Tag Archives: Gezi Park

CNN: Turkish government cracking down on media critics, groups say

By Gul Tuysuz and Ivan Watson Istanbul (CNN) — A pro-government newspaper in Turkey fired its ombudsman this week. The dismissal came as a prominent journalists’ union and the main opposition party warned of a broad government crackdown against the Turkish press. “All the independent voices are now being silenced,” said Yavuz Baydar in an interview with CNN, a day [...] → Read the full article…

Bianet: Those 20 days I spent in Gezi Park were the best days of the 22 years I have had so far

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A verdict has been reached on the trial of Yusufcan Yildirim who has been accused of having ties with four independent illegal organizations.  We discussed his 2-year-1-month long sentence and his days under custody following the Gezi protest. A verdict has been reached on the trial of Yusufcan Yildirim, an undergraduate majoring in political science at Ankara University. He will [...] → Read the full article…

Radikal: I am a Looter (Çapulcu) in prison and I miss you, my brothers and sisters – Kubilay İyit

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Kubilay Yiğit is a Master’s student in the Faculty of Fine Arts Musicology Department of Dokuz Eylül University. He was taken into custody in a dawn raid on 20th June as a consequence of the Gezi Park events. He was arrested on the 23rd of June and transferred to Kırıklar F Type prison. He wrote a letter to his comrades [...] → Read the full article…

Science: Turkey must end violent response to protests

Edited by Jennifer Sills THE TURKISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (TTB) REPORTED THAT 8121 PEOPLE WERE OFFICIALLY admitted to hospitals resulting from police violence between 31 May and 26 June (1). This number includes 5 deaths, 61 life-threatening injuries, 104 head traumas, and 11 ophthalmic injuries, one of which led to loss of an eye due to shots of tear gas canisters from [...] → Read the full article…

New York Times: In Turkey, media bosses are undermining democracy – Yavuz Baydar

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ISTANBUL — THE protests that convulsed Istanbul and other Turkish cities last month exposed, among many other things, the shameful role of Turkey’s media conglomerates in subverting press freedom. As the social unrest reached a peak on May 31 with clashes between tear-gas-happy police officers and protesters spreading through the heart of the city, the lack of even minimal coverage [...] → Read the full article…

Jadaliyya: From Cynicism to Protest: Reflections on youth and politics in Turkey – Ayca Alemdaroglu

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  The recent uprisings in Turkey indicated a transformation of youth cynicism into a widespread protest against the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) government’s conservative and autocratic policies. This transformation demands a new way of thinking about youth and politics in the country. If nothing else, young people can no longer be easily characterized as politically apathetic. In June 2013, Turkey [...] → Read the full article…

Firat News: ‘Ministry of justice exonerates torture!’

Although the Ministry of Justice has denied the accusation of the torture of eight people who were arrested during the Gezi Park protests, a refutation has come from 19 year old Özgür Yildirim who was, himself, tortured . Speaking, for the first time, to Firat News Agency (AFN)about what he had been through, Yildirim said, “My toes and my nose [...] → Read the full article…

Birgün: Father’s day gift from AKP – Osman Öztürk

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This is a letter from Selim Önder’s daughter, Ayşe Önder. Selim Önder, after being exposed to gas canister smoke in his own home in Taksim, had suffered from problems of respiratory distress and lost his life on Father’s Day. The Letter to the Turkish Medical Association Dear Turkish Medical Association, This letter is not political, not about politics, but about [...] → Read the full article…