A brief explanation of how and why it started.
The planned (and launched) destruction of the last green patch (Gezi Park) in Istanbul's busy centre induced the first protests. However the lately accepted law about alcohol consumption had also been named as one of the main causes. The rest is more or less known: hundreds of thousands of anti and pro-government civilians and policemen are continuously fighting on Turkish streets, leaving hundreds of injured and already 3 dead.
As every major protest, the casus seems minor but after ten months spent in Turkey it's nothing surprising. The governing party (AKP) which appeared as a rather democratic organization back in 2003 when Erdogan was first entered his office as PM of the country. Lot of things had changed ever since and many voices show concern about Erdogan leading Turkey towards an Islamic state rather than continuing on the path of secularism.
People of my age had been constantly concerned about the road Erdogan is steering towards, however Trabzon had always been conservative enough to prevent any serious anti-government move. Until now. A dear friend of mine, Eren had written a rather desperate email with their situation. And as we have witnessed it during the events of the Arab Spring, the power of social media seems to be the heart-and-soul of the protests across the country. While the local media keeps silent and the international broadcasters fend off the touchy topic the online media has once again showed its importance. Without further ado, the pictures of the demonstration in Trabzon:
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| Banner on the main street, demanding the government to resign. The words had become the slogan of the protests. |
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| Main street again. The promenade "Uzun sokak" fades in the background so as the crowd with it. |
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| Protesters in Meydan park around the statue of Atatürk. Many believe the government had long left the values of the founder of the republic. |
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| Some signs don't need translation. The sharp turn Erdogan had taken since his re-election in 2011 resulted masses calling him as dictator. |
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| "Is war that you want Tayyip?" threatens the sign. Hundreds and thousands have been out from the first day across Turkey, 20.000 in Trabzon. |
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| "You can't be nice with gas" derived from a known Turkish saying. Police brutality had been particularly high and unreported, especially on the usage of tear gas. |
Ilker who is also a Trabzon resident speaks of a peaceful demonstration which was interrupted with smaller fights. According to him police violence isn't significant while pro-government activists are the real troublemakers. This was confirmed by an ex-student of mine who was peacefully protesting with her friends when a group of pro-governists attacked them.
Today the streets are quiet and only small groups protest in Trabzon, says Ilker again. People are afraid to go out as provocateurs and police dressed as civilians throw stones and molotov coctails into the police ranks, depicting the peaceful protests as a herd of savages. And even the smaller cities seem calm now, Turkey itself won't stop anymore: the government and Istanbul's mayor predicts a fast end of the events but the masses seem to deny them each day.
Turkey's Spring has just started, and once it's loose the anti-democratic acts of government won't go unpunished.
