Gezi and Ferguson: A Reply to Ceren Kenar

Ever since Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, Turkish pro-government press has been quick to highlight injustices carried out by that city's police department and lack of due process in the case. Sounds well intentioned, right? Unfortunately, not like much of the international press covering the events, the Turkish pro-government press, such as its state mouthpiece, Anadolu Agency, and the English daily Sabah, have seem set on one aim: to highlight injustices in the United States in order to downplay those carried out against last year's Gezi protesters. 

Following the non-indictment of the officer who killed Michael Brown, a new round of protests broke out, which once again was seized by the Turkey's pro-government press. One Turkish writer, Ceren Kenar, who writes for the staunchly pro-government paper, Türkiye, published an article entitled "Ferguson and Gezi..."(December 2, 2014). This caught my attention days later, especially since Kenar, despite her often apologetic stance to the Turkish government, does try to maintain a safe distance from the usual propaganda machine.

(A protester kicks a tear gas canister back towards police after protests in reaction to the shooting of Michael Brown turned violent near Ferguson, Missouri August 17, 2014. Reuters)

It is important to state that Kenar's article was published a day before New York state's non-indictment of Eric Garner, who was filmed suffocating in the hands of the NYPD, left to die on the street. However, it seems that this non-indicment would only strengthen her main argument: that Turkey, and Erdogan, are being held to a higher standard than the United States and Obama. She reaches this conclusion after a long detailed description of the Ferguson events from its first days until the non-indicment, which is strikingly similar (in order and detail) to the Wikipedia entry, entitled "2014 Ferguson Events." 

Gezi Park protests; (no credit mentioned in link, please contact me if this is your property)

I will let the the reader decide whether or not Kenar essentially plagiarized most of her article from Wikipedia (if this had been a student paper, I would have pursued a plagiarism case); but if she did plagiarize, she did so selectively, omitting parts that would debunk her main argument. For example, while she highlights voices critical of the United States, such as the French Justice Minister and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, she omits the numerous references to President Obama's rather conciliatory stance towards Ferguson. This is misleading since Erdogan was the sole source of the Gezi Park uprising and greatly shaped the reactions and perceptions. For examples she rhetorically states that:

"As all this (the Ferguson events) was happening the American intellectuals did not declare the Obama government illegitimate" and the "American president was not called a murderer."

Well Ms. Kenar, did you forget that it was Erdogan who boldly stated that it was he who gave the police the order to shoot the protesters? Did you forget that it is was Erdogan who cursed the mother of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan on the day of his funeral after he laid months in a coma from a head injury sustained by a teargas canister that struck him as he went to buy bread in the morning? 

Ah, Could this be the reason that some in Turkey declared Erdogan's government illegitimate and called him a murderer? And, don't you imagine if Obama had taken such a harsh stance that the reactions would have been similar?

I have to admit, Ms. Kenar, I was surprised also to find that you felt a strong urge to attack Turkish academics who supported their students in the Gezi protests, by stating that "Harvard professors did not give A+s to students who missed the finals due to their participation in protests." 

True, during the Gezi protests, many professors did facilitate special times for their protesting students to complete their exams, just as many American professors would have done. And, rightly so! What more can a professor want than students taking their future in their own hands!  But to insinuate that all professors sympathetic to the Gezi protests gave A+s to their students is a gross exaggeration. Perhaps, ask your friend, Professor Halil Berktay, if he had the same policy. I highly doubt it. 

Well, towards the end of the article, Kenar comes to her main argument, which was the reason she dedicated almost 80 percent of her article to injustices at Ferguson without naming one fact (good or bad) about Gezi, but making clear that Erdogan and Turkey, as a whole, were wrongly judged by both Turkish citizens and the world: 

Kenar states, "I am not writing this to legitimate the [Turkish] government's wrong strategy, which was dealt a bad hand during Gezi,"...or, "to claim that the US is a actually an authoritarian regime,"rather, I am writing this to stress that the Gezi events transformed from a democratic protest and turned into a strategy to overthrow the government, which was democratically elected, all the while intellectuals were giving it credit."

She continues "such events like Gezi and Ferguson, can happen in many of the world's democracies. Police violence can be applied, some even might support this violence. No doubt that these are unwanted, reprehensible, and sad events...and "peacefully protesting such events in order to increase awareness is both legitimate and even praiseworthy." And, "....just as you can still rightly consider the US a democracy even in light of these events (Ferguson), Gezi needs to be assessed in a level-headed way, removed from exaggerations and prejudices." 


So, Ms. Kenar, if you get the chance, perhaps you might want to consider the following questions? 

1. Did you attend the Gezi protests? I was there from the first day and no one was calling to overthrow the government, rather hundreds of thousands of them were shouting in unison, Resign Erdogan! And, it was peaceful protesters attacked, not vice versa. Also, do you support police violence if it is perceived by the government as a coup attempt. If so, Egyptian President Sisi will appreciate your analysis! 

2. You support peacefully protesting to increase awareness. Well, why then were the protesters at Berkin Elvan's funeral attacked. Here is a link to see how violent the police force was. Could such police violence be tolerated in any democracy? Of course, this alone cannot deny a state of being a democracy, but it certainly should cause immense worry! 



3. Do people injured and killed in the Gezi protests have the right to sue the government for damages? The first day of the Gezi protest, innocent and peaceful protester Lobna Allami was shot at close range by a teargas canister, placed in a coma, and is still undergoing rehabilitation. Does she have legal recourse?

4. What about cases such as the killing of Kader Ortakaya, who was recently shot and killed while peacefully protesting on the Turkish-Syrian border. Where does her killing fit into your rigid understanding of protests? Is it normal in a democracy to have 46 people killed (October 6-7 2014) without a state sponsored independent inquiry to investigate the events? As far as I know, this deaths are as good as gone.

5. Should a journalist really be writing about a situation that s/he knows nothing more (or contributes nothing more) than what is available in a Wikipedia article? 


In conclusion, let it be clear that there is no doubt that both Gezi and Ferugson deserve great attention, especially in relation to their blatant human rights violations. However, comparing the two events is like comparing apples and oranges. America is a federal system, with great autonomy allotted to local and state police forces. On the other hand, with the case of Gezi, the governor of Istanbul is appointed by Erdogan, who undoubtedly takes orders from above. 

In any case, it seems that this article was written for one purpose and one purpose only: for Kenar to give her blanket support for the government and to provide a more sophisticated analysis to the government's claim (without no proof whatsoever) that the Gezi protesters aimed to overthrow a democratically elected government; i.e., that Gezi was a coup attempt. 

The Ferguson events have serious implications for the United States, as I stated in a recent blog, and need to be placed within the greater context of "of overall racism in the United States. From slavery to the Jim Crow laws, the history of racism against the African-American population runs deep and did not end with the civil rights movement or the election of President Obama."

Certainly, the events in the United States should not be manipulated to suit one's political agenda in a completely unrelated arena. In short, it is unfortunate that this seems to be the case here. 

The State did not Protect him: Hasan Ferit Gedik's Untimely Death*

Last Sunday evening, news of an armed attack on a group of protesters started to appear across my twitter feed. One of the protesters was in intensive care due to multiple bullet wounds, his name was Hasan Ferit Gedik (hereafter: Ferit). Reports were confusing, with some saying he was alive and others he was dead; well, within hours it was clear that he would not make it. He was only 21 years old. What a loss. As for his friend, Gökhan Aktaş, he was in critical condition, now stable, and even if his life is out of danger he will have a long agonizing road to recovery.

Not like the six Gezi protesters who were killed facing police violence, Ferit was murdered while protesting the presence of drug gangs, who have taken over Maltepe’s sub-neighborhood of Gulsuyu, on the Asian side of Istanbul. Unknown assailants shot six bullets in his head, back and neck, ending the People’s Front (Halk Cephesi) demonstration in tragedy; however, despite the police knowing of the sensitivity of the protest, they did not protect them. In the past, other protesters have been attacked by members of the drug cartel in the very same neighborhood.  The police force’s inability to clampdown on the drug trafficking, prevent attacks-or indifference to such attacks-has led to the serious accusation that the police are in cahoots with the cartel.

If only those allegations had been leveled; following Ferit’s death, there were reports of plain clothes policemen entering the hospital room, and his shirt and undershirt being lifted. The next day, the public prosecutor announced that he did not order any evidence to be confiscated and that it had gone “missing”; of course, an essential piece of evidence.  While at the same time, less than 72 hours after his death, news broke that the weapons used in the attack-2 pistols and an assault rifle- had been located off the coast not too far from the scene and were retrieved by police divers. Therefore, even if there have been arrests made, Ferit’s family and friends have little reason to trust the authorities.

Throwing salt on the wounds, as of Wednesday night, Ferit’s funeral procession has been blocked by the Turkish authorities who refuse to heed to the family’s demand that his body before being buried be taken to the site of his killing as a memorial to his untimely death.  For the last 48 hours, his body has been resting in a coffin in his own neighborhood’s Cemevi (jem-evi), the Alevi sect’s house of prayer. This neighborhood, Küçük Armutlu, is no stranger to the Turkish police since it is a known leftist stronghold with a tradition of challenging state authority. As of last night the neighborhood is basically under siege with police and water cannons surrounding it.  

If this was not enough, the fact that he was of the Alevi sect comes at a time when the religious minority is locked in conflict with the state-despite wide representation from all walks of life, all of the protesters in Gezi who were killed were Alevi, and numerous clashes have recently taken place against state projects to gentrify and transform their lower middle-class neighborhoods. Most recently, an article in the online newspaper, Al-Monitor, addressed the issues of the Alevis and the recent events. While some had expected that PM Erdogan would address some of the Alevi demands in his unveiling of the much-awaited “Democratic Packgage” on Monday-just hours after Ferit’s passing away-this too proved to be a disappointment.

What is clear is that the Turkish government must open a transparent investigation into the murder of Hasan Ferit Gedik. While police violence remains for the most part without any serious investigation as was demonstrated in the Gezi Park protests, this case brings the accusations up a notch, raising questions if there are connections between the police and drug traffickers; if these accusations are not addressed at the top-level, it will serve as just another example of the growing mistrust many Turkish people feel towards their government.

UPDATE: Today, Thursday (03-10-2013) Ferit has been buried in the Gazi cemetery  Before burying him the state authorities heeded the demands of the family that his body be taken to the site of his killing, where a memorial ceremony/protest was held.

*For articles in Turkish that helped me "fill in the blanks" concerning the case I used the following 3 articles from Radikal. This is an edited version of the original (slight changes for clarity).

http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/hasan_ferit_gedik_bu_silahla_mi_olduruldu-1153652

http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/hasan_feritin_ust_giysileri_kayboldu-1153405

http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/uyusturucu_cetesi_kan_doktu_1_olu-1153295

===================================

FOLLOW ME on TWITTER @istanbultelaviv for more on whats happening in Turkey and Israel/Palestine, the uprising in Syria, and the Middle East at large.

   

What does Gezi mean to Me?

Photo of teargas and fire barricades in Kadikoy (photo circulating on net,
 please contact me for accreditation)

Last week, following the death of Ahmet Atakan, a protester in the Turkish southern province of Hatay, people took to the streets in different cities in Turkey including Istanbul.  For the first time since the Gezi protests, the Turkish police crossed the Bosphorus and decided to take on protesters in Kadikoy; a known secular neighborhood, with a history of leftists protests taking place. While the government often tries to characterize the protesters as provocateurs, it should be stated that the Turkish police’s violent clampdown on this neighborhood was blatant provocation; until now, Kadikoy’s protests had been left alone, and its residents often frequented the protests in Taksim. Indeed, the intensity of the police actions on the new turf can only be interpreted as a “payback” for their enduring support of the Gezi Park protests.

During last week, on any given afternoon, my computer was receiving live feeds from Kadikoy, and I was tweeting the information to the best of my knowledge. It sparked memories of the Gezi protests when my neighborhood was one of the centers of clashes between protesters and the police; in fact, the morning after the police finally took Gezi Park back from the protesters, I returned home from a trip to a TOMA (water cannon) and teargas on my street; it looked and felt like a warzone and I worried greatly for all the parents with children stuck there, and the elderly who occupy a great part of the neighborhood.    

On the side streets of Kadikoy
(contact for accreditation)

Now that I am back in New York, I was able to distance myself somewhat from the events in Kadikoy.  This was important since it gave me the chance to ponder on the question why the Gezi Protests occupied most of my summer; indeed, the protests were like a massive wave crashing down on me. Day-in-and-day-out I was living Gezi.      

The most obvious reason I was so fixated on Gezi is the fact that Istanbul has been my home for over a decade; almost a quarter-of-my-life.  Even if I have been commuting back and forth from New York, and at times from Israel (making it a lot easier in terms of distance), my four-walls in Istanbul are my home. They include memories of my child’s first years (her first shoes), a collection of pointless memorabilia (magnets from cities of the world), and artifacts from the past (the long forgotten photo albums). Indeed, this is a personal side that few know about, save for close friends, and of course my neighbors, who see me come and go every few months, as I lug my suitcases up-and-down the 5-floor walk-up.  They have long become use to me, and me to them.

Not like past years however, Gezi happened just as I had been over a year in Istanbul, making only two brief trips to Israel. For someone who has spent his life in a constant nomadic state this truly was one of my most relaxed periods of my life; a year filled with plenty of love and happiness; and, the Gezi protests broke this calm and serenity. 

By chance just before all hell broke loose during the evening of May 31, I found myself on Istiklal, Taksim’s main pedestrian avenue, trying to find a route home and every side street I went down seemed to be drenched with teargas. I know the streets of Istanbul even better than the ones in Tel Aviv, a city I adore, and much better than the ones in New York, a place where I randomly ended up due to employment; a love for the streets is not bound by law and belonging is not based one’s passport or by a resident permit. The same streets I saw under massive clouds of teargas are the very these same streets where I pushed my daughter’s stroller, and where I taught her to ride a bicycle. It is in also these streets I forged love and said farewell to other loves. It is in these streets I regularly take a stroll on semi-serene Sunday evenings. These streets are mine, and I share them with all who walk them.

A surprise to me was that where I encountered the violence up close was actually at my favorite bar in Taksim; perhaps not a second-home but a regular hangout for me. During the protests, it served at times as a makeshift hospital; on weekends, as teargas poured in, so did the injured-a woman injured by a plastic bullet on her back, an activist beaten black-and-blue by police, and a leg injury due to a teargas canister. And, once everyone was in safely the barman quickly brought the shutters down, turned out lights fearing a police raid that could lead to arrests.  Twice I met tourists who took cover there, and once I led an Egyptian mother and her panicking daughter from the bar once the gas settled and across police lines in the midst of battles taking place on Istiklal. For me, this side showed me that when push came to shove the protesters were left powerless, left with wounds, fear, and anger, but nevertheless defiant.  

For me, the politics of Turkey have very little to do with my stance on Gezi; it is much more about a personal conviction that every person has the right to express dissent unhindered; it is about freedom of expression, it is about defending the innocent people who were injured, it is about helping the elderly who fell down due to teargas, it is about standing up against excessive force used by police, it is so that the death of the protesters will not be in vain. Even if I am not a citizen of Turkey, Gezi showed me that I have invested way too much in the country to remain indifferent.

Yes, for me Gezi is personal, very personal.

For my articles on Gezi Park Protests see the following links:

Haaretz

"With One Voice they yelled: Erdogan Resign!" (artilcle appears in entirety on my blog, or Haaretz's website) 

http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/09/with-one-voice-they-yelled-erdogan.html -or- http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.527192

Radikal

"Erdoğan istifa diyenler ne istiyor" (Haaretz'den tercumesi)  http://www.radikal.com.tr/yorum/erdogan_istifa_diyenler_ne_istiyor-1136142

Todays Zaman

"The Twitterization of the Gezi Park Protests" http://www.todayszaman.com/news-319990-the-twitterization-of-the-gezi-park-protests-by-louis-fishman-.html 

"The Gezi Park protests, the Middle East, and the secular-religious divide," http://www.todayszaman.com/news-318406-the-gezi-park-protests-the-middle-east-and-the-secular-religious-divide-by-louis-fishman-.html

Istanbul-Tel Aviv-New York (my blog)

"A Monday night Stroll from Besiktas to Gezi Park," http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-monday-night-stroll-from-besiktas-to.html 

"Update from Istanbul: Has teargas become a Saturday Night Ritual," http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2013/07/update-from-istanbul-has-teargas-become.html

הארץ

http://www.haaretz.co.il/news/world/middle-east/.premium-1.2035196  "זה לא רק הפארק: המפגינים באיסטנבול רוצים דמוקרטיה"

===================================

FOLLOW ME on TWITTER @istanbultelaviv for more on whats happening in Turkey and Israel/Palestine, the uprising in Syria, and the Middle East at large.

With one voice they yelled: Erdogan Resign! (from Haaretz, June 2 2013)

With one voice they yelled: Erdogan Resign!

The message of the Istanbul protesters for Prime Minister Erdogan is that even if the Turkish government has one of the biggest stockpiles of teargas in the world, it cannot be used to silence those who oppose him.

*This article appeared originally in Haaretz on June 2, 2013; I am placing the entire text here since due to the paywall sometimes the link is blocked.

ISTANBUL - For the last two days, Istanbul’s main center, Taksim, and its surrounding areas, have been under siege due to a massive peaceful protest. Thousands of canisters of tear gas have been fired at hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters throughout the city, together with water-cannons spraying tainted water that burns the skin, all while the protesters screamed in unison, "Erdogan Resign!" While protests, and other forms of dissent, have been met with force in the past, there is no doubt that during the last year there has been a proliferation of the use of teargas, especially following the election of Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for his third term, two years ago.

While the current protest originally was sparked over an urban renewal project, which included destroying the Taksim’s main park, the only green area in the immediate vicinity, and reconstructing to its former glory an Ottoman armory that once stood there on the park's ruins, the truth must be told that the current protest was much more profound than the campaign to save the seventy-five year-old trees of the park.

When the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) first came to power in 2002, under the sole leadership of Erdogan, many hashed out exaggerated claims that his party was secretly promoting a radical Islamic agenda; however, the majority of Turkish people never believed this. Not to mention that many Turkish liberals embraced Erdogan as an agent of change, as the one that could challenge the secular military elite, as the one that could bring new freedoms to Turkey. In fact, during the first few years, Erdogan ushered in not only the building of a strong economy, but also a period where civil organizations multiplied, with a genuine sense of change in the air.

Despite the bad record Turkey has had with jailing reporters, long detentions and trials for military officers arrested on suspicion of masterminding a coup d’état, and numerous students detained for years in prison for protesting, many liberals still placed hopes that Erdogan could shape a semi-liberal constitution for Turkey despite his very conservative views; something that in 2010 led Erdogan to a solid 58 percent victory in the referendum over Turkey’s new constitution (still in the works). Just a year later, in the 2011 parliamentary elections, he came very close to securing fifty-percent of the total Turkish electorate.

It was in the 2011 elections campaign that Erdogan clarified his goal of changing the law in order to allow him to transfer new powers to the presidency, and then run for president himself, allowing him to continue to rule in one way or another until at least 2023, the 100th year anniversary of the Republic. In fact, his ambitions are not confined to the issue of state positions; during the last two years, it has become evident that Erdogan is only interested in a one-man show, with him in the center. And having centralized so much power he has made his aims clear: To transform younger Turks into a 'moral' generation, while transforming Turkey into a major regional and world economic powerhouse.

From implementing policies encouraging women to have three children, to his goal to raise a 'moral' generation of youth that will sign up to his interpretation of what a good Muslim is, more and more Turks have become tired of a Prime Minister who promotes policies that interfere with their daily lives. Just before the protest began new laws were enacted aimed at curbing alcohol consumption in the public sphere. It should be clear it is not that so many Turks would be affected by the laws; even if drinking Raki (and beer to some extent) is considered by many as a Turkish pastime, actually a low percentage of them actually drink on a regular basis. Rather, it was in the very condescending way Erdogan related his disdain for those who do drink, inferring that they were all drunks.

Parallel to this, Erdogan’s personal dictation of the policies of urban renewal and of massive infrastructure projects have taken their toll on the Turkish population. It seems that no power is strong enough to stop a project that the Prime Minister supports; whether it is the third Bosphorus bridge, the new mega-airport, or the numerous dams that are flooding cities throughout the Anatolian heartland. In fact, it was due to this very reason that the Erdogan’s obsession to replicate an Ottoman armory, even stressing his wish that it be used as a shopping mall, irked so many, regardless of political affiliation or social background. As high rises replace shanty towns, and shopping malls blossom at the speed of flowers in the spring, the 606 trees at Taksim Park turned into a real issue for many.

Today’s massive protest in that sense were not a revolution; they were not set on overthrowing the government; the protestors' aim was to have their voices heard and to demonstrate that even if Turkey is a democracy according to the books, that a democratic system should ensure rights for all, as well as fostering a climate of debate. This point cannot be understated especially when it comes to the Turkish youth that - to a great extent - does not see eye-to-eye with the government’s conservative outlook. For so many people in their early twenties, the only Prime Minster they have ever known is Erdogan, and they long for a new reality where they can take part, contribute to their society, and not be considered hooligans for simply enjoying a beer. In fact, in the park protest, Turkey showed to what extent its youth want to be a part of making their home a better place.

Lastly, with the protesters now in Taksim Square, once the police barricades were lifted, it has shown Prime Minister Erdogan, and all of his government ministers, that even if they have one of the biggest stockpiles of teargas in the world, it cannot be used to silence those who oppose them. The protests are a strong message to Erdogan that a significant part of his society is frustrated with his arrogance, and perhaps gives him a signal that his wish to become President might not be that easy a feat at all.

Louis Fishman is an assistant professor at Brooklyn College, City University of New York. Ths year he is in Istanbul working on his upcoming book on late Ottoman Palestine, and teaching Middle East history and politics courses at Okan and Sabanci Universities. He has lived most of his life divided between the U.S., Israel, and Turkey. Follow him @IstanbulTelaviv or on his blog: http://louisfishman.blogspot.com