WP2 Turkey: Country Report - İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi | AB Enstitüsü

Social Impact of Emigration and Rural-Urban Migration in Central and Eastern Europe
VT/2010/001
Kuban, 2009; Kaya et al., 2009). After the enactment of the Law on Compensation in 2004,
the Van Action Plan was launched in 2006 in the Van region. These initiatives attempted to
address the internal displacement situation in line with international standards, and the Van
Action Plan was intended to be replicated in the 13 other provinces experienced internal
displacement in Southeast Anatolia.
The Report of the IDMC (2009a) as well as the previous works on the issue (Ayata and
Yükseker, 2005; HÜNEE, 2006; and Kaya et al., 2009) all clearly refer to the outstanding
obstacles to sustainable return, including the upsurge in violence between the Turkish army
and Kurdish militants since 2004 in south-eastern provinces, the continuing presence of
around 60 thousand village guards 36 and close to a million landmines in provinces bordering
Syria and Iraq, and the under-development of the region. Despite the enactment of the
policies of RVRP and Compensation, the state authorities never formally acknowledged their
responsibility for forcibly evicting the citizens from their homes and for the human rights
violations committed by the security forces during the displacement. Walter Kälin, who
succeeded Francis Deng as the new Representative of the Secretary General of the United
Nations on Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons, welcomed these policies and
initiatives but pointed out that Turkey needs to do more. In a 2006 letter addressed to the
government, Kälin recommended that “the Ministry of the Interior, in conjunction with other
pertinent parts of Government and in consultation with civil society and internally displaced
persons themselves, (…) develop a specific Plan of Action in order to turn the framework of
the Integrated Strategy Document into concrete, practical measures of implementation.” 37
Despite the ongoing urban violence in the metropolitan cities in Turkey, the number of the
IDPs returning to their villages after almost 20 to 30 years remains very limited. According to
the official figures announced in July 2009, there are around 150.000 IDPs who returned to
their villages and towns (IDMC, 2010a). Others have commuted between cities and their
villages of origin. The intermittent insecurity has discouraged returns and even threatened
new displacement, and people have been discouraged by the continuing presence of village
guard militias and of close to a million landmines in the provinces bordering Syria and Iraq.
IDPs areas of origin also have fewer economic opportunities, social services and basic
infrastructure.
Integration of the IDPs in the big cities poses a great challenge for the local authorities.
However, there are various attempts held by universities, local governments and nongovernmental
organizations to incorporate the IDPs into urban life. Istanbul Bilgi University
launched the Tarlabası Community Centre in Beygolu, Istanbul, in 2006 with a fund coming
from the European Commission. The Centre is still running with the support of different
international funds and the University. The rationale of the Centre is to resolve conflicts
between the kurdish origin IDPs and the Roma residing in the neighbourhood. The Centre is
providing the inhabitants of the neighbourhood with language courses, training, kindergarden
facilities, legal advice, and social and psychological assistance
(http://goc.bilgi.edu.tr/index.asp?t=0&lid=en).
6.4. Development of Net Migration Loss/Gain Regions
Turkey has become very much engaged in the Civil Society Dialogue Projects under the
umbrella of the European Union. While the universities and research centres intend to use
the Civil Society Dialogue to identify more effective policies on migration, there are
organisations working with local communities focusing their dialogue on the ways to improve
service provision to migrants. There are a few projects funded by the European Commission
to provide some support to the solution of economic and social integration problems in cities
being major internal migrant destinations. One of them was held by an international
36 The state started to arm civilians after 1985 in order to use them in its fight against the PKK; see
Abdülkadir Aksu, the minister of interior, T.B.M.M. Tutanak Dergisi 97 (Dönem 22/1), June 24, 2003) -
available from http://www2.tbmm.gov.tr/d22/7/7-0630c.pdf (accessed on 22 April 2011).
37 Walter Kälin, Letter sent to the Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations, 31 March 2006.
Final Country Report Turkey 30