Turkish spring?



I have luckily been witness to civil unrest in a foreign city.  I say 'luckily' because it didn't really affect me but brought to light other layers of current political and social life in the country that I otehrwise would probably never know about.

When I am at home, I read or hear about actions taken far afield and can form an opinion only from the source from whence the information came.  It is far better to be on the ground as it were, and to gather information from multiple sources and actually see with my own eyes what is taking place and why.

It is ironic that at a time in history when it is possible to gather information about any subject literally from millions of sources that we spout forth our opinion gathered from maybe only one, and that source might be a colleague or neighbour, or a TV show devoted to entertainment, or a website that is unreliable.  My own opinion is that too much information makes it overwhelming, and so it's far easier to shut out all but the easiest or most enjoyable or convenient source, regardless of how informed or acurate it may be. 

So I am thrilled to be in a city, in a country that is going through a change that provokes action. 

The protest itself seems a ridiculous affair - local youths protesting about the potential loss of a park.  Big deal.

But the park issue itself was not the point.  The point being made is that the current government, which was democratically elected in 2011 for the third term, although with a minority.

A small sit-in became a big protest movement when police over-reacted with water canons.  This was universally decried and the governement backed off.  This brought the issue to global attention and became known as a sort of "Turkish Spring" to follow what other protests became in other countries in 2012 and so-called the "Arab Spring".  This was in part because the park was to be turned into a shopping mall a mosque (of which there is no shortage) and the government had only the previous week created and passed a law banning alcohol sales and public drinking (i.e., cafes and restaurants and  bars, etc.) between 10pm and 6am, ban all alcohol advertising and promotion, and stop new shops and bars from opening within 100m of schools and mosques.

This is not so draconian.  One could argue that there are similar laws in the USA. But Turkey has the lowest per capita alcohol consumption rate in Europe (according to The Guardian newspaper), "and 83% of the population does not touch alcohol at all." The law half the population (primarily in rural Turkey) supports because it protects citizens' health and wellbeing is feared by the other half (primarily in urban centres) as yet another step towards an Islamisation of the country.  After all, Republic hero Ataturk famousluy loved to draink. A lot.

As news source Al Jazeera asks, "Who are the protesters and what is this protest all about?" and "Should these protests be treated as a single incident or situated within a historical-political context?", and then answers with "First, throughout the events, the government has failed to adopt appropriate and coherent language. The lack of clear information sharing with the public on the redesigning of the park culminated in confusion and an information void, which was eagerly filled by social media speculations and uninformed third parties. "

"Citizens have now become the principal actor on major issues, and Turkey's democracy has become noisy - a development that needs to be cherished by anyone who cares about democracy and citizen empowermennt.

CNBC reports "(current Prime Minister) Erdogan has made little secret of his ambition to run for the presidency after his third term as prime minister comes to an end, although the AK Party could also change internal rules to allow him to stand for a fourth term". The next Presidential election is due in 2014, although Erdogan tried to force an earlier one in exchange for dropping any and all protests. Howls of protests and this attempt to constrain the public were met with afirmation that the election date would not be changed after all.

The fancy hotels ringing Taksom square are uncharacteristacally empty, at the busiest time of the year.  turkey was one of the rare countries that did not experience the economic downturn felt by most of the rest of the world, is now suffering one that could hve easily been avoided.

It doesn't help that "Turkey's parliament has amended the code governing the armed forces, curtailing their political influence. The original rules gave the military responsibility of preserving the Republic of Turkey..... It now says the army's main duty is to protect the nation from foreign threat. The military has long regarded itself as the protector of Turkey's secular tradition and has staged three coups between 1960 and 1980." (BBC World News)

 

This of course only makes the citizenry even more anxious about the government's intentions.

 

optimistic opportunism by local sellers

merchants are always ready for new markets

For me, I want to keep an open mind and monitor events now that I know more about the issues..  Gezi park is a rare green space in a part of the city that has none, and I would hatte to see it turned into anything else, no matter how nice (and I agree that Istanbul has dozens of shopping centres and dozens of mosques, but very little green space in this modern part of the city). 



a pretty park used only by police now who loll about all day





Peace and love, baby!



 I believe in democracy and the voice of the people  - a minority government must work with the other parties to form laws and not act unilaterally.  I don't like to see either police or army displaying undue force against anyone, and never when a protest is a peaceful one.  It was kind of cool to be on a ferry jammed with protestors headed for the park on the other side, and to even experience the smell of tear gas for the first time, although tenuously as it drifted down the hill to where I passed by.

in a crush of protestors on the ferry



a cheerful and resourceful protestor with a mask
made out of a 2 litre bottle, foam bands
and a plastic bag



a part of the area already demolished

 

Turkey is a wonderful country and a model for others that must answer to diverse populations: linguistically, religiously, economically, culturally, etc. It is also extremely strategically located geographically, at the juncture of Asia and Europe, and represents ideological variety it would be hard to imagine any other country has.