It's obvious that you know more than the average person on this subject, but you're falling into the trap of thinking that just because you know some things, you have a good (or even the best) picture of what is happening.
First of all, the main significant thing about these protests is that it was the FIRST large scale protest to not be organized by any political group(s) and instead is grassroots. People just started messaging each other and walking outside of their houses to support others. A day or two later, parties finally started organizing but the protest is nonpartisan. I have never otherwise seen a TKP (left-communist party) and MHP (ultra-nationalist right) flags flying together EVER! There are also people from Laz, soccer teams, Kurds, workers unions, LGBT groups. I am getting daily updates from almost all of my friends who are taking part in the protests. The idea that it was "subverted", or is fake astroturfing is absurd. Read this: http://technosociology.org/?p=1255
Second, yes, Erdogan's leadership resulted in economic reform (the costs of this is another discussion altogether, but no one can deny the gains). But this has nothing to do with his authoritarian ruling style. Under his tenure, Turkey has had the great (!) achievements of dropping to 54th in the corruption index (http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/9967221.asp) and "noticable problems" the press freedom index with 33 journalists currently jailed (http://en.rsf.org/report-turkey,141.html). Or political prisoners (http://www.fidh.org/International-delegation-finds).
Third, you need to learn a lot more about election politics and demographics in Turkey.
Democracy is not elected dictatorship. But Erdogan has made it clear that this is his interpretation of it, many times.
P.S. There are so many videos (with context) / images of clear and unincited police brutality that I want to puke when I hear you deny them. I've been compiling a list. More on this later too.
http://i.imgur.com/GdstgFu.jpg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHFe7vK1hyw https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151648526182702 http://i.imgur.com/ovsvTkg.jpg https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=139362532926023 http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-981250 https://twitter.com/kurttberna/status/340734448146472960/pho... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDnrcsrhxGg http://i.imgur.com/tP6EIXI.jpg http://i.imgur.com/n1VWYdI.jpg https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=207394002740909&set... http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=248465715278711&s... http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=654306227917990&set=...
You're closer to the grassroots portion of it apparently, but what you are probably missing is larger context - other groups pushing into it trying to use the protests for their own ends.
I'm no fan of the AKP (Erdogan's party) but there is indeed more going on here.
The closer you are to a tree, the harder it is to see the forest.
I would disagree, there is no larger context than the erosion of democracy. That is what the protests are about.
The people on the streets are not trying to push any agenda except democracy.
Other groups trying to further their own agenda is inevitable in any system and not related (this is obviously a much more favorable story line for the current government to tell the world).
I cannot tell if the top comment knows this, but the comment about blowing up on social media suggest he doesn't understand it is the only way to communicate and get the message out.
A) there is a media blackout, no television station reporting this inside Turkey. B) Turkcell the nations largest communications provider was pressured to disrupt communications in Istanbul (which they did)
Point being social media is the only way to communicate about things like this, as the press are either in prison already or afraid. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3103432560875 (police attacking random people including a woman for no reason).
Here is the democratic leaders response “There is now a menace which is called Twitter,” Erdogan said. “The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society.” (you just can't make this stuff up).
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2013/06/02/Erdoga...
I have friends and family who protested (peacefully) on the streets of Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara in the last few days. Almost all of them had to endure tear gas, beatings and other cruel events.
I have also been told by the exact same people (who don't belong to any political party btw) that people who normally wouldn't stay in a room together (think soccer fans of opposing teams, religious and non-religious people, nationalists and communists) went onto the streets to protest against the police brutality, SIDE BY SIDE.
You are right, Erdogan and his party won the last three elections. But there are also rumours that they bought votes, so like you said - don't believe everything you read.
The problem is way bigger than a few political parties trying to pull strings (honestly your opinion sounds very pro-government and almost conspiracy theoretical): There are people RIGHT NOW in the streets getting BEAT UP by the police (the very same organization that should PROTECT those people).
Look around on twitter and facebook, read posts of REAL PEOPLE. The police brutatlity has taken a level which is inhumane and has to be stopped.
Edit: (sorry I'm getting a little angry here) Posts like yours are exactly the reason why people look at this and think "oh this is just another political party power move / somebody trying to exploit the situation. This is probably all fake anyway" - while people are getting beat up.
Why did the main political blocs which are supporting these protests ( BDP, CHP and TKP ) protest against allowing the syrian refugees enter turkey then. Can't you see that this is a political issue. What flags are people holding, that's a dead give away.
Violence and police brutality are terrible and inexcusable but this issue and protest isn't black not white.
The bottom line is: this is a grassroots movement. These parties are just piggybacking, perhaps because they see an opportunity for political gain, perhaps because for such a wide response inevitably some people who cannot disassociate themselves from their parties are also joining the protests.
This campaign is there for supporting the most basic human right: being heard.
As a side note, the protests were never not influenced by a political party at all. I personally know several AKP voters, who are on the street now.
Last year, autocratic government of Russia unleashed repressions agains their own citizens, and it was (and is) really ugly. I hope that people of Turkey will withstand the violent actions of the government, and their voice will be heard.
* "social media campaign backed by yet to be seen figures", I don't know what you are referring here, it could be the typical conspiracy theory fueled thinking (e.g. "Israel/US was behind the twin tower attacks"). What I see from my Facebook and Twitter feeds is that all my friends, both in Turkey and in US, have been busy for the past 4-5 days in backing the protests by sharing information, etc. Naturally, some misinformation was communicated but that doesn't prove the point that everything was done by "outside powers".
* BDP was not heavily involved in the protests; however, a BDP representative was the first government person to try to stop the dozers in the park.
* I wish CHP were more involved! As you no doubt know, Kilicdaroglu, CHP's president, is a clueless guy who is incapable of seizing the moment even now. He tried to have large gathering on Saturday but did not have much effect.
* Your point that DHKP and TKP are somehow involved and/or masterminded the protests is ludicrous. True, these groups have in the past organized protests in Turkey and may have been involved in the protests (I saw people holding DHKP flags among the crowds a few times). That doesn't change the fact that the protests were middle-class-based at their peak. How else to explain involvement of groups such as BJK Carsi (btw these guys are quite a phenomenon, if you want to know more check out Elif Batuman's piece in The New Yorker: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/03/07/110307fa_fact_...).
It is a fact that PM Erdogan has kept Turkey's economy alive and well, no small feat considering the fact that Europe is having its worst recession since WWII. It is equally obvious that he has become very authoritarian in the past 1-2 years. I can give quite a number of links but just listening to his news brief with a Turkish Reuters reporter is enough to showcase his impatience, I think: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abxc0b0J2UY
https://www.google.com.sg/search?q=turkey+minimum+wage
http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoksulluk_s%C4%B1n%C4%B1r%C4%B1 (poverty level 2013: 3280TL for a family of 4)
OECD says the minimum wage is 71% of the median wage [1] and calls lowering it a priority [2].
The Economist also calls it "high" and recommends it be lowered. [3]
[1] http://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DatasetCode=MIN2AVE
I think this is beside the point. Parent is suggesting a 500% increase when AKP was ruling. I wanted to point out that this is a wordplay. Please read parent and then my comment again.
You're right on this point, it's only 143% in real terms (after inflation).
It all started as a pacifist movement with environmental emphasis. It was a peaceful event and the protests were in the form of reading books: http://cdn.internethaber.com/gallery/27534/3.jpg http://t24.com.tr/media/stories/2013/05/page_gezi-parkinda-d...
This is an iconic image illustrating the response of the police to these initial protests: http://cdncms.todayszaman.com/todayszaman/2013/05/28/gezi.jp...
This was the turning point of everything and people wanted to go to Gezi Park to support protesters. The governors response was escalating the police power and excessive use of tear gas. So the protests evolved to a anti-fascist and anti-government movement.
PM Erdogan's response to the protests was nothing but provocative. He insisted that they have made their final decision for the park and they will not retreat. He also announced he will build a Mosque near Gezi Park (an extremely controversial project that has a former history) and they will also demolish Ataturk Cultural Center (an opera/theatre house across Gezi Park, having a symbolic significance representing the secular values of Turkey and carrying the name of the founder of the modern Turkey). He likes to call such projects as "crazy projects".
Erdogan's provocative attitude was nothing new. In a typical week in Turkey you hear more controversial things from him. But for about few months it's getting worse and worse, and more authoritarian and conservative. Erdogan's Syria policy and last terrorist attracts was one of the reasons of discontent. The opposition parties were inadequate and there was blackout in the mainstream media. So people waited without any reaction for long time. This Gezi Park "crazy project" was just the last straw and everything escalated so quickly.
Yes, the AK party receives a substantial amount of the votes as they are the unified religious based party that appeals to the majority of the country.
One might have had to wonder that, if it had not been for the extremely poor mainstream media coverage. That in itself has been a substantial driver for a lot of the social media attention outside of Turkey at least.
Don't forget that there is a major war occuring on Turkeys border and significant geopolitical games occuring. This isn't about trees anymore.
"But this is not just about a park. Before the park was the closure of an Ottoman pastry shop, the arrests of journalists, laws on alcohol sales, constantly changing school curricula. Gezi Park and the subsequent police violence on demonstrators were just the latest examples of a fundamental shift away from basic civil rights."
So why are there protests?
Well theyre not about a tree unsurprisingly. There are 3 political factions who have subverted the initial protest, the BDP, CHP and TKP parties which are socialist, communist, secular or a combination of them (TKP being the most extreme).
Surprisingly, these three parties were recently holding protest against Erdogans decision to allow refugees from Syria to enter Turkey. Yes, the three parties who are apparantly looking after the wellbeing of trees in a park don't want refugees of war entering Turkey (though no one mentiosn the fact that these three parties also support Assad because the Baath party is/was communist and secular too).
Theres also the DHKP which is an extremist communist (terrorist?) party which hates the fact that the leader of Turkey is a practising Muslim and that Islam is seeing a revival in Turkey.
So try to read between the lines and see that theres more to the story than trees. Redditors and HN folks seem to be falling hook line and sinker for a fantastic marketing astro turfing campaign.
Just a few more pointers. During erdogans reign he improved the minimum wage by 500%, allowed farmers to access capital at a 5% interest rate as opposed to the initial 54% and paid off the last installment towards the IMF freeing them of all their debts. For the first time in modern era, Turkey now owes no money to the IMF and is the 15th largets economy in the world.
Turkey does have problems, but theres more to this story that meets the eye and people need to wonder why and how this has blown up so successfully on social media sites.