September 8, 2010
Dear Readers,
This summer has gone by fast and now it is almost finally over. Unfortunately, I have not been able to submit a blog during the last month; not only due to family obligations which has taken me on a four-week trip with my daughter to Istanbul, New York, California, and as of tomorrow Minnesota. But also due to a really hot Istanbul summer where it was quite difficult to sit down and write (not to mention the ongoing saga of renovations done on my house, which were supposed to last 4 days but dragged on for 3 weeks). Despite this, exciting times have been brewing in Turkey and Israel. Happily as of September 15 I will be back in Istanbul trying to catch up!
All Eyes on Turkey
For Turkey, as many of you know, on September 12 they will go to the ballot box to vote on a referendum focusing on constitutional reform. It seems that the results will be close with many predicting that the ruling AKP party will be able to convince the majority of Turkish citizens to vote “Yes.” However, one cannot dismiss the Opposition, who are trying to convince the electorate that the reforms are nothing more than the AKP trying to phase out one more bastion of the secular state: the judiciary and to vote “No.” Undoubtedly, if the “Yes” votes surpasses the “NO” votes the AKP will have won one of their greatest victories yet; however, this comes at a price. The referendum regardless of the outcome will continue to polarize the Turkish electorate. If the “No” vote surpasses the “Yes” votes then this will be truly a vote of no confidence for the Prime Minster Erdogan. This is actually the root of the problem with the referendum campaign turning into more-or-less a vote of confidence with few people studying the complicated wording of the text and with both Erdogan and opposition leader Kilicdaroglu tied into a duel which has little to do with constitutional reform. A slim “Yes” victory is all the AKP needs to move forward, however if this happens the opposition can still claim some sort of victory, questioning if a mere slim majority is enough to implement such major changes. However, if the “No” vote comes through this will be a major political defeat for Erdogan and will be the first major sign that the 2011 parliamentary elections will be up for grabs. Lastly, the Kurdish Peace and Democrat Party has called for a general boycott so we also will be able to see how many of their supporters heed to their leaders call. In general, the Kurdish vote is one the Prime Minister Erdogan is relying on to bolster a strong majority.
Israel and Palestine: Back to the Table
For Israel and the Palestine, a new round of negotiations has begun, rather than wasting my ink as I have done in the past, I prefer to wait and see what Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas have in store. There are some signs that this round indeed will produce some type of interim-peace agreement. However, we have seen the script before and if we are basing it on passed negotiations this too is bound to fail. So I prefer to wait and see how it progresses in the next couple of weeks, or as we say in Hebrew until ahrei hahagim (after the long period of holidays between of Rosh Shanah to Sukkot when it is almost impossible to get anything done). For now, to all my Muslim and Jewish readers I wish you a Happy Eid/Bayram and a Happy New Year (with them falling on the same day this year)!
Yours,
Louis
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Berivan is Free at Last
July 30, 2010
After almost a month I am back writing my blog with a special update and some good news. The girl Berivan, who was sentenced to over seven years for throwing rocks at Turkish police has been set free due to a softening of terror laws. Since covering the incident in one of my previous blog entries I have been following her plight and was obviously thrilled to hear of release.
I am attaching a New York Times article which does a good job at explaining the changes in the law, covering Berivan’s story, and comments on the tensions in Turkey’s Southeast. The change in the law is indeed a step in the right direction however as Amnesty International has reported it is still not sufficient.
Happily, Berivan is free; her story was crucial in getting the word out and giving a face to the hundreds of children held in Turkish jails. As we see from the last article, tensions in the Southeast remain high and just within days of the introduction of the new measures more children have been arrested following clashes with the Turkish police.
Yours,
Louis
My former blog entry:
http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2010/02/turkeys-forgotten-children-story-of-15.html
New York Times article a (I thank my friend Burak for bringing this article to my attention)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/world/asia/30kurds.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&ref=global-home&adxnnlx=1280476924-oYWIL7bnbhPy+2hKVpQ/YQ
Amnesty International annoucement as covered in the new service Bianet:
http://bianet.org/english/children/123720-amendments-of-anti-terror-law-positive-but-not-sufficient
Bianet article on new arrest of children:
http://bianet.org/english/local-goverment/123765-detention-of-children-leads-to-unrest-in-the-southeast
After almost a month I am back writing my blog with a special update and some good news. The girl Berivan, who was sentenced to over seven years for throwing rocks at Turkish police has been set free due to a softening of terror laws. Since covering the incident in one of my previous blog entries I have been following her plight and was obviously thrilled to hear of release.
I am attaching a New York Times article which does a good job at explaining the changes in the law, covering Berivan’s story, and comments on the tensions in Turkey’s Southeast. The change in the law is indeed a step in the right direction however as Amnesty International has reported it is still not sufficient.
Happily, Berivan is free; her story was crucial in getting the word out and giving a face to the hundreds of children held in Turkish jails. As we see from the last article, tensions in the Southeast remain high and just within days of the introduction of the new measures more children have been arrested following clashes with the Turkish police.
Yours,
Louis
My former blog entry:
http://louisfishman.blogspot.com/2010/02/turkeys-forgotten-children-story-of-15.html
New York Times article a (I thank my friend Burak for bringing this article to my attention)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/30/world/asia/30kurds.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&ref=global-home&adxnnlx=1280476924-oYWIL7bnbhPy+2hKVpQ/YQ
Amnesty International annoucement as covered in the new service Bianet:
http://bianet.org/english/children/123720-amendments-of-anti-terror-law-positive-but-not-sufficient
Bianet article on new arrest of children:
http://bianet.org/english/local-goverment/123765-detention-of-children-leads-to-unrest-in-the-southeast
Friday, July 2, 2010
One Demonstration Two Prides Two Cities: PART TWO: Istanbul
PART TWO: Istanbul
Almost three weeks after the Mavi Marmara incident, I returned to Turkey. For a moment I thought I might use my American passport to enter. Who knows, with the relations how they were I was afraid one side –either Israel or Turkey- might opt out for a radical measure and suspend relations between the two countries. In that case, I might have to exit and reenter on my American passport. However, after seeing about 300 hundred people in line waiting for a visa, which Americans need and Israelis don’t need, I decided to skip the whole visa process and entered on my Israeli passport.
Happily, I immediately noticed things had calmed down. Walking down the streets in Istanbul, the only tension one could feel were the leftovers from the wave of demonstrations which flooded the city following the incident; by this I mean anti-Israeli graffiti and a Palestinian flag hanging above the Pangalti Metro stop. Unlike Israel, Turkey is a huge country and their media almost immediately finds a new story to latch onto; so much so that in the last few days there have been no new stories on Israel in the local papers. Once the dust settled more and more people also began to criticize the Turkish government’s role in the incident and questioned how such radical groups were able to attract so many people quickly to the demonstrations and set the daily agenda.
I arrived right before the annual Gay Pride week, something I have watched grow over the past few years. I first came across it as I was studying French at the French institute in Taksim back in 2008. During the last few years, I have attended lectures featuring Turkish parliament members from the secular CHP and the Kurdish DTP (now BDP). Although the LGBT community appears to have thrived under the conservative Muslim AKP government, they have received little or no recognition from the ruling government. This is surprising since in 2002 a pact between liberals and the AKP was formed; both fighting to break the secular institutions monolithic type of Turkish nationalism which is homophobic and leaves little room for the expression of multiple identities. Therefore the CHP should be commended for participating along with the Kurdish BDP.
Ten years ago such a “public event” would have been unheard of in Istanbul. I remember one friend who marched for LGBT rights about eight years ago at a May 1 Demonstration wrapped in a kefiyyeh just in case his parents might spot him. While the fear of “coming out” on television (as there is quite a bit of media coverage) and its repercussions are still quite threatening to some, this year the Pride March had an impressive turnout with about 3000 people (more or less). Numerous groups participated from transgendered sex-workers, university students, lesbian and gay sub-groups, groups representing different parts of Turkey as well as allied groups who tie the progression of LGBT rights to human rights in general.
The annual Istanbul Pride parade in a sense reminds me of the Tel Aviv pride twenty years ago: quite political and mostly attracting activists among the LGBT community and allies. Organized by Istanbul LAMDA, it is clearly leftist in orientation, which in the end presents it with its greatest challenge. If they were to open their doors to wider communities they might lose the heart of their radical movement but gain a new generation of activists, and with proper organization and leadership they could easily double their numbers.
Nevertheless, for Turkey and its civil organizations, Istanbul Pride is a true show of force and optimism. While the Turkish society overall is quite conservative they to are coming to terms with the fact that the LGBT as an active community is here to stay. No longer can government ministers, such as Aliye Kavaf (minister of Woman and Family affairs), who stated that “homosexuality is a disease that needs to be treated”, hide from the slogans thrown at her by thousands of protestors. The fact that she has not had to resign is in itself a disgrace to the current government. Furthermore, the march signifies more than anything that Turkey has changed a lot during the last decade and that the Turkish society is indeed in the midst of a quite dynamic phase.
Link to photos
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188379&id=688171338&l=1ebe3b8534
Almost three weeks after the Mavi Marmara incident, I returned to Turkey. For a moment I thought I might use my American passport to enter. Who knows, with the relations how they were I was afraid one side –either Israel or Turkey- might opt out for a radical measure and suspend relations between the two countries. In that case, I might have to exit and reenter on my American passport. However, after seeing about 300 hundred people in line waiting for a visa, which Americans need and Israelis don’t need, I decided to skip the whole visa process and entered on my Israeli passport.
Happily, I immediately noticed things had calmed down. Walking down the streets in Istanbul, the only tension one could feel were the leftovers from the wave of demonstrations which flooded the city following the incident; by this I mean anti-Israeli graffiti and a Palestinian flag hanging above the Pangalti Metro stop. Unlike Israel, Turkey is a huge country and their media almost immediately finds a new story to latch onto; so much so that in the last few days there have been no new stories on Israel in the local papers. Once the dust settled more and more people also began to criticize the Turkish government’s role in the incident and questioned how such radical groups were able to attract so many people quickly to the demonstrations and set the daily agenda.
I arrived right before the annual Gay Pride week, something I have watched grow over the past few years. I first came across it as I was studying French at the French institute in Taksim back in 2008. During the last few years, I have attended lectures featuring Turkish parliament members from the secular CHP and the Kurdish DTP (now BDP). Although the LGBT community appears to have thrived under the conservative Muslim AKP government, they have received little or no recognition from the ruling government. This is surprising since in 2002 a pact between liberals and the AKP was formed; both fighting to break the secular institutions monolithic type of Turkish nationalism which is homophobic and leaves little room for the expression of multiple identities. Therefore the CHP should be commended for participating along with the Kurdish BDP.
Ten years ago such a “public event” would have been unheard of in Istanbul. I remember one friend who marched for LGBT rights about eight years ago at a May 1 Demonstration wrapped in a kefiyyeh just in case his parents might spot him. While the fear of “coming out” on television (as there is quite a bit of media coverage) and its repercussions are still quite threatening to some, this year the Pride March had an impressive turnout with about 3000 people (more or less). Numerous groups participated from transgendered sex-workers, university students, lesbian and gay sub-groups, groups representing different parts of Turkey as well as allied groups who tie the progression of LGBT rights to human rights in general.
The annual Istanbul Pride parade in a sense reminds me of the Tel Aviv pride twenty years ago: quite political and mostly attracting activists among the LGBT community and allies. Organized by Istanbul LAMDA, it is clearly leftist in orientation, which in the end presents it with its greatest challenge. If they were to open their doors to wider communities they might lose the heart of their radical movement but gain a new generation of activists, and with proper organization and leadership they could easily double their numbers.
Nevertheless, for Turkey and its civil organizations, Istanbul Pride is a true show of force and optimism. While the Turkish society overall is quite conservative they to are coming to terms with the fact that the LGBT as an active community is here to stay. No longer can government ministers, such as Aliye Kavaf (minister of Woman and Family affairs), who stated that “homosexuality is a disease that needs to be treated”, hide from the slogans thrown at her by thousands of protestors. The fact that she has not had to resign is in itself a disgrace to the current government. Furthermore, the march signifies more than anything that Turkey has changed a lot during the last decade and that the Turkish society is indeed in the midst of a quite dynamic phase.
Link to photos
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=188379&id=688171338&l=1ebe3b8534
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