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DigitalJournal.com
May 31 2014
A year after Turkey's Gezi Park protests, freedom elusive
By Lonna Lisa Williams
Istanbul - A year ago, I covered Turkey's Gezi Park protests
first-hand. I took photos, videos, interviewed protesters, got
attacked by the Turkish police, and was almost arrested for a photo
I'd published. As Turkey prepares new protests, is freedom possible?
I spent 2.5 years teaching English in Turkey, at private language
schools and universities. I traveled around that beautiful country and
saw historic sights, amazing landscapes, and interesting people. I did
award-winning photo essays about Turkey for Digital Journal and put
those essays into a Kindle eBook. I married a Turkish man who has a
Muslim mother and an Armenian Christian-descended father. I visited
active Christian churches in Istanbul, Izmit, and Antalya and heard
about more congregations in other cities. I learned about Muslim
minorities like the Alevi who are persecuted by the Sunni majority
controlled by Islamist Prime Minister Erdogan and his Ak Party. I
covered the Gezi Park freedom protests first-hand, beginning on May
31, 2013. I took photos, videos, and interviewed protesters. On a
Sunday afternoon, along with a group of Istanbul tourists, I was
attacked by the Turkish police.
At least 7 of the 8 civilians killed during the Gezi Park protests
were Alevis, including a 15-year-old boy police shot in the head with
a tear gas canister as he was on his way to buy bread for his family.
The boy was in a coma for several months before he died, and his death
sparked new protests. One Turkish police officer also died during the
Gezi Park protests when he fell off a ledge.
I saw fear in everyone's eyes when I lived in Turkey. People knew that
they could be arrested (like so many protesters were, including
doctors and lawyers who helped the protesters). Hundreds of people
were injured, and several were blinded. Yet the protests continued,
blocked out by state-controlled Turkish media and barely covered by
the world after the first Istanbul protests stretched into follow-up
protests. Then scandal hit Turkey's Ak Party elite (even Erdogan's own
son Bilal was implicated), and Turks again took to the streets in
January, calling Erdogan a thief and demanding, again, his
resignation. He survived a debated election in which the Ak Party held
a 42% "majority." Now he has his eyes on running for President, with
more power given by a new constitution.
Ironically, on the eve of the One Year Gezi Park Protests anniversary,
Erdogan announced that he plans to convert the famous Haggia Sophia
into a mosque. Ayasofya, as it's called in Turkish, was build in the
5th Century and stood for nearly a thousand years as the world's
tallest Christian cathedral. When an Ottoman sultan conquered Istanbul
in 1453, it was defaced and changed into a mosque. When Ataturk
disbanded the Ottoman Empire in favor of a modern Turkish secular
democracy in the 20th Century, Ayasofya was, wisely, turned into a
museum. After all, the majestic Blue Mosque is just a few steps across
a park from Ayasofya, and there are over 3000 mosques in Istanbul with
expensive new ones being built every day.
There are over 80,000 mosques in Turkey, and only a handful of
Christian churches. Erdogan has converted many ancient churches and
monasteries into mosques. Erdogan does not recognize Christians as
being part of Turkey, although their history there dates back to the
1st Century travels of Paul the Apostle, and the Seven Churches
mentioned in the Book of Revelation were all located in Turkey.
Recently, Erdogan refused to give permission to a Christian group to
build a church in Ankara, the capital, which has no Christian churches
except on the grounds of foreign embassies.
Erdogan also does not recognize the right for Turks to be atheist or
gay. He passed recent laws that target women's rights and everyday
freedoms like when you can drink alcohol or how bakers make bread.
Like all dictators, Erdogan sees himself as all-powerful, a sultan.
This attitude cost him dearly when he slapped a mine worker and his
aide kicked a protester after the recent tragic mine explosion that
killed 301 Turkish miners, the worst mining incident in Turkish
history. Erdogan had to take refuge in a supermarket as grieving
families and minors protested his insensitive arrogance.
I received a warning email from the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, advising
all Americans to stay away from the Gezi Park Anniversary Protests
that will occur throughout Turkey later today. You see, I am writing
this from northeast China where I now teach English, and our time is
earlier than in Turkey. My Turkish husband and I had to leave Turkey
because he was tortured by police who threatened me, his "Christian
wife." A few days after I arrived in China, I found out that police
had gone to my old apartment near Istanbul to arrest me for a photo
I'd published.
Turkey has more journalists in prison than any other country. After
the January scandal, thousands of police officers and judges were
relocated, fired, or arrested. How long can Erdogan maintain
dictatorship over Turkey? Turks are resilient people who love freedom.
They will not be restricted forever. It will be interesting to see how
much media coverage the new protests receive and if the world cares
about the future of Turkey, which Ataturk established as a modern
secular democracy, and which Erdogan wants to return to a medieval
Islamist state.
"There have been so many protests all over Turkey," a Turkish man told
me recently on the telephone. "People remember what has been happening
this past year, starting with Gezi Park. I don't see how Erdogan can
keep ignoring the people's pleas for freedom. The media barely covers
what's been happening. Please get the word out for us."
The latest news to come out of Turkey is that Erdogan has deployed
tens of thousands of police to prevent any Gezi Park Anniversary
protests. We will see what happens.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/a-year-after-turkey-s-gezi-park-protests-freedom-elusive/article/385149
May 31 2014
A year after Turkey's Gezi Park protests, freedom elusive
By Lonna Lisa Williams
Istanbul - A year ago, I covered Turkey's Gezi Park protests
first-hand. I took photos, videos, interviewed protesters, got
attacked by the Turkish police, and was almost arrested for a photo
I'd published. As Turkey prepares new protests, is freedom possible?
I spent 2.5 years teaching English in Turkey, at private language
schools and universities. I traveled around that beautiful country and
saw historic sights, amazing landscapes, and interesting people. I did
award-winning photo essays about Turkey for Digital Journal and put
those essays into a Kindle eBook. I married a Turkish man who has a
Muslim mother and an Armenian Christian-descended father. I visited
active Christian churches in Istanbul, Izmit, and Antalya and heard
about more congregations in other cities. I learned about Muslim
minorities like the Alevi who are persecuted by the Sunni majority
controlled by Islamist Prime Minister Erdogan and his Ak Party. I
covered the Gezi Park freedom protests first-hand, beginning on May
31, 2013. I took photos, videos, and interviewed protesters. On a
Sunday afternoon, along with a group of Istanbul tourists, I was
attacked by the Turkish police.
At least 7 of the 8 civilians killed during the Gezi Park protests
were Alevis, including a 15-year-old boy police shot in the head with
a tear gas canister as he was on his way to buy bread for his family.
The boy was in a coma for several months before he died, and his death
sparked new protests. One Turkish police officer also died during the
Gezi Park protests when he fell off a ledge.
I saw fear in everyone's eyes when I lived in Turkey. People knew that
they could be arrested (like so many protesters were, including
doctors and lawyers who helped the protesters). Hundreds of people
were injured, and several were blinded. Yet the protests continued,
blocked out by state-controlled Turkish media and barely covered by
the world after the first Istanbul protests stretched into follow-up
protests. Then scandal hit Turkey's Ak Party elite (even Erdogan's own
son Bilal was implicated), and Turks again took to the streets in
January, calling Erdogan a thief and demanding, again, his
resignation. He survived a debated election in which the Ak Party held
a 42% "majority." Now he has his eyes on running for President, with
more power given by a new constitution.
Ironically, on the eve of the One Year Gezi Park Protests anniversary,
Erdogan announced that he plans to convert the famous Haggia Sophia
into a mosque. Ayasofya, as it's called in Turkish, was build in the
5th Century and stood for nearly a thousand years as the world's
tallest Christian cathedral. When an Ottoman sultan conquered Istanbul
in 1453, it was defaced and changed into a mosque. When Ataturk
disbanded the Ottoman Empire in favor of a modern Turkish secular
democracy in the 20th Century, Ayasofya was, wisely, turned into a
museum. After all, the majestic Blue Mosque is just a few steps across
a park from Ayasofya, and there are over 3000 mosques in Istanbul with
expensive new ones being built every day.
There are over 80,000 mosques in Turkey, and only a handful of
Christian churches. Erdogan has converted many ancient churches and
monasteries into mosques. Erdogan does not recognize Christians as
being part of Turkey, although their history there dates back to the
1st Century travels of Paul the Apostle, and the Seven Churches
mentioned in the Book of Revelation were all located in Turkey.
Recently, Erdogan refused to give permission to a Christian group to
build a church in Ankara, the capital, which has no Christian churches
except on the grounds of foreign embassies.
Erdogan also does not recognize the right for Turks to be atheist or
gay. He passed recent laws that target women's rights and everyday
freedoms like when you can drink alcohol or how bakers make bread.
Like all dictators, Erdogan sees himself as all-powerful, a sultan.
This attitude cost him dearly when he slapped a mine worker and his
aide kicked a protester after the recent tragic mine explosion that
killed 301 Turkish miners, the worst mining incident in Turkish
history. Erdogan had to take refuge in a supermarket as grieving
families and minors protested his insensitive arrogance.
I received a warning email from the U.S. Embassy in Ankara, advising
all Americans to stay away from the Gezi Park Anniversary Protests
that will occur throughout Turkey later today. You see, I am writing
this from northeast China where I now teach English, and our time is
earlier than in Turkey. My Turkish husband and I had to leave Turkey
because he was tortured by police who threatened me, his "Christian
wife." A few days after I arrived in China, I found out that police
had gone to my old apartment near Istanbul to arrest me for a photo
I'd published.
Turkey has more journalists in prison than any other country. After
the January scandal, thousands of police officers and judges were
relocated, fired, or arrested. How long can Erdogan maintain
dictatorship over Turkey? Turks are resilient people who love freedom.
They will not be restricted forever. It will be interesting to see how
much media coverage the new protests receive and if the world cares
about the future of Turkey, which Ataturk established as a modern
secular democracy, and which Erdogan wants to return to a medieval
Islamist state.
"There have been so many protests all over Turkey," a Turkish man told
me recently on the telephone. "People remember what has been happening
this past year, starting with Gezi Park. I don't see how Erdogan can
keep ignoring the people's pleas for freedom. The media barely covers
what's been happening. Please get the word out for us."
The latest news to come out of Turkey is that Erdogan has deployed
tens of thousands of police to prevent any Gezi Park Anniversary
protests. We will see what happens.
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/a-year-after-turkey-s-gezi-park-protests-freedom-elusive/article/385149