Civil Disobedience In Turkey, While Minister Threatens With Army Intervention
By Countercurrents.org
18 June, 2013
Countercurrents.org
Turkey witnessed an heroic act of civil disobedience while ministers threatened striking workers and of military intervention.
An Istanbul datelined Hürriyet Daily News report headlined “Turkish protester's civil disobedience act in Taksim ends in custody” said:
A man's single act of defiance on the night of June 17, 2013 turned into a group of people's silent struggle for the right to protest in Taksim Square . The "standing man" was performance artist Erdem Gündüz.
However, after almost six hours of standing silently in Taksim Square he and the group that gathered were detained by police.
Eyewitnesses said he was immediately released after being held by police for a short period of time.
The young man started standing after police conducted a bag search. He then stood in the same place without moving, staring at the flag of modern Turkey 's founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, which is hung on the Atatürk Culture Center (AKM), a scene of the struggle between police and protesters over the last three weeks.
Erdem Gündüz was soon joined by a group of fellow demonstrators, who all came to stand in silence beside him, staring in the same direction.
News of the “standing man” began spreading on social media shortly after the act of defiance began, and the Twitter hashtag #duranadam (“standing man”) quickly became the world's top Twitter trending topic.
The various banners and flags hanging on the AKM cultural center and the Atatürk statue were removed by police on June 11, and only two Turkish flags and an Atatürk poster remained on the AKM. The standing man has his eyes fixed on the three remaining flags.
Act will continue for a month
Ruken Demirer, an actress, said the "standing man" is her house mate and his act of civil disobedience will continue for a month.
Police at the scene reportedly called on the gathered people to disperse from the square, and then intervened to detain the group that had gathered.
Minister warns workers of ‘consequences of strike'
Hürriyet reported:
Turkish Interior Minister Güler said: Workers joining a strike against the police violence during 20 days of protests will face consequences. “You will have to bear the consequences,” he said.
The minister was answering questions from journalists in Ankara .
Five trade unions are set to begin a nationwide demonstration campaign.
Army may step in to stop protests
Another Hürriyet report said:
Turkish deputy prime minister Arinç has given almost unconditional support to the police, adding that the remaining protests will be suppressed immediately by the police.
The deputy PM added that if the police do not suffice, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) could take on the responsibility.
“There is the police, if that's not enough there's the gendarmerie, if that's not enough there is the TSK. These authorities exist in the laws,” Arinç said in a televised interview.
Restrict social media
The Turkish government has launched a study to restrict social media, an attempt that has been inspired by the Gezi protests that have spread across the country.
The Justice Ministry has started working on a draft on crimes over the Internet, ministry sources told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Search for senders
“We have a study on those who provoke the public via manipulations with false news and lead them to actions that would threaten the security of life and property by using Twitter, Facebook or other tools of the social media,” Güler said.
The Turkish prime minister Erdogan has already taken a bold stand against Twitter, calling the micro-blogging site a “troublemaker” on June 2.
However, the Turkish president Abdullah Gül said June 7: Citizens cannot be permitted to conduct a “witch hunt” over Twitter.
A state department has already started to investigate some 5 million tweets about the Gezi Park protests.
Growing apprehension over democratic process
A recent survey by the MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center reveals that the Turkish public is increasingly concerned about the government encroachment into democratic space with a perception concerning lifestyle interference gaining in strength.
In the nationwide survey, the government scored low on democratic credentials as almost half of respondents (49.9 percent) said the government is moving toward an authoritarian and repressive style of governance while 36 percent said the government is progressing on further democratization; 14.2 percent did not respond or said they do not have any opinion on that issue.
People who thought the government is interfering into their lifestyle constituted a majority with 54.4 percent against those who think otherwise with 40.4 percent.
In addition, 49.7 percent of respondents said they have no concerns about revealing their political views, while 46.7 percent said they are worried about expressing their views.
With regard to the Gezi park protests, the survey revealed that the Turkish public billed the escalation of the protest movement to the government in general and PM Erdogan in particular.
The poll seemed to suggest that the public's support for the ruling AK Party has come down some 11 percent in June 2013 compared to the same month a year ago while the popularity of Erdogan took a blow with a 7 percent drop in his popularity in just a month. Most people see Erdogan's tone as harsh and confrontational. The government's Syrian policy remains unpopular as well.
When asked to identify the reason for the start and later escalation of the protests, 20.1 percent of respondents in the MetroPOLL survey said the government was to be blamed for that followed by Erdogan whom 16.9 percent of those polled identified as the cause.
Since Erdogan represents the government as the prime minister, the survey concludes that the public believes the government mishandled the protests and let it escalate into nationwide protests.
Only 3.2 percent of respondents said unidentified external or internal powers were behind the protests, while 1.8 percent said provocateurs and instigators provoked the protests. Those who believe media or social media were behind the incidents ranked lowest in the survey with 0.6 percent.
The survey made clear that the public overwhelmingly disapproves of government plans to rebuild in Taksim Square and Gezi Park area, with 62.9 percent of respondents saying they want to see the green space remain intact while 23.3 percent support the restoration of the old barracks. Interestingly enough, a majority of those who said they voted for the ruling AK Party were against the building plans; 41.6 percent of people who voted for the AK Party in the June 2011 elections said they opposed the government plans while 38.3 of AK Party supporters said they favor the plans.
The public divided almost evenly on the legitimacy of the protest movement that turned into nationwide demonstrations: 44.4 percent said they found the people's reactions were justified, while 45.5 percent disagreed with that. The same pattern was also recorded on responses to a question on whether the police had used excessive force against protestors.
A majority (51.2 percent) said those who are responsible for using excessive force must resign.
Most polled (51.7 percent) said the protests will impact how they vote in upcoming local elections.
The media was blamed by most people surveyed for not providing fair coverage of the protests.
Overall, 62.1 percent of respondents said the media did not cover events fairly.
The majority of those surveyed also said they believe the press is not free in Turkey , with 53.3 percent versus 41.1 percent.
A majority of people in Turkey did not approve of the government's policy with regard to Syria , with 54.2 percent saying that they oppose the Syrian policy while only 27.4 percent favor the government position.
Among other questions posed to respondents was a query about a possible switch to a presidential system. Almost 43 percent said Turkey should not switch to a presidential system, with 30.9 percent declaring their support for a presidential system. In April polling data by MetroPOLL, support for a presidential system was 35.2 percent.
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