Most recent article, courtesy of the BBC For those who have been unaware of the background, there were a series of protests when a park in Istanbul's Taksim Square was to be demolished to make way for a shopping mall. The protests turned violence as police clashed with the rioters, and now it's a national thing in an incredibly short time.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22740038 Here is a link to pictures taken of protests http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/w...otesters-in-istanbuls-taksim-square.html?_r=0 Here is the link to the NY Times article So the whole thing started because young people were occupying one of the last green spaces in Instanbul that the govt wants to get rid of but that sparked unrest with the Turkish govt as many young people feel that Islamism is taking over in the govt.
Straw that broke the camel's back, it seems. That said, my Dad is vacationing in Turkey right now, so I'm a bit concerned that it'll escalate more.
The Turkish government is acting in an incredibly stupid way right now. Their handling of the non-violent protests, something that reminded me of the protests I used to paricipate in back in the 1960's, some of which were in an attempt to save huge mature oaks at a major Houston university (most being about the Vietnam War, the draft, and civil rights), are sure to have one outcome. Hatred for the heavy handed brutality of government, and a huge increase in the numbers of protesters, with the odds for violence in response to government sponsored violence against its citizens growing immensely. It never ceases to amaze me how a national government can so completely ignore the lessons of history. Great post, basso. I actually read it and found it worthwhile. Kudos!
Yeah it started out as a tiny tiny peaceful protest about the park. Obviously, it has nothing to do with the park anymore. It's moreso about police brutality now, which is further being linked to Erdogan's attempts to grab as much power as possible. Basically they are demanding the protections which typically come with a Bill of Rights. Another thing I've heard - which is just speculation - is that part of the reason the park is being replaced by mall is precisely to take away a space which attracts protests. Since the Arab Spring began, many governments in the greater region have become nervous about public spaces which are magnets for protests - and generally any space which has the word "Square" in it apparently. A proud and informative few days for Turkish people. The mayor of Ankara essentially threatened everyone by saying, almost word for word, "we could crush you in an instant, you should feel lucky that we believe in democracy" >> which is an absolutely idiotic thing to say, especially given the current sensitivities. In response, Turkish people have basically drawn the line and various secularist/religious/political parties/people have united in their statement of opposition to Erdogan and the obscenely powerful military. Highly doubt this explodes any more, but you never know I guess. At the moment police have withdrawn from the square, so let's see what happens. If next Friday passes without consequence then I think the whole thing will die down. Still, it's good for people to send a reminder to their government once in a while, and also test the government's taste for violently attacking its own citizens.
Ugh. This is escalating and I grow ever more concerned about my Dad who's over in Turkey until next Thursday (flies out of Istanbul). He said there was a protest in the town he was staying, but it was more like a party with dancing and music. I hope it stays that way, but some of the police brutality will lead to escalation... people will only be able to take so much until they fight back. Fortunately it's a largely secular movement, not a religious one. In fact, they're sick of how the government is becoming more and more Islamist. The Turkish people want to stay in a Western society while the government tries to pull them back. I would, however, take the reports of some of those people being dead with a grain of salt. Protesters tend to sensationalize things for their own cause sometimes, and I feel it does them a disservice.
If he hasn't already, make sure he checks in with his embassy. Always good to be cautious when travelling.
If by "seizing" you mean "Won a majority in two presidential elections," you're right. Only you wing nuts would take a thread about Turkey, the recent protets and the intersection of Europe and the Middle East as a chance to bring Barack Obama into it.
I have no problem with his winning an election, it's the political environment his administration has created where anyone who speaks out against his ideas or ideology is a wing nut/idiot/enemy who needs to be taken out. That is exactly the kind of problem that has lead to what is happening in Turkey. If we didn't have a strong opposition party in America and detailed separation of powers I could see something like this happening here in America. That's part of why the occupy movement here fizzled out because we didn't attack them we just ignored them after a while.
You mean like when Cheney accused people of giving aid and comfort to the enemy when they publicly disagreed with the Bush administration. Scary, huh?
Yeah. I ended up not liking a lot about that administration also. It's part of the reason I voted for Obama in 08. I thought he might actually be transparent like he promised. But unfortunately I was sadly mistaken.
Obama was the first Dem presidential candidate I ever voted for. The only reason he got the nomination was because W. was such a flaming disaster and he was the anti-Bush. Would have gone for McCain if he hadn't been stupid enough to choose the Dingbat as veep. Cost him the election IMO. Couldn't vote for either side in '12 but I confess to probably being the most anti-Romney person ever (felt the same in '08).
Erdogan yesterday: "Social media is the worst menace to society." Had to post that. Incredibly disgusting on so many levels. He's (stupidly) saying that rapidly improving forms of communication (media) between individual members of society is a problem for SOCIETY. Protests seem to have subsided though.
