"Demand the possible but the perfect one!" Meet the Young Civilians

Demanding the possible but the perfect one

The word on the street is that the Young Civilians are uncomfortable. What everyone is asking themselves is why? What makes them feel that way? The answer is not complex. They just question the official ideology to which they have been exposed and are bothered by what they see. In order to understand them we need to return to the foundation of the Republic of Turkey.

The Western and modern Republic of Turkey was born from the ashes of the Ottoman Empire thanks to a couple of “Westernized” and “enlightened” members of the military, who would later be termed the bureaucratic elite. This bureaucratic elite imagined a people similar to those in the West. They believed that the more Westernized Turkish society became, the more enlightened and modernized it would be. Therefore they did not hesitate to ban the ordinary practices of Turkish people and force them to adopt a new “Western” lifestyle. They banned the language, belief, clothing and alphabet of traditional Turkish people outright in an effort to sever their roots in the past. In their view this change should have been applied overnight, but most of the people did not agree with them. This eventually led to several disputes between the bureaucratic elite and the people.

Problems stemming from the Jacobin nature of Turkish modernization remain. And the Young Civilians are uncomfortable because of the military domination of social and political life, as well as the legitimacy of a concept of citizenship that is given only to secular “white” Turks (secular, Sunni, Turk: the Turkish WASP).

The Young Civilians as a new political actor in Turkey

With the entrance of the Young Civilians onto the political scene in the wake of the “e-coup” of 2007, Turkish democracy witnessed a new political debate, one which became a hallmark for democrats and non-democrats alike. Some writers and columnists, hitherto known as “democrat,” had difficulty opposing the most recent military intervention, which targeted the Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The best most were able to say was “Neither Shariah nor coup,” meaning that if there was the threat of Shariah, a military coup would be the lesser evil. However, the Young Civilians introduced the expression “Neither coup nor coup” to Turkish democracy. They meant that there can be no reason legitimizing military intervention in democratically elected government. In this sense, the Young Civilians claimed “the conjunction ‘but’ is the joint offender in Turkey,” giving the following examples: “It is sad that Hrant Dink was murdered, but he shouldn’t have challenged Turkey” and, “Coups are evil, but the AK Party would introduce Shariah without them.” Accordingly, the Young Civilians demand a “but-free” democracy.

Actually, the Young Civilians are indicators and instigators of change in Turkish society, something which became apparent with the attempted military intervention of 2007 – the so-called e-coup. This attempt differed from previous coups in terms of the resistance it faced. This significant resistance demonstrated that the legitimacy of coups was being challenged. There were demonstrations, manifestos and marches in protest, which contributed significantly to the uninterrupted continuity of democracy in 2007. Young Civilians was the first group to protest the intervention, even before the government voiced its own strong objection to the army’s memorandum. Besides their own protests, manifestos and petition campaigns, they also collaborated with other groups. They were one of the leading groups of approximately 20 nongovernmental organizations that cooperated under the coalition of “70 Million Steps Against Coups” (Darbeye Karşı 70 Milyon Adım), organizing a huge march on June 21, 2008, in İstanbul. Approximately 7,000 people of different ages, genders, occupations, social status and political ideology ignored all their differences and united against the coups.

A unique voice

One of the most distinguishing features of the Young Civilians is the peculiar and sarcastic language they favor, which mixes popular culture with humor. An example was their famous presidency candidate, Aliye Öztürk. In a move aimed at criticizing opposition to the presidency of Abdullah Gül in 2007, they created the imaginary presidency candidate Aliye Öztürk, “a female scholar who lost her job because she wears a headscarf. She is a little bit Turkish, a little bit Armenian and a little bit Kurdish. And she is also Alevi. Namely she is one of us.”

Turgay Oğur, the media and public relations representative for the Aliye Öztürk campaign, stated at a press conference meeting that, “rather than ‘who can be president,’ we’ve been talking about ‘who cannot be president,’ in marked contrast to other democratic societies.” He also underlined that Aliye Öztürk was totally different to the predefined “legitimate” citizen of Turkey; thus, she was exactly the sort of person who couldn’t be president. The Young Civilians made this “unacceptable” Turkish citizen incarnate. She symbolized all the groups in society who lacked access to the opportunities provided to legitimate citizens. By doing so, the Young Civilians broadened the borders of democracy from “for secular white Turks only” to “democracy for everyone.”

Awareness-based activism

Both the structure of their organization and the variety of their members demonstrates that they also apply this standard to themselves. They have members from the full spectrum of Turkey’s social, political, economic and ethnic groups, as well as believers and non-believers. What brings them together is their awareness. They remain united in spite of all their differences, due to their opposition to any kind of inequity or injustice. They give the same democratic reaction to the abuse of people’s rights, regardless of whether those people are Kurdish, Armenian, Turkish, believer, non-believer or headscarf wearing.

In addition, they do not have a hierarchical structure. The Young Civilians originated online and remains Internet-based; it has no president. It simply has members and event-based speakers. Anyone from the e-mail group can participate in their decision making meetings and contribute. In short, they not only demand some “utopian things,” but also try to realize these demands within their own organization.

1968 generation and the Young Civilians

In short, the twin pillars of the Jacobin Turkish democracy of the early 1920s – the sole legitimacy of military domination and secular white Turks – began to be challenged in the early 2000s. In other words, the so-called Turkish democracy – the “gift” of the founding elites – is transforming into a genuine democracy. And the Young Civilians are a potential instigator of this change. Gökhan Özgün, a leading columnist in Turkey, thinks that it is the achievability of the Young Civilians’ demands which so irritates the authorities. “The slogan of the movement of 1968 was ‘Demand the impossible!’” he remarked. “Although it seemed like a very aggressive and radical statement, the rulers or authorities were not uncomfortable with that slogan, since ‘the impossible’ was not something they could give. However, the Young Civilians demand ‘the possible but perfect.’ And this is challenging for the rulers and authorities.”

The Young Civilians are uncomfortable

The Young Civilians movement predates its own name: They group organized a gathering at Parliament on May 19, 2003, in protest of the style of the festivities held to mark the May 19 national holiday; Youth and Sports Day. Some time later, Cumhuriyet daily published a story claiming that the “young officers” of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) were “uncomfortable” about several things, including the aforementioned protest.

In 2006, the as-yet unnamed group titled their report on the Kurdish issue “The Young Civilians are Uncomfortable.” The title became even more famous than the report itself and gave the organization its new name: the Young Civilians.

Contacting the Young Civilians

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