10.06.2013
4-5 trees, one park. Everything started because of them. Actually not, the issue transcends the environment. It was not only for one person, one party; it was for freedom of speech, living independently and against the despotism, dictatorship and restrictions to the people's life. Let me explain.
The Justice and Development Party (in Turkish AKP) has been in power since 2002 and have won 3 nation-wide general elections. In every election thereafter, the government party has taken first place with increasing percentage of the vote. Moreover, the last elections in 2011, AKP gained half of the votes, which was certainly impressive to many people. During these years in power, there have been several significant positive contributions that have made Turkey more powerful such as huge infrastructure improvements (railways, airports, etc.), massive investments into the healthcare system, etc. In the first years of power, their foreign affairs were also appreciated and referred to as "zero-problem foreign policy", in an attempt to play an increasingly centralized role in promoting international security and prosperity in the region(1)(2). Gross Domestic Product per person has tripled in the same period, which is one of the most significant indicators of developing economies(3).
Over this time, the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (in Turkish CHP) could not form an alternative or visionary policy to impress voters, meanwhile, Erdogan made his stand more powerful in the country as well as in the political stage. Even for the party in power, members rarely had any opposition for the party policies due to Erdogan's style of strong autocratic leadership. Due to these factors, Erdogan began to ignore his critics and the principle facets of the democracy slowly eroded into an authoritarian regime. There were also several dynamics which were suppressed during the years under the administration of AKP and prime-minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan without seeking public opinion. For instance, several journalists have been jailed and many judicial authorities were under investigation, moreover, the threat to freedom of expression was clearly visible from the regulations set for television series and nation-wide internet censorship. Furthermore, the instability on foreign affairs after 2010 has led to concern over the direction that has been adopted, which doesn’t reflect popular public opinion.
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has a project for a complex with a shopping mall, Ottoman Barracks and residences however the location was near the Taksim square on the Gezi Park, which has raised several concerns of environmentalist association and many people who are opposed to a shopping mall project in the center city’s main square. On the 27th of May, inhabitants of this neighborhood and some environmentalists have started to protest the current project and in the following days, the police response was uncontrolled and violent actions against the protestors have triggered a massive movement of people to this area and finally, a small protest for a park has led to a series of demonstrations by the public. Police violence and usage of tear gasses and water cannons have fueled the people’s resistance which has also engaged the attention of several international organisations such as European Students’ Union(4). However, what makes these protests unique is the people’s backgrounds and styles of the protests. 10.06.2013 These modern world protests are carried out by people who have similar political views, economic and social backgrounds. However for what is happening in Taksim the formula does not work which makes this case unique. The diversity of the people seen on the ground includes wealthier and lower income people such as professors, actors, students, etc. Even the strong rival clubs' fans Fenerbahce, Galatasaray and Besiktas, were united for these protests. In several publications it is reflected as a direct opposition to Erdogan and AKP, and for many of the protestors it is. However, if we look and analyze it deeply, the main source of this opposition was against every kind of authoritarianism and restrictions to liberty. The prime minister is only seen as the reason and source of these undesired limitations. Interestingly, one of the causes of these protests was unsuccessful opposition parties in the last decade that could be clearly seen in a variety of social media that explained no opposition party was desired in Taksim. Unfortunately in the second week of the protests, the actions took a more violent form due to interference of some political fractions on protests.
On the whole, these protests are a significant chance for Turkey’s democracy to leap forward if all politicians, especially those with old-fashioned ideologies, learn the lessons provided by this unrest. In the future, as a young citizen of Turkey, I would like to see more open minded, visionary, indulgent and YOUNG politicians in the parliament (the average age is over 50)(5) and with our generation, Turkey's transformation into a developed state could be ensured. Primarily, the message of the young protestors was: "We are not an apolitical, reckless generation and we do not want to be restricted by ideological rigidity".
1-http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/05/20/turkeys_zero_problems_foreign_policy
2-http://sam.gov.tr/turkic-republics-since-independence-towards-a-common-future/
3-http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD
4-http://esu-online.org/news/article/6001/Human-Rights-in-Turkey-must-be-respected/
2-http://sam.gov.tr/turkic-republics-since-independence-towards-a-common-future/
3-http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD
4-http://esu-online.org/news/article/6001/Human-Rights-in-Turkey-must-be-respected/
5-http://www.turkstat.gov.tr
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