…which is good news for the EU. “Turkey: Support for EU Membership Falls, Poll Shows,” from AKI, with thanks to Fjordman:
Istanbul, 14 June (AKI) – Only 57 percent of Turks support their country’s bid for European Union membership compared to the 70 percent who six months ago said they favoured entry into the bloc, according to the results of a new survey. Carried out by two university researchers, the survey, titled ‘Social Choices In Turkey’ interviewed 1,846 people living in 18 of the country’s provinces during the period March-April 2006.
The results also suggested that the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP) Party would win the next elections scheduled for 2007. Respondents placed the AKP on the extreme right of the political spectrum while the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) was placed on the extreme left.
While the majority of those interviewed said they were in favour of democracy, some 40 percent think that “in some instances” military rule is better than an elected government.
Similarly, 51 percent said that they believe that human rights may be violated if to do so is in the interests of the nation.
Some 25 percent of respondents also said they thought that undue pressure was being placed on religious Muslims in Turkey and cited a ban on women wearing headscarfs in public offices and at universities as proof of this. Sixty-five percent said they thought civil servants should be allowed to wear the headscarf, while 68 percent said students should also be permitted to do so.
The majority – 65 percent – also favoured the introduction of curbs on the activities of Christian missionaries in Turkey, with 42 percent saying they believed that foreigners settling in Turkey pose a threat to Turkish culture.
While the results suggested that the majority of respondents want Islam to have a privileged position in Turkish society, around half of them said they wanted religious classes at schools to become optional. These have been mandatory for the last three decades.