'Our Syrian Brothers': Refugees and Ethnicity In
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‘OUR SYRIAN BROTHERS’: REFUGEES AND ETHNICITY IN TURKISH POLITICAL RHETORIC By [Copyright 2016] Rachel Wigen-Toccalino Submitted to the graduate degree program in Global and International Studies and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. ________________________________ Chairperson Dr. Michael Wuthrich ________________________________ Dr. Nazlı Avdan ________________________________ Dr. Mehrangiz Najafizadeh Date Defended: June 20, 2016 !ii The Thesis Committee for Rachel Wigen-Toccalino certifies that this is the approved version of the following thesis: ‘OUR SYRIAN BROTHERS’: REFUGEES AND ETHNICITY IN TURKISH POLITICAL RHETORIC ________________________________ Chairperson Dr. Michael Wuthrich Date approved: June 20, 2016 !iii Abstract In the early years of the Turkish state, national unity along the lines of ethnic identity became crucial and any opposition to unity sparked animosity between the Turkish government and its ethnic minorities leading to policies of forced migration and assimilation. Over the past 20 years, there has been a slow but steady shift towards acceptance of alternative identities in Turkey. However, intolerance and violence is again on the rise and the influx of millions of Syrian refugees into Turkey, due to the social and economic pressures that refugees brings, may be influencing this rise. Thus, I ask, has the Syrian refugee crisis reinvigorated historical tensions between the Turkish government and its minority populations? In order to trace the shifts in political conversations towards Turkish minorities, I analyzed political speeches made by leaders of the top four Turkish parties during the five election cycles that have taken place since 2011, the start of the Syrian Civil War. I looked for tone and message of political themes regarding minorities that were linked to Syrian refugees. I found that concerns with Syrians were not associated with an increase in negative relations with minority groups. However, opposition parties tied Syrian refugees to the loss of democratic rights and problems with foreign and domestic policy of the incumbent party. The incumbent party, on the other hand, utilized Syrian refugees to emphasize the humanitarian efforts the government has undertaken and blamed concerns, both domestic and international, on external forces, including Syrian Kurdish organizations (the Kurdish Democratic Union Party and the Kurdish National Council). !iv Acknowledgments I would first like to thank my advisor Dr. Michael Wuthrich of the Center for Global & International Studies at the University of Kansas. Prof. Wuthrich supported me in developing the foundational knowledge necessary to pursue this thesis topic, encouraged me in my studies throughout the program, and dedicated countless hours to working with me one-on-one so that I might be successful. I would also like to acknowledge Dr. Nazlı Avdan of the Political Science Department and Dr. Mehrangiz Najafizadeh of the Sociology Department at the University of Kansas as my committee members. I am gratefully indebted to them both for their valuable questions and comments on this thesis. Finally, I want to express my profound gratitude to Eder for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my program and through the process of researching and writing this thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without you. Thank you. !v Table of Contents Chapter 1: Syrian Refugees and Turkish Minorities .......................................................................1 Chapter 2: Literature Review ..........................................................................................................9 Borders and national security ....................................................................................................15 Population movements in Turkey ..............................................................................................17 Ethnicity in political rhetoric .....................................................................................................19 Chapter 3: Content Analysis of Turkish Political Speeches ..........................................................26 Data selection ............................................................................................................................26 Data analysis ..............................................................................................................................30 Chapter 4: Political Themes on Syrians ........................................................................................32 Political parties in Turkey ..........................................................................................................35 Introduction to political themes .................................................................................................37 Syrians in Turkey .......................................................................................................................37 Turkish foreign policy ...............................................................................................................42 Democratic freedoms .................................................................................................................47 Terrorist organizations in Syria .................................................................................................51 The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) on Syrians ....................................................................53 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion ..........................................................................................55 References .....................................................................................................................................62 !vi List of Figures Figure 1 ...................................................................................................................................33 Figure 2 ...................................................................................................................................34 Figure 3 ...................................................................................................................................44 !vii List of Acronyms of Political Organizations in Turkey and Syria Acronym Turkish English AKP Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi Justice and Development Party CHP Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi Republican People’s Party HDP Halkların Demokratik Partisi Peoples’ Democratic Party MHP Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi Nationalist Movement Party PKK Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê Kurdistan Workers’ Party PYD Partiya Yekîtiya Demokrat Democratic Union Party YPG Yekîneyên Parastina Gel Peoples’ Protection Units !1 Chapter 1: Syrian Refugees and Turkish Minorities On March 15th, 2011 protests erupted in Syria across three cities in response to government arrests of a dozen minors for writing the Arab Spring slogan, “The people want to topple the regime,” on a school in Daraa (“Timeline,” n.d.). In response to the protests, the government retaliated with swift and brutal force but rather than diminish, the protests grew. As the movement developed, hundreds were killed and the death toll rose to 1100 by May 2011 (“Timeline,” n.d.). As the fighting increased and Syrians found themselves in life or death situations, with homes destroyed, or forced to fight in armies they didn’t support they began to seek refuge in neighboring states. Turkey, as a newly friendly country towards Syrians and a gateway to Europe, became the home of first a trickle and then a flood of Syrian refugees seeking escape. The thousands of refugees that entered Turkey in 2011 grew to 2.5 million by the end of 2015 and as the number of refugees grew, so did the strain on Turkish society. As concerns with the Syrian Civil War and the numbers of Syrians entering Turkey increased, particularly between 2014 and 2015 when the number of refugees went from 1.5 to 2.5 million, Turkey was also struggling with internal security concerns. On July 24th, 2015, after nearly two years, the Turkish military ended the ceasefire with Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê (PKK or Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and attacked PKK strongholds in Northern Iraq immediately setting off a chain reaction that has led to the deaths of hundreds of soldiers, PKK fighters, and citizens. While the PKK and the Turkish government have never had entirely peaceful relations, the ceasefire significantly reduced deaths between 2013 and 2015. Prior to July 2015 there was a buildup of tensions, between the government and both the PKK and the broader Turkish !2 community. Between 2013 and 2015 unrest spread across the nation as evidenced by the Gezi protests of 2013 and the May Day protests of 2013, 2014, and 2015. What is the cause of this rise in tensions? The PKK is not the sole concern given the number of protests across the country. Larger social issues may be underlying rising tensions. Possibly, in correspondence with the rise of Syrian refugees living in Turkey and the pressures they have brought to the nation, the government is responding to clashes resulting from differing understandings of the meaning of citizenship and democracy in Turkey and the rights that each bestow to Turkey’s people. One component of Turkey’s struggles with incorporating Syrian refugees has been due to economic concerns, however Syrians have also reignited a discussion of rights in Turkey based