Category Archives: Interviews

Violence Stories from Turkey: “On those days while in Gezi Park protesters were playing games, people of Ankara were playing dodge-ball with pepper gas.”

Murat-İltir

What happened at the hospital? It turned out that my arm was broken and had to be operated. And the following day, I was discharged. The following week I returned to the hospital for an examination and changing the dressing of my arm. The hospital employees wanted to look at my ID card. When they realized that this was about [...] → Read the full article…

Hürriyet: Mustafa Sarisülük: “The only thing that is left for the PM to do is to give the murderer a medal of honor!”

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Today we continue our “Witnesses of Gezi” series with Mustafa Sarisuluk, the brother of Ethem Sarisuluk, who was killed in Ankara. He was very calm but the things he recounted devastated me. You lost your brother, Ethem Sarisuluk. We would like to offer our condolences to you and your family. The policeman who shot him has been identified. Everyone watched [...] → Read the full article…

Counterpunch: Flames of Resistance and Hope in Turkey by TARIQ ALI

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Zeynep Bilgehan: You released a solidarity message for the protestors from Ankara. First of all how long have you been in Ankara and what’s the purpose of your visit? Tariq Ali: I was in Ankara for three days to give a public lecture at the invitation of the Cankaya municipality that had been agreed several months ago. Naturally I observed [...] → Read the full article…

Hurriyet: “They sprayed gas at my father as if he were an insect and caused his death.”

We continue with Gezi testimonies. What is your name? Ayşe Önder   How old are you? 39. What do you do? I am a compositor. I compose soundtracks for feature films and TV shows. Together with my brother, we’ve composed the soundtracks of “Şubat” and the Turkish version of “Desperate Housewives”. Education? I graduated from Hacettepe University conservatory. I got [...] → Read the full article…

Jadaliyya: Covering Gezi: Reflecting on photographing daily life during extraordinary events

Taksim Renewal Project

After a few days, we asked one of our friends to go buy us some gas masks. He called and said there had been a run on them, and prices were up to 350–400 Turkish liras each (approximately $160–$220). We opted for some cheaper construction masks, and made do. But we had to learn how to cover such an event. [...] → Read the full article…

Yurt: Resisters Talk: An AKP supporter mother and a police father

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Berkay Güven is a veterinary surgeon. He is one of those who participated in Gezi resistance since Day 1. He was hit on Tuesday, June 11. He was taken into intensive care unit with suspected cerebral hemorrhage, because of the crack on his skull. After surviving the critical hours, he was taken to the service. He was able to talk during our visit but constantly [...] → Read the full article…

Hürriyet: They were trying to calm down their mothers on the phone by saying, “Don’t worry mom, I am okay,” while the doctors were suturing their heads

indir

We continue the testimonies of the youths: Today we talk with a daring young lawyer, a graduate of the Istanbul University, Faculty of Law. She has been part of the Gezi movement from the start both as a protester and as a lawyer. She tells us about her first-hand experience. Let’s listen to her What is your name?  – Rozerin [...] → Read the full article…

Jadaliyya: Defiant Turkish demonstrators ‘finding new ways to protest’: Turkey page co-editor Nazan Ustundag on Democracy Now!

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This is an interview conducted with Turkey Page Co-Editor Nazan Üstündağ on the ongoing state repression of protests in Turkey. The interview addresses the Turkish government’s violent crackdown and how Turkish protesters have developed new strategies to express their dissent. The Turkish government is threatening to send armed troops into cities to quell the ongoing anti-government protests that have continued [...] → Read the full article…

MD. Savas Comlek: “ It is not possible to describe with words what happened at Gezi on the night of June 11”

We talked with one of the Yesil Gazete editors,  Dr. Savas Comlek,  about the infirmaries in the park and what happenned during his detention. He was taken into custody on June 16 and released the same day, How did you become involved with the Gezi Parki protests? I want to live in a better city. In recent years, the city [...] → Read the full article…