I am an expat living in Istanbul on the Asian side of the city. My neighborhood is Kadıköy, the major focal point for transportation from Asia to the European side. Protesters gathered here throughout the day, marching towards the ferry terminals to board boats towards Beşiktaş, and then to march on to Taksim Square.
Every group of protesters we saw were peaceful. That is not to say they were not loud and vociferous in their chants directed at the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Shouts of TAYYIP ISTIFA (Resign Erdoğan!) had been periodically ringing out from Kadıköy throughout the day and night, accompanied by the constant bleating of car horns and the pangs of pots and pans.
In conjunction with Erdoğan's decision on Saturday to remove police from Taksim, police barricades along Kadıköy's main thoroughfares were removed. A sense of uneasy calm spread through the area, although protesters continued to board the ferries to head to Taksim. Just after midnight, early Sunday morning, we saw a massive crowd of a few thousand marching towards the ferry terminal. It was symbolic only - the ferries had stopped running for the night - but in solidarity the protesters were showing that it is not just Taksim and Beşiktaş that are up in arms, it is Turkey. And in Turkey, from the news we can piece together through Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, things flip from peaceful to violent when the police get involved.
I am baffled when I read that the Turkish government is calling the protesters "marginal" groups; in contrast, we saw a well balanced crowd of young women and men, fathers and mothers, children and grandmothers, all waving Turkish flags and chanting to win back the Republic they feel is being threatened. Fancy cars and old minibuses, young and old: from my perspective the protest is a unifying force among Turks of many different colours. And judging by the hundreds of waving Turkish flags, if Erdoğan means marginal groups, then he is referring to those who actually support the Turkish Republic.
For news on the ground from the side of the protesters:
http://occupygezipics.tumblr.com/
http://resistaksim.tumblr.com/
Every group of protesters we saw were peaceful. That is not to say they were not loud and vociferous in their chants directed at the Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Shouts of TAYYIP ISTIFA (Resign Erdoğan!) had been periodically ringing out from Kadıköy throughout the day and night, accompanied by the constant bleating of car horns and the pangs of pots and pans.
In conjunction with Erdoğan's decision on Saturday to remove police from Taksim, police barricades along Kadıköy's main thoroughfares were removed. A sense of uneasy calm spread through the area, although protesters continued to board the ferries to head to Taksim. Just after midnight, early Sunday morning, we saw a massive crowd of a few thousand marching towards the ferry terminal. It was symbolic only - the ferries had stopped running for the night - but in solidarity the protesters were showing that it is not just Taksim and Beşiktaş that are up in arms, it is Turkey. And in Turkey, from the news we can piece together through Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter, things flip from peaceful to violent when the police get involved.
I am baffled when I read that the Turkish government is calling the protesters "marginal" groups; in contrast, we saw a well balanced crowd of young women and men, fathers and mothers, children and grandmothers, all waving Turkish flags and chanting to win back the Republic they feel is being threatened. Fancy cars and old minibuses, young and old: from my perspective the protest is a unifying force among Turks of many different colours. And judging by the hundreds of waving Turkish flags, if Erdoğan means marginal groups, then he is referring to those who actually support the Turkish Republic.
For news on the ground from the side of the protesters:
http://occupygezipics.tumblr.com/
http://resistaksim.tumblr.com/
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| In our neighborhood. |
