CNN iReport: The Turkish Protests: Views from the Youth – Raluca Besliu

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Two weeks have passed since the anti-governmental protests started in Istanbul on the 31st of May 2013. While the protests were initially non-violent, in an attempt to end the demonstrations, the police started using water cannons and tear gas to break the demonstration. Thus far, four people have been killed, over 5,000 protesters have been received treatment for injuries and the effects of tear gas, while 600 policemen have reportedly also been injured.

While the international media has kept spreading information on the protests, there has been a lack of emphasis on young Turkish people’s involvement in the protests, their reasons for participating or supporting the demonstrations and their expectations. In order to get a better grasp of young people’s perceptions, I interviewed two 23-year-old Turkish women studying International Relations at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, M. and S., one who had been directly involved in the protests and one that has been supporting them, but not actively participating.

The protests started as an environmental demonstration in Gezi Park in Istanbul, one of the only green spaces left in the middle of the city. The demonstrators were opposing the construction of a mall over the park. However, as M. pointed out, “day by day it turned out to be an anti-governmental movement, as the society is fed up with the restriction Erdogan imposed up to present.” While Erdogan started off with moderate views and policies when he became Prime Minister in 2003, he gradually started introducing increasingly Islamic conservative policies in Turkey. S. added that the Erdogan regime now marginalizes the secular Turks and all those leading a lifestyle not in accordance with the government’s values. One of the most recent decisions that people were discontent with was Erdogan’s proposal to enact tight restrictions on the sale of alcohol, aiming to prohibit its commercialization between 10pm and 6am. Despite the on-going anti-governmental protests, the restrictions were passed on June 11, 2013, implying Erdogan’s defiance of the protesters.

M. emphasized that the public “reached the boiling point with the intervention of the police to the protesters who just slept in the park and tried to protect the trees. Out of nowhere, police came out and used tear gases towards those people. There were asthma patients among them and the police used the gases directly to the people which is prohibited.” For her, the protest is just a way of saying “enough” to the government.

So, she decided to participate in it herself. She explains: “Normally, I have not took part any of the protest before. There were hundreds of protests before. However, this one is different. First of all, this one does not belong to any political or religious ideology. This is the protest of the society. Every different group in the society came together and moved together. This is a kind of civil intervention. That’s why I wanted to take part in.”
Like many of the other demonstrators, M. was exposed to tear and pepper gas, while some of her friends were arrested and taken to the police station, while demonstrating in Ankara. In turn, S. did not participate in the protests. But, she supports them as a civil intervention, as a revival for the Turkish youth and for a brighter Turkish future.

Through her last point, S. raises a key question. Can the current protests really secure a brighter future for Turkey? What can be the outcome of this ardent popular struggle? It is unlikely that Erdogan and his party will give up power any time soon. The Prime Minister certainly shows no intention to resign. He has defended himself against the protesters accusations by saying: “They say the prime minister is harsh. The prime minister is firm. I’m sorry. The prime minister is not going to change” and by stressing that he is not a dictator.

Moreover, he has claimed to have more supporters than opponents. Surely, Erdogan remains the most popular Turkish politician. On the one hand, part of his popularity is justified by the significant economic and political reforms that he has spearheaded during his time in power. During his rule, Turkey experienced an explosive economic growth, with both the per capita gross national income and the gross domestic product tripling in the past 10 years. He has also ensured that Turkey becomes an attractive foreign investment place, with the number of foreign companies with international capital expanding from 6,700 in 2003 to nearly 30,000 in 2011. In terms of his political reforms, the Prime Minister has managed to bring his country’s policies closer to those of the European Union, which Turkey has been trying to enter since 1987. He has also managed to become a close ally of the U.S. and President Obama and an engaged player in striving to end the Syrian conflict.

On the other hand, part of Erdogan’s success is based on the fact that he has managed to weaken the political and media opposition, rendering it ineffective and unable to challenge him and his party. He has amply contributed to stifling the opposition, by imprisoning or trialing hundreds of politicians, academics and journalists under accusations of plotting against the government. In October 2012, the Committee to Protect Journalists published a report accusing Turkey of being the country with the largest number of imprisoned journalists, surpassing countries such as Iran and China. So, even if it gained power, it would be hard for the opposition to live up to the protesters’ expectations and to Erdogan’s economic legacy.

The Turkish Prime Minister has strategically dismissed the protests as illegal and has claimed that the protesters only destroy the public space, as they “attacked public buildings; they burned public buildings.” He has also added that there would be no tolerance for people intending to harm Turkey. Both of the interviewees, however, refuted Erdogan’s claim, by emphasizing that, while there are some vandals in the protests, causing damage to public property, they lack the support of the wide majority of the protesters, who act without violence and with the desire to bring positive change in Turkey. S. expressed the hope that the international community would not misinterpret the protests based on the attitude of a few vandals, but would instead observe and support the greater struggle that is determining many Turks to take to the streets and demand their rights.

M. and S. held divided positions in regards to the protests’ outcomes. M. stressed: “I don’t expect any resignation or something. He keeps saying that I am the servant of the society but he is not. I think nothing will happen and these protests will be forgotten, though I hope I am wrong.” M. brought up the 2007 Republic Protests, a series of peaceful mass rallies bringing together hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens in multiple cities. The protests, which drew significant international media attention, demanded a strict adherence to state secularism. Clearly, this has not been fulfilled. Several smaller protests have taken place in Turkey, particularly in larger cities, like Ankara and Istanbul, since 2007, with few consequences.

In turn, S. was more optimistic about the protests’ outcomes , in that she stressed that, from now on, the government will be more cautious in adopting any decisions that would upset its secular opponents. Indeed, perhaps one of the greatest achievements of the protests could be to bring to the forefront the marginalized secular part of the Turkish society and its demands. Moreover, the young Turkish woman brought up what might one of the protests’ greatest results: the Turkish youth have shown they are not “apolitical and have the power to oppose the government.”

Finally, taking a different approach from M., who would like to see Erdogan replaced, S. only wants “the government to respect human rights.And we demand more democracy in Turkey.”

Source: ireport.cnn.com