Summary/Fieldwork
Thursday 14 May Ankara
This routine is certainly worn thin.
This time - only a check, plus one very important discovery. But
(i) enjoyable and affectionate
These relationships are important.
(ii) To extend this to other kinds of problems and experience would take a lot of work and thought.
2 points
1. Abandoning fields and falling populations.
2. Terrorism. Very clear that the extent of terror was something far beyond normal European experience.
The level of relief is genuine and enormous.
Clearly the return to military rule has consequences.
1. Minorities protected but no liberalisation.
2. Return to non-criticism. E.g. resentment of left wing external criticisim abroad. I.e. the story is not over.
3. Quite extraordinary how the whole climate has changed. No political discussion at all, no sol sag at all.
Puzzling. The violence of the conflict, and the way it grew is surprising.
(i) No doubt outsiders saw their purposes served.
(ii) Fear in Turkey. Left frightened of Fascism, and fed up with raw capitalism plus bureaucratic idiocy
Right frightened of "communism"
Religious and nationalistic "fanaticism"
So - money available
(iii) Self-generation of escalating ....{?}
(iv) Criminal exploitation of the benefits - opportunism.
NA
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