Hundreds In Turkish Towns And Cities Stand As The “Standing Man”
By Countercurrents.org
19 June, 2013
Countercurrrents.org
The non-violent protest inspired by the performance artist Erdem Gündüz spread across Turkey as it was imitated by hundreds in towns and cities.
Gündüz, who was detained for a short period of time last night, was not back at the square but a mannequin was placed on the square to symbolically represent him. He was dubbed the “standing man” (duran adam) and reports on his solo act of civil disobedience had quickly spread on social media. Many people from other cities joined the new protest wave, such as at Kugulu Park in Ankara .
Although interior minister Güler had assured that the protest would not be subject to an intervention the security forces did not allow the public to enter Gezi Park .
Consequently many people gathered in small parks all across Istanbul holding forums of discussion in the evening.
Yogurtçu Park in Kadiköy's Moda neighborhood and Abbasaga Park in Besiktas became the rally point of many citizens. The future of the protests was discussed in the forums that continued until late at night. Hundreds of people in the Abbasaga Park made a silent demonstration standing still and without talking for minutes.
Another new form of protest was performed in the Galatasaray Square with people gagging each other and those walking in the Istiklal Avenue.
“Clearing out Taksim Square [to pedestrians] as if nothing happened, planting trees in Gezi Park ... Pretending as if nothing happened [in Taksim] is in fact the biggest violence,” Erdem Gündüz told.
Targeting both the media and the government, he said, “What happens in Taksim Square , in Dolmabahçe is not shown on television.”
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.
N ationwide silent struggle
Hundreds of photos showing people standing still have been shared so far.
The protest spread across the country hours after Gündüz's launch.
In Izmir, around 100 people blocked the traffic at Gündogan Square in the morning, shortly after a ‘standing woman' started standing in the middle of Kizilay Square in the capital of Ankara .
People, including lawyers, also “stood” for more than one hour on June 18 in the Istanbul courthouse in support of the “standing man.”
Another man joined the action in Mugla with an umbrella to protect himself from the 37 degree of temperature.
One photo showed people standing still in Sivas , in front of the Madimak Hotel where 33 intellectuals and two hotel workers died when radical Islamists attacked the hotel on July 2, 1993.
Another photo showed three people standing in front of the offices of weekly Agos, where Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink was shot and killed on Jan. 19, 2007.
'Standing' not a crime: Bar Association head
Union of Turkish Bar Associations head Metin Feyzioglu declared that the standing man's act was not a crime according to the Turkish Criminal Code.
Though the detention of a man who stands still on pavement would have a provision in the Turkish Criminal Code, the policeman would at least be guilty of “malpractice” or “restricting freedom.”
“‘Standing' does not constitute a crime by any means,” he said, adding that there was no stance more democratic than this. “Humanity cannot find a more democratic type of protest,” he said.
In conformity with the remarks of the interior minister, “If a person does not block the traffic and does not break the public order, he can stand. The police cannot intervene,” Feyzioglu said.
Reporters detained
Vercihan Ziflioglu's report in Hürriyet Daily News said:
Some reporters working for Özgür Radio, Etkin news agency and daily Atilim were detained as part of operations launched against Gezi Park demonstrations.
The Progressive Journalists Association (ÇGD) announced that at least eight journalists had been detained and many more had been exposed to police violence.
“As a part of this, general editorial coordinator Sedat Senoglu of daily Atilim and Selvi Cosar of Özgür Radio were taken into custody after having their residences raided. It has been learned that the residences of the news editor of Etkin news agency, Derya Okatan, and ETHA editor and ANF reporter Arzu Demir were also raided,” ÇGD's announcement said.
Özgür Radio news editor Önder Ömer confirmed the announcement. “The Interior Ministry called the detained journalists terrorists. We journalists are not terrorists, we only struggle for the people's right to learn news,” Ömer said.
Ömer also mentioned the problem of the yellow press card, referring to PM Erdogan's previous statements that most of the arrested journalists did not have a yellow press card last year. “A yellow press card cannot determine who is a journalist and who is not. Also, many journalists work without insurance. How can they obtain a press card?” he said. Yellow press cards, which are the state-issued official certifications for journalists, are provided by the Prime Ministry.
Meanwhile, IMÇ TV reporter Gökhan Biçici was released yesterday after being detained on June 16. IMÇ TV news editor Hamza Aktan said his colleague had said Biçici was exposed to violence even though he had a press ID, adding that reporters aside from those in the mainstream media were always subjected to discrimination. Photographs of police officers harshly carrying Biçici were published on the media.
“In 2013, is the prime minister still the one who determines who is journalist? So, how could you follow freelance journalists and the share of citizens in such a process when the news spreads rapidly?” Aktan asked.
Ömer said there had been unlawful practices with regard to the detainments of journalists. “There is no data on the locations of the detained ones,” he said, adding that those having yellow press cards were also detained.
Also, daily Birgün's news editor, Ibrahim Varli, said they were worried about the possibility that the pressure on alternative media employees could be more intense after the recent incidents. “They cannot tolerate the reporting of the facts and the alternative press,” Varli said.
Protester loses eye, mother wants justice
In another report Sevim Songün Demirezen wrote:
Mahir Gür, 22-year-old university student, who was shot with a rubber bullet during the police intervention in the demonstrations in Taksim Gezi Park last week, lost his sight in one eye but counts himself lucky for being alive. His family, however, are demanding justice and want those responsible to be brought to justice immediately.
“I am thankful that I am alive. But I was unlucky that I lost my eye,” said Mahir in an interview with Hürriyet Daily News.
On June 11, he was shot by a rubber bullet in his left eye and broke his left cheekbone.
“I went to Gezi to find my friends. It was the first time I went there [since the demonstrations started.] Around five minutes after I went there, the police intervention started and the police shot me with the rubber bullet,” said Gür. He said his friends took him to hospital while he was passing in and out of consciousness.
Gür was discharged from the hospital on June 17, after having surgery on his eye. He said he was told by the doctors that he had a very low chance of being able to see with his left eye again and that he had to undergo at least two more surgeries.
He was still suffering the trauma of the incident, hardly speaking about his emotions, mostly standing silent and sad. He said he can no longer watch the TV and only gets updated about the incidents when his friends call him. Gür said he was not member of any group, party or organization and went to Gezi Park for the fate of the park as well as for the freedoms and against the pressures.
His mother, who wanted to remain anonymous, demanded an apology from the government officials and asked them to bring those responsible to justice.
“I want those who did this to my son to be found. I want them to bring my son's eye back.
Can they do this? My son's head was targeted by a rubber bullet. Who would do to this to a human?” asked his mother. Working as a cook in a suburban area of Istanbul , Gür's mother comes home once every three hours to treat her son's eyes. She said it is hard to cover the hospital costs, but added that they will find a way somehow.
The family started a legal action against those responsible and expects the government to bring those responsible to justice.
Devastated by his son's condition she said:
“He would have a broken leg or arm. Now, he lost his eye. They have darkened his world,” she said in a shivering voice.
Joan Baez interprets 'Imagine'
Joan Baez, America 's rebel folksinger who was once an icon of a generation, has expressed her support for the protest movement in Turkey , interpreting John Lennon's classic "Imagine" in an intimate YouTube video.
Baez, who was present in every major civil protest of her time with her guitar and voice, did not stay indifferent to the demands of the Turkish protesters.
"I wish to express my support to Turkish citizens, lawyers, doctors, kids, families, students in your courageous peaceful fight to preserve the heart of your culture, the beauty of your land and the soul of your people," she said in a message delivered in English and Turkish at the beginning of the video.
"Your voices are being heard everywhere," she assured, before singing the song that marked an era.
Joan Baez is not the first foreign name to show her open support to the Gezi Park protesters. Intellectuals such as the American linguist Noam Chomsky and the Sloven philosopher Slavoj Zizek also expressed their support at the beginning of the protests, which have now entered their fourth week. Many prominent Turkish artists are intimately involved with the demonstrations.
Rulers' dirty trick
An Istanbul datelined Hürriyet Daily News report headlined “‘Shame on you,' Amanpour reacts to Turkish daily that published fake interview” said:
Senior CNN anchorwoman Christiane Amanpour has expressed her indignation over Turkish daily Takvim's publishing of a bogus interview with her its June 18 edition.
“Shame on you @Takvim for publishing FAKE interview with me,” Amanpour posted on her Twitter account, after Takvim published a fake “interview” with her in which she said the CNN editorial board had made her cover recent events with the intention of “destabilizing” Turkey for international business interests, among a long list of other lies.
Takvim had dedicated its cover to the story under the headline “dirty confession,” with a subtitle reporting that Amanpour confessed “We did everything for money.”
It was all arranged to look like a genuine article, but the newspaper put a tiny note at the end of the webpage story admitting it was not a real interview and that they were doing this to “get back at” CNN's “lies” during the recent Gezi Park protests. A disclaimer also existed in the newspaper itself, stating: “This interview is not real, but what you will read here is real.” The fake report drew a fierce reaction from Turkish social media users.
“Petrol, medicine, alcoholic beverage producers and giant finance lobbies threatened us,” Amanpour was quoted as saying.
Mevlüt Yüksel, who wrote the fake interview, also appeared wearing a mock CNN visitor card in a photo on the front page of Takvim.
CNN International was one of the most-watched outlets during the June 11 police intervention against peaceful protesters. Amanpour quickly become a social media hot topic when she ended her interview with one of prime minister Erdogan's advisers, Kalin, by saying: “The show is over, sir.”
Leading figures of the Turkish government have repeatedly condemned CNN International's coverage of the Gezi Park unrest.
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