The research was undertaken to reveal the content and the grounds of the social relations between the two communities, the current phase of social integration and whether terror and violence have caused lack of trust and confidence between these social groups. The survey shows that the will and desire for coexistence transcends ideological, ethnic and political identities. The research points out that despite the lengthy period of violence and terror, political polemics and crises, there is still no environment of distrust or enmity between Turks and Kurds and that the country is not threatened by the danger of ethnic violence over Turkishness or Kurdishness.
The period of violence, terror and instigation that has lasted for more than 25 years, as well as efforts to create enmity between the two communities, have not caused alienation between Kurds and Turks. To what does Turkey owe this? The answer to this question could be found by the response to the question of what constitutes the most basic denominators between different ethnic groups in this country. The research shows that 86.2 percent of the respondents attribute the greatest importance to citizenship and 84.1 percent to common faith, history, land and brotherhood, as well as common cultural values. These findings imply that the ideal for a common future is shared by all segments in the country.
The SETA-PollMark research shows that despite all the suffering and tension in the past, no perception of enmity has emerged among the people and Turks and Kurds have not developed disruptive sentiments towards each other. Of the Turkish participants surveyed, 57.1 percent have positive sentiments about Kurds, whereas only 24.6 percent think negatively and 18.3 percent refrain from stating any opinion on the matter. These findings point to an optimistic picture considering the trauma which has occurred over the past 25 years and the losses the people have had to deal with. The large number of positive responses by the participants in the survey to the questions on the eagerness to establish bonds of marriage, friendship, community and business partnerships with Kurds should be noted in this respect. This confirms that there are strong bonds and ties between the two communities which will help them deal with problems effectively. The relatively low percentage of positive responses regarding Kurds among Turks should be attributed to the social and psychological impacts of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and terrorist incidents and to the emotional reaction caused by these. Of the Kurds who took part in the survey, 86.4 percent held positive views about Turks. Like Turks, Kurds do not have negative feelings vis-à-vis the people they have been living with despite the tragic incidents in the past.
It is a widely known fact that there are strong familial and blood ties between Turks and Kurds. The history of marriages between the two communities goes back centuries. Demographic mobility and heterogeneity caused by migration and urbanization contributed to the establishment of marriage and familial ties between Turks and Kurds. The demographic breakdown of Turks and Kurds show that members of these two groups live together in urban cities. Considering that İstanbul hosts 1.5 million Kurdish people and is the Turkish city with the largest Kurdish population, it becomes evident that the social and familial ties between the two communities are fairly comprehensive. The research findings confirm these observations. Of the Turks participating in the survey, 33.8 percent stated that they have at least close relative who is Kurdish. This shows that one third of Turks have at least one Kurdish relative.
Likewise, two-thirds of Kurds have at least one Turkish relative; the research findings also show that there is no significant social distance between Turks and Kurds, even in the aftermath of problems caused by migration and rapid urbanization. Of the Kurdish respondents, 67 percent stated that they have at least one Turkish relative. This implies that both communities have attained high level of sociological integration. It is evident that despite efforts to incite hatred, the two communities remain calm and responsible because of the familial ties. For both Kurds and Turks, familial ties come first before the political and ideological preferences. Therefore, there are no visible grounds for fears and concerns over division, dissociation and alienation between Kurds and Turks, despite some circles raising objections against the recent Kurdish initiative by citing such concerns.
In terms of voting preferences, there is no significant difference between the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) supporters (35.8 percent), the Republican People's Party (CHP) voters (33.8 percent) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) backers (31 percent). In other words, regardless of whether they are conservative, liberal, democrat, leftist or nationalist, the familial ties of Turks and Kurds bear greater importance than their political and ideological preferences. While there is no significant difference between the AK Party, the CHP and the MHP voters, it is observed that the level of integration with the Turks via familial ties among the Democratic Society Party (DTP) voters is quite high. This finding is interesting in that it leads us to question as to whether the DTP, which adopts a fairly radical position with respect to the Kurdish issue, is sufficiently aware of the composition of its support base.
Turkey's demographic structure and social makeup is not homogenous. The statement suggesting that Turks and Kurds have coexisted for centuries is a cliché; but it also refers to a sociological reality; in other words, it explains in simple language that similar to other groups in the country, Kurds and Turks share common living spaces. When the mobility of modern times, encounters in education and contact in business life are added to the experience of coexistence, it is possible to argue that the level of integration between the two communities via familial and friendship ties becomes even more visible. The establishment of relations between individuals from different groups sharing a number of common values is only to be expected anyway.
Of the Turkish participants, 59.8 percent state that they have Kurdish friends, whereas 40.6 percent note that they do not have close Kurdish friends. On the other hand, 83.6 percent of the Kurdish participants state that they have close Turkish friends whereas only 16.4 percent say they do not. These figures show that there are no sociological or psychological barriers between the two communities. Not only the traditional rural life, but also the business connections and education experiences, as well as urban life, require the construction of new alliances and communication with different individuals and different social circles.
It is also evident that as far as friendship between Turks and Kurds is concerned, it does not suffer from a lack of trust or confidence and people are able to develop relationships independently of political and ideological discourses.
It is also apparent from the survey that the party attachments of Turkish voters do not have any significant impact on their ability to develop friendships with Kurds; of the Turkish survey participants, 56.8 percent of AK Party voters, 64.9 percent of CHP supporters and 58.9 percent of MHP followers have close friends who are Kurdish; this confirms that individual relations transcend ethnic identity and ideological attachments. This further demonstrates that among Turks, ethnicity and political party preferences do not have determinative impacts on their selection of friends.
The research findings also provide concrete data on the demographic and social structure of Turkey. As noted before, the population mobility caused by longstanding coexistence and migration and urbanization in modern times has led to the consolidation of friendships and familial relations between the two communities. The responses to the questions on their neighborhoods constitute a major indicator regarding their relations, suggesting that Kurds and Turks have developed complex and strong relationships and bonds over time. It is possible to note from these same responses that Kurds have frequent and strong neighborly relations with Turks in all parts of Turkey. Currently, one out of two Turks has a Kurdish neighbor, meaning that they share the same social and public facilities. Among the Turkish respondents, 54.4 percent note that they have a Kurdish neighbor; this is a significant statistic, showing the level of integration between the two groups. In addition, 70 percent of the Kurdish participants note that they have a Turkish neighbor. In conclusion, the research shows that despite the lengthy period of political polemics and crises, as well as the terror and violence over the years, no state of enmity or distrust has emerged between Turks and Kurds.
