, E$kisehir, Kirkkale', Kirgehir, KUtahya, Nevgehir, Usak and Yozgat. 73 NII-Electronic Library Service JapanJapanAssociation Association for Middle East Studies AJAMESMiddle No.11 1996 ' 4. South Central Anatolia Region Afyon, Aksaray", Kayseri, Karaman', Konya and Nigde. 5. East Central Anatolia Region Amasya, Elazig, Malatya, Sivas, Tokat and Tunceli. 6. Black Sea Region Bartin', Bayburt', Giresun, GUmUehane, Kastamonu, Ordu, Rize, Samsun, Sinop, Trabzon and Zonguldak. 7. Mediterranean Region Adana, Antalya, Gaziantep, Hatay, igel and Kahramanmarag. 8. Northeastern Anatolia Region Agri, Artvin, Erzincan, Erzurum and Kars. 9. Southeastern Anatolia Region Batman*, Bingdl, Bitlis, Diyarbakir, Hakkari, Mardin, Siirt, Sirnak', Urfa and Van. Paul Magnarella who wrote an article about regional voting of eastern "Turkey's Turkey in the 1961 and 1965 general elections defines the east as most diverse rural region" in terms of culture and ethnicity. He delimits eastern Turkey consisting of 14 provinces, adding some modification to the official regional break- down above. In this paper I also consider that eastern Turkey should be distinguished by its cultural and ethnic diversity from the rest of the country, but I define a more extensive area as the east than Magnarella does. First of all, I demarcate the east in accordance with its linguistic diversity shown in the Turkish census of 1965 which is the last one to include questions concerning the mother tongue.5 As table 2 shows, in all the provinces of the Southeastern Region the principal language of communica- tion is Kurdish. In most provinces of the Northeastern Region, Kurdish is in common use except for Erzincan and Artvin.6 The two provinces of the Mediterranean Region, Gaziantep and Kahramanmaras. have some Kurdish population. Hatay shows an unique linguistic composition in which Arabic is more prevalent than 74 NII-Electronic Library Service JapanJapanAssociation Association forforMiddle Middle EastStudiesEast Studies Voting Behavior of Eastern Turkey(Natsume) Kurdish.