Uma amiga turca, Elif Mendos, escreveu-me este texto para que o pudesse publicar na página do Jornal Tribuna. Trata-se de um texto sobre o preocupante paradigma actualmente vivido em Istambul, mas é ainda um texto de uma querida amiga que, durante algum tempo, se passeou comigo pelas ruas do Porto, me ensinou algumas coisas sobre o seu país (que anseio por visitar) e que me deixa já incontáveis saudades.
"By
now, many things have been told about what is going on in Turkey.
Referring to Arab spring, “Turkish Spring” they said or a clash of
Islamic identity versus secular identity, or as in government supported
media tried to show violent attacks to police by a bunch of
“provocateurs”. Whatever has been trying to be labeled, the core claim
of Turkish people in fact revolve more around increasingly authoritarian
government pursued by Prime Minister Erdoğan's AKP (Justice and
Development Party).
In
brief it all started with a peaceful sit-in to prevent the last green
piece of Istanbul in the center of Taksim Square, where the biggest
historical, economical and cultural meeting point is. People wanted to
prevent the destruction of Gezi Park and its transformation into a
shopping mall. The redevelopment of Taksim Square, including the
destruction of where the movement all started in -Gezi Park, was another
capitalist urban development project. It run through unaccountable
processes and was only in favor of the AKP. This project, like many
others, leaved no voice for the citizens although it was shaping the
urban environment they live in. This redevelopment project included
demolishing of a symbol of local business Inci Pastry House in December
2012, followed by a destruction of Emek Theater (an independent cinema
operation since 1924 and home to Istanbul Film Festival). Also the
destruction of port areas of Karaköy, Beşiktaş, Kadıköy; the uprooting
of up to 2.5 million trees for the construction of a widely unpopular
third bridge across the Bosphoros are other “fall out from the sky”
projects. In fact, over the past decades, as part of its urban
modernization program, the AKP has been ripping down almost all historic
and green sites while serving this places in the interest of domestic
and foreign businessmen.
These all leaded us to todays. Now it was the turn of Gezi Park. Another
public space had to be turned into an arena for private profit. On May
28, the day that municipal officers responsible for destruction arrived,
people started a peaceful sit-in to not to give up on what left as an
only green space, were in the park There were only a group of fifty
protesters. On May 31 many people including journalists, parlimanters
joined this peaceful sit-in in the park. They were reading books,
camping, singing the Beatles underneath that tree they were protecting.
And in the early hours of 31th of May the police attacked, burning the
tents, using tear gas bombs, water cannons...This was a milestone when
the protest crossed the political barriers. You do not have to be a
leftist, rightist, secularist, Islamist to care about the environment,
to care about the future generation. And yet, this is not just about
uprroting of trees. It is about privatization of public space, turning
the urban center a depoliticized and desocialized place. So by means of
changing the urban place, forcing people to change themselves to a
depolitic, desocialized rabble never opposing to the government.
The resistance that has spreaded to whole country was an accumulation of
incidents. In the general elections of 2011 the AKP was reelected and
this was stated as a “victory”. However from the time they were first
elected in 2002 their records has been filled up with jailing of
journalists, academics and students untill today. Their other
governmental policies caused mass destructions on Turkey's democratic
standards. Many journalists have been fired from the media companies
wheneever they questioned the actions of the government. A book by Ahmet
Şık, who was injured in the head by the excessive use of force by the
police during #occupygezi resistance,
was collected before its publication and the electronic copy of the
draft was destroyed. The list continues to the Turkish Air Force's mass
slaughter thirty-four villagers in Uludere/Roboski region of Turkey in
December 2010, attacks in the southern town of Reyhanlı in which 52
people died, lipstick ban for stewardness in Turkish Airlines, a new
strict alcohol law.... With all of these incidents, it was becoming
clearer that the toleration of democratic mechanisms is not well
developed. PM Erdoğan's and ruling party's view of democracy is a
majoritarian dictatorship validated with election in every five years.
For its 11 year old governance, the AKP has lacked of any tolerance to
opposed ideas. As on May 29, the statement by PM Erdoğan referring to
#occupygezi resistance “we have made our decision and we will implement
it; you cannot do anything about it”, was the cause of this lack of
tolerance.
As I wrote this, in 5th of June, the resistance is in its 9th day.
People in Turkey got used to the tear gas that has been covering the sky
lately. They now become professionals on how to fit the effects of tear
gas, how to paralyze the water cannon. Most importantly people resisted
with only flesh and bones, holding on the human dignity and their
rights. Many videos and photos that taken by those unarmed people in the
streets are the evidence of the massive violence. The more the police
used excessive force, the more people marched in the streets in all
country to support the resistance. Unlike what PM Erdoğan calls as
“provocatuers”, those people are unarmed civilians. With this movement
people not only overcome their fear to the authority and also to the
“other”. It has been a long issue of the AKP government to polarised the
public as “activist”, “terrorists”, “alcoholics”, “nationalist”. But
now everyone is regardless of who they are, struggling arm to arm for
the sake of freedom, democracy and to stop the ignorance of the AKP for
11 years. Tragically, the mass media in Turkey are all controlled by the
government. This oppression by the government is the main reason of
media censorship. The media companies are hiding this public masses in
Turkey. While mass violence by the police was occuring outside, they
showed gourmet programmes, documentaries about penguins or even
ironically a documentary about Hitler. Since they only broadcast to
serve the government, they mention this civil unrest as a violence
against police and the demonstrators as violators. As the mass media
keeps to be blindfolded to what has been going on in the streets, the
only communication source is the social media. The useful tactical
informations can only be exchanged via Facebook or Twitter.
This is not a movement of political parties or institutions. This is a
movement of people. Also this is not about religion, not for a name of
god. People are protesting throughout Turkey for the sake of freedom,
humanity, existence and green places. Gezi Park is a symbol of
government's understanding of power. We are not looters or extremists.
We are students, teachers, workers, mothers, fathers. We represent
various etnicities and creeds, religions and ideologies. We are now
united because of our mutual concern for Turkey's future. We demand an
end to police violence. We demand a free and unbiased media. We demand
an open dialogue.
At the rock bottom this resistance is all for “To live! As a tree alone and like a forest in brotherhood.” (Nazım Hikmet Ran)"
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