Academic Media and Public Opinion Research Group (AKADEMEDYA) of the Communication School at Istanbul University, conducted a research on "Public View on Latest Developments."

The people who took part in the research were asked such questions: "The reason of a possible war between the United States of America (U.S.) and Iraq," "Turkey's position amid tension between the U.S. and Iraq," and "How a possible Kurdish state in northern Iraq would affect Turkey."

Research profile

The research was conducted on a total of 1,000 people from 25 districts of Istanbul, on November 4-14, 2002. The research sample was based on the population count data of the State Statistic Institute. 52.6 percent of the people included in the survey were composed of women, while 47.4 percent were composed of men.

55.3 percent of the people included in the survey were elementary and middle-school graduates, 24.6 percent were high-school graduates, and 10 percent were university graduates. Only 4.9 percent of them were illiterate. 22.9 percent of the people surveyed were students, 13.4 were housewives, 11.2 percent were workers, 3.6 percent were unemployed, and 0.7 percent were artists.

There shouldn't be a war; Turkey should not allow use of its bases

96.3 percent of the people included in the survey said they objected to a "war between the U.S. and Iraq." 3.1 percent supported the war. Only 0.6 percent had no answer for this question.

77.4 percent said Turkey should remain "impartial amid the tension between the U.S. and Iraq, and should not allow the use of its bases. 11.1 percent said, "Turkey should remain impartial but should allow the use of its bases."

"Economic interests of the U.S. is the real reason"

The research demonstrated that 77 percent believe that the real reason of a possible U.S. attack on Iraq is the "economic interests of the U.S." 11 percent believe "Iraqi support for terrorism" was the real reason of the intervention, while 5.7 percent believe the reason of a possible intervention was the fact that "Iraq does not comply with United Nations (UN) decision.

28.6 percent of the people who were included in the survey believe that a "possible Kurdish state in northern Iraq would lead to divisions within Turkey."

58.3 percent believe that "Turkey's economy would be hurt because of such a war," 9.9 percent believe "Turkey would be restless," and 8.7 percent believe there would be "political instability" in Turkey. (BB/NK/EA/NM)