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lutions to the Kurdish question are concerned: a first report was issued in1996, by the Turkish Union of Chambers of Commerce. In 1998, another"Report on the East and South-East", presented by business organizationsand foundations" called for a free public debate on the question and proposedconcrete measures, such as the teaching of Kurdish in publicschools, radio and television programmes in Kurdish, arabic and Persian.It made proposals concerning economic development, and educationaland health services in these regions. The social democratic political partieshad also made similar proposals, but they vvere timid and vvere notfollowed-up by their promoters vvith the necessary vigour.The civil society mobilization against criminalization and corruptiontakes various forms: a month-long, country-vvide citizens' protest in February1997, "a minute in the dark for transparency" against human rightsviolations, corruption, as vvell as Islamic fundamentalism, the "SaturdayMothers", manifesting once a week in İstanbul against unidentified politicalcrimes, or the "City Mothers", a campaign by Islamist vvomen againstreal estate speculation in İstanbul. There are also mobilizations aroundthe social question (education and health), gender issues and the rights ofhomosexuals. The themes of local democracy and citizenship, as the linkbetvveen the individual and his rights and freedoms, and the politicalsphere are also regularly raised. Individuals in Turkey are learning,through their associative actions, that in a democracy citizenship alsomeans the appropriation of human rights, and protestation against misconductby the political and economic povvers.Another important development is the participation of Islamistgroups in civil society mobilization, vvhich has generally been conductedby the secular, Westernized groups. This creates something unusual andpromising for the future of democracy: a dialogue and co-operation betvveenideologies and cultures vvhich have alvvays been antagonistic andhostile.Civil society introduced into the public debate concepts (and neologisms)vvhich have been ignored by the State and politics: partnership (ortaklık),caucus (koza) plurality of agency (çok aktörlük) participation(katılım), multiculturalism (Çokkültürlük). These nations enrich and modifythe citizens' behaviour, and the very definition of citizenship. Theyalso reflect the grovving autonomy of the individual, his/her gradualemancipation from primordial, communitarian bonds.What remains to be seen is vvhether the resources and initiatives ofthe civil society can be linked to representative political system. Such adevelopment vvould help the latter to become more responsive to societal11. The İstanbul chamber of Commerce (İTO), the Economic Development Foundation(IKV), Foundation for Social and Economic Studies (TÜSEV).238