World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The protests in Turkey continue and the response of the government seems to be one of the iron fist.  The footage on the cable news networks suggests that both the protesters and the police are pretty disorganized.  But I have a colleague in Turkey right now and this is what she reports:

• At the risk of presenting a very incomplete and superficial account, here are a few points to share with you from my own personal experiences:
• An attitude of non-violence reigns among the protesters – they are very proactive in implementing this attitude – we can easily say that the resistance movement, as an entirety (at least in Istanbul, which is the only part I’ve seen) has a very peaceful character..
• Humor and creativity have been huge elements in manifesting demands, dissent, discontent.. I wish I could translate the many creative slogans that I’d seen – you’d die laughing..
• A large proportion of the protesters are very young (75% below the age of 30)
• The last I checked protests had broken out in about 67 cities
• These young people have made a point of building a new life in Gezi Park – they have shown that people can live peacefully side by side without the need for the state/govt and this crowd is truly diverse (in terms of religious beliefs, class, educational level, gender, demands, political views, experiences etc.).  It is complete with tents, neighborhoods, kindergarten, infirmary, market, library, garden etc. and all services/commodities are provided for free.  People take extra care to embody the kind of life/politics they want.  They are careful and responsible.. their reactions are unique and unexpected – one of the first things that people did, for instance, was to clean up Taksim & Gezi Park right after one of the worst clashes with the police where countless numbers of teargas cans covered the streets.
• People have regained their self-confidence in terms of mobilizing and being able to have a say in socio-political affairs.  They seem to have overcome their fears in this respect
• People have become immune to teargas:)
• These young people are insisting on building a movement (which looks more like building a new way of living) that refuses the more conventional tactics, symbols, strategies, language of politics
• It is not a secularist vs. Islamists movement at all.  there are many individuals and groups who first identify themselves as devout muslims (e.g. ‘anti-capitalist muslims’ are an active part of these protests) – respect for each other is a primary concern.  Several Leftist groups, for instance, guarded a group of muslims who were performing their ritual prayers the other night… The emphasis is on living together in harmony and respecting each others’ freedoms and right to be the way everyone wishes to be.
• The reaction of the PM has been one that needs to be put under the microscope, I think – it is quite peculiar.  But now it is time for less analysis and more immersion in this movement that has been unraveling (at least for me)!
• It is, of course, not all rosy and pink and perfect.  Many have been wounded, several people died, police is still intervening in a number of cities (and there’s absolutely no guarantees that they won’t start the teargas/watercannon/arrest practices again in Istanbul and elsewhere). But I’m not sure if it can get any better than this in practice in terms of what these young protesters have been trying to accomplish (which all unraveled spontaneously for the most part)

Her point about it not being a protest of Islamists vs. secularists is very important.  The American media is portraying the schism as religious, but given the young age of the protesters, I find this hard to believe.  We should all be on guard against the way the protests are used by the media–we should dig very deeply with open eyes into the unfolding events.

Iran will be holding its presidential elections next week.  The Council on Foreign Relations has published a very nifty list of issues and media references to the election that should serve as a good guide once we know the election results.  The bottom line is that the West should not expect any major changes no matter who wins.

The Russian Duma has passed a law making it illegal to equate straight and gay relationships as well as to distribute gay rights literature.  The bill passed 436-0.  The bill also contains special fines for foreigners within the country who break the law.