Study: Youth believe in peace process but do not feel included

A new report titled "The Negotiation Process through the Eyes of Youth: Emotions, Experiences, and Expectations" reveals the hopes, anxieties, and demands for participation regarding the Kurdish peace process in Turkey. The report was published by the Youth Organizations Forum (GoFor) and the Truth Justice Memory Center (Hafıza Merkezi).

The report is based on field data from the Center for Social Impact Research and was prepared through telephone interviews conducted between Dec 4 and Dec 12. Researchers interviewed 1,741 young people aged 18 to 35 across 47 provinces and 255 districts.

Olcay Özer, co-director of Hafıza Merkezi, evaluated the practical implications of the report data for bianet.

Lack of participation

According to the report, 70.7% of young people believe social peace is possible. However, only 35.8% think youth are included in the negotiation process. While 52.2% of young people feel anxious or skeptical about the process, 50.7% state that they support it.

According to Özer, this picture shows that young people maintain their hope for peace, but they have serious question marks about how the process will be established and where they stand in it. Özer emphasized that the prominent emotion among youth is anxiety rather than anger.

"Some 52.2% of young people are anxious, while 42% are angry. This is a significant difference," Özer said.

A generation raised amidst conflict

According to Özer, the generational experience of young people must be considered when evaluating the report. A significant portion of the youth aged 18 to 35 did not directly experience the conflict period of the 1990s. They witnessed the 2013-2015 resolution process during their childhood, adolescence, or early youth. In the following years, they grew up in an environment of conflict and polarization.

The report states that 83.9% of young people feel a sense of belonging to Turkey and society. Conversely, 70.1% view the course of the country negatively. According to the youth, the most important problems of the country are the economy and unemployment, followed by law and justice. The category of "national security/terrorism" ranks near the bottom at 1.9%.

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A matter of justice, not security

Özer said this data demonstrates that young people do not interpret the negotiation process through a security-centered lens, but rather through the axis of daily life, justice, and equality.

"Young people do not read the Kurdish issue and the negotiation process through security. Only 1.9% of young people view this issue as a security matter," Özer said.

According to the report, the demands of young people regarding peace concentrate on the topics of equal citizenship, law and justice, and gender equality. Strengthening the rule of law, individual freedoms, facing the past, eliminating socioeconomic inequalities, and gender equality also stand out among the conditions for peace.

Confronting the past

One of the most striking findings for Hafıza Merkezi is the demand to face the past. Some 88.8% of young people view facing the past as one of the conditions for social peace. According to Özer, this demand is linked to the desire of young people to "learn the truth" about periods they did not personally experience.

The report also highlights the limited spaces for political discussion. Some 49% of young people stated that members of their childhood homes were cautious or silent when politics was discussed. Furthermore, seven out of 10 young people feel uneasy when sharing political views on social media. Özer stated that politics being unspeakable within the family and the public sphere increases the need for young people to know and discuss the past.

Mother tongue and equal citizenship

Özer does not agree with the view that young people are indifferent to the negotiation process. According to the report, the agenda of the youth is not "completely different," but confusion exists on topics such as equal citizenship, the mother tongue, and facing the past. Therefore, he stated that discussion spaces need to be established simply, safely, and topic by topic.

In the report, 48.4% of young people stated they witnessed negative reactions when Kurdish was spoken in public spaces. While support for the official recognition of Kurdish is 36% in the general sample, this rate rises to 76% among youth whose mother tongue is Kurdish.

The proportion of young people who state they are open to forming close friendships with people from different political views, religious beliefs, and ethnic identities is high. However, the rate of those who say they could be close friends with someone of a different sexual orientation remains at 41%. Özer stated that the demand for equal citizenship is strong, but the limits of this demand must be discussed.

Safe dialogue spaces for youth

Hafıza Merkezi and GoFor plan to share the report findings with political parties, policymakers, journalists, and academics. According to Özer, the fundamental conclusion to be drawn from the report is that young people should be approached as subjects of the process, rather than just "potential voters" during election periods.

"It is necessary to create safe discussion spaces and grounds for dialogue. We need to listen to this call for dialogue from the youth," Özer said. (NÖ/VK)