Istanbul Pride: A Day of Teargas and Water Cannons*

*A special thanks goes out to photo-journalist Nick Ashdown for the incredible photos! 

What a disgrace. Istanbul's 13th Annual Pride March was violently dispersed by police. During the last decade, I have been to numerous Pride marches in Istanbul, and remember that almost every Pride starts with police threatening intervention, followed by negotiations, and then police pulling aside, allowing the march to take place. This held true even following the 2013 Gezi Park protests. For this Pride I had to watch from afar, however to tell you the truth I was not surprised to see in my twitter feed of the developments coming from Istanbul.

Pride Istanbul attacked with water cannons, teargas, and rubber bullets

It is unfortunate that the Istanbul governor chose to use the excuse that the march was banned because it is taking place during the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan. Perhaps he forgot that last year Pride also took place during Ramadan. So the governor thinks Pride is insensitive to religious people? Well, perhaps the governor should explain how shooting rubber bullets and teargas at citizens promotes peace and understanding.

Taking refuge on Burger King's balcony

During the last few months, there has been concerted verbal attacks on Turkey's LGBT community by its pro-government press. Just months ago, I wrote about how Zorlu Performing Arts Center cancelled the Boston Gay Men's Chorus after the pro-gov press claimed they were coming to Turkey to "spread homosexuality." Happily, the evening before the attack on Pride, the Choir took the stage as guests at the prestigious Bogazici University. However, the fact that a public institution sponsored the event outraged many pro-gov officials, with Istanbul's Medeniyet University's Rector, M. Ihsan Karaman venting numerous homophobic hate messages on twitter. 

Istanbul's Medemiyet's Rector: Our Universities are not the
place to legitimize perverted tendencies and acts. No to the Gay Chorus at Bogazici University!   

What seems to be happening is that as the LGBT continues to gain support among the Turkish public and politicians, the conservative AKP (and homophobic) government, especially prevalent among Erdogan's circle, are doing their best to turn this into just another one of its polarizing strategies. In fact, it can be argued that criticizing gays among Turkey's conservative base has remained minimal until now simply because it is such a taboo issue.  However, with the HDP and CHP opposition parties actively calling for LGBT rights, silence is no longer a possible option, with homophobic hate speech only growing. 

The Hashtag of the Day: #LoveWins. What part of this kiss do you not understand?

The attack on Istanbul's Pride only shows how desperate the government has become. Just three weeks ago, the AKP was hit with a major blow losing its parliamentary majority for the first time, after thirteen years of single party rule. For now, it still seems unclear what type of coalition might emerge, with the possibility the country could see a new round of elections. However, Erdogan should take note that his hate speech directed at gays did not help his party in the past election and most likely will not in the future. 

Police wear gas masks on as they shoot teargas towards Pride supporters demand right to march. It
was reported that one participant could lose his eye due to a direct hit by teargas canister.

In the meantime, the LGBT movement and support groups are standing on solid ground, so no one should expect the banning of Pride will make a dent in their support, rather it will only strengthen the movement. Sadly, this came at a high cost. Ironically, it was reported that a member of a pro-AKP LGBT group was among those injured yesterday, with a strong chance he might lose an eye as a result of a direct hit of teargas canister. Clearly, he too misinterpreted the government's hands-off strategy and perhaps has cost him his eyesight. Let us hope that next year's Pride will return to its peaceful days. 

These thousands of march goers will be back next year, that is for sure! 

It just gets better!: Istanbul’s 12th annual LGBT Pride March

For over a decade, I have taken part numerous times in Istanbul’s Pride march which starts in Taksim and runs along the main pedestrian avenue, Istiklal, ending in the Tunel neighborhood. Once over, thousands remain in Tunel, music of drums beating and local bars filling up, with many fearing in what condition they will be in at work the next Monday morning at work! 

This year the protest started off with a bit-of-tension with the police blocking the march from starting in Taksim Square, in what seem was to just a way to remind all that they are watching closely (with six water-cannons placed along Istiklal). Remarkably, it seems Pride has become the only mass-protest which has not seen police interference in the recent past, when so many other civil initiatives are met with heavy doses of teargas and police violence. 

Every year, Pride has grown, and with last year’s Gezi Park protests, Turkey’s LGBT community received a new source of support, due to the active role of LGBT activists in the protests. Yesterday’s march however showed the outpouring of support was not just a one-time event. It seems safe to say that yesterday’s pride even outdid last year’s in terms of spirit, energy, and solidarity. Amazingly, year after year, Istanbul’s Pride just gets better and better.

In Solidarity with those who died in Gezi protests: On with the Struggle! 

While the almost hundred thousand supporters show that protests in Turkey can be fun (so many of Turkish protests revolve around outdated leftist uniformity), no one should be mistaken about the activists serious agenda. Equality based on sexual orientation is not part of Turkey’s Constitution, which is currently-and slowly-being overhauled by the ruling AKP-ruled government. And, while the government seems to try to avoid any discussion of LGBT issues, pro-government press is free to promote hate against the community.

Most pressing is the issue of violence against transgender individuals. This year alone, four transgender woman have been murdered, with an attack on two transgender women taking place just last April, leaving one shot dead and another injured. In fact, last year Turkey saw five of these hate killings; here is a link to a past blog post, where I wrote about the sad case of Irem, who was murdered. A few years back, Amnesty International, released a major report which documented the extreme violence and hate the LGBT community faces in Turkey, which also has included “honor-killings” of gay men.

On the bright side, even if the AKP remains staunchly opposed to recognizing the rights of the LGBT community, the main opposition CHP, and the leftist-Kurdish coalition HDP party, both are leading the way at creating a new Turkey, where Gays, Lesbians, and Transgender, are part of public life, both in policy and party representation (during last spring’s local election six LGBT candidates were listed for municipal representation).

 For more on the topic, here is a link to a policy article I wrote on the LGBT community and Turkey, and also for more of my photos of yesterday's Pride, see the following link. 

Happy Pride to all! Together in solidarity for freedom and equality!

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"

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Update from Istanbul: Has teargas become a Saturday Night Ritual in Taksim?

Protesters, tourists, old people, families, run from water cannon

Since the expulsion of the Gezi Park protesters from the park on June 15 and the following day, the only protests in Istanbul that have been met with a strong police reaction have been confined to Taksim Square, Istiklal pedestrian avenue, and the side streets of Beyoglu and Cihangir, no longer extending to Besiktas, Harbiye, and other surrounding neighborhoods.  

water cannon sprays protesters on Istiklal causing all to run

In fact, during the last three weeks, it seems that it has become a Saturday night ritual for police to clash with protesters; with teargas being shot off, water cannons sprayed, and police chasing protesters into the side streets, where they sometimes also run into unknown assailants beating them with batons in civilian clothes. This of course happens in the midst of tourists running for cover, curious onlookers, and families with children working to keep a safe distance.  

During a 8-day span between two Saturday nights, July 6-13, I made my way down to Taksim to observe some of the protests (some turning into clashes); while other times during the week, I observed the chaos while eating dinner at a friend’s house on a street near Istiklal (literally with teargas seeping in through the windows), or having dinner at a restaurant with friends from abroad (with sounds of the teargas being shot off in the background). 

While some in government tried to paint Gezi Protesters as
disrespectful of religion, they hold Iftar

Here are some short observations and thoughts concerning what I have witnessed:

1. If the police just let the protesters march without interference evenings would end peacefully. Twice now I have witnessed demonstrations (one almost 3 weeks back) where police did not interfere and protesters dispersed within less than an hour. However, this was not the case on July 6, 8, and 13, when protesters clashed with police both on Istiklal, Cihangir (at least on July 8), and in the side streets of Beyoglu.  

2. As in the past, it seems then that Taksim is continuing to play its role as a game of honor on behalf of the Turkish authorities. For example, when protesters held a massive rally in Kadikoy, along with concerts and speeches, the approximate hundred thousand plus people dispersed with no problems with no police intervention whatsoever. The government’s obsession with not allowing any protests to take place in Taksim is costing the Turkish economy a great deal, while tearing parts of Turkey’s social components at the seams. Police intervention in the heart of the entertainment hurts tourism, and to claim that protests detour tourism cannot be supported; in fact, from my impression most tourists do not mind the protests and actually find them interesting.    

  3. While many shop owners have blamed protesters for their serious loss in business, they might look at the two above points.  In fact, protests often bring business to local restaurant and store owners, such as Istanbul’s LGBT Pride, which on June 30 attracted almost 50,000 protesters to Beyoglu. This massive march was left unhindered by police and ended peacefully despite its pro-Gezi chants. In this case, it was an all win situation. The police's non-intervention could be interpreted as a show of soberness and even strength, the protesters got their message out, and local businesses profited nicely! 

4. It is also important to point out that there are many shop owners who are on the protesters side, after also becoming victims of the mass urban renewal projects undertaken by Beyoglu Municipality and new orders limiting outdoor seating (see my previous blog from 2011: the Day the Bars died: Bring Beyoglu back to the people). Unfortunately, it seems that shop owners who speak out against the government are also worried about the negative impact this could have on their business due to “paybacks” by the government. This week, when one owner spoke out in favor of protesters, Tarkan Konar, his cafe bar, Muaf, was closed for 3 days under an order issued by the local municipality (AK Party) for previous code violations.

5. Returning to the topic of tourists; among many of the people victimized by the teargas are tourists. Numerous times I have guided tourists caught in the middle to safe zones including families with children. On July 6, I met two Egyptian tourists, a mother and her young adult daughter. Both had received a heavy dose of teargas; the daughter was in full panic mode. They were crying since they were not able to make it to meet the husband/father and the younger daughter/sister who had been waiting for them at a spot that turned into a battle zone. I helped them find their way, crossing two police lines, with police treating us with respect, letting us pass unhindered. This is just one example of many I have encountered. I should point out that I still encourage tourists to come to Istanbul, but warn them that if they are on Istiklal and hear commotion due to rising tensions (slogans shouted, whistling, heavy police presence) to go the other way.

6. On July 6, while most of the press focused on the acts of a man pulling out a machete threatening protesters while kicking an innocent woman in the back, I witnessed people who had been beaten black and blue by civilians donning batons; just last week came the news that one student who lived in Eskisehir, Ali Ismail Korkmaz, died of his wounds due to being beaten in the head, after days in a coma. Despite arrests, no one has been charged in his killing. Whether the people beating the protesters are shop owners, pro-government factions, or undercover police, the truth be told that it is dangerous development and one that needs to be investigated.    

7. During this period I observed that it seems due to the lower number of protesters there is closer proximity between the police and protesters leading to a more violent outcome, and more arrests. On July 8, on my way home around 1130 PM I crossed Istikal and watched a police shoot off a canister that appeared to be directed at a bystander’s head who was curiously watching the events unfold; luckily he ducked and the canister crashed into the window cracking it. Turkish police have been documented by Human Rights Watch (and the European Court of Human Rights) as wrongfully firing teargas canisters; in place of shooting them at an angle in the air, or directing the teargas directly at ground, that turns them into a weapon that can inflict death and serious injuries. As a result, scores of people have been hit in the head, suffered breakage of facial bones, lost eyes, and serious hemorrhaging, leaving people in comas and paralyzed, without even addressing other parts of the body injured. In fact, you can read about one of the first victims, Lobna Allami, a Turkish Palestinian, who was hit in the head during the first day of protests on May 31, and remains paralyzed among other serious conditions she is facing.  

 

8. During the same evening of July 8, I also was able to observe from a window on a main side road not only protesters but also police. For the first time since Gezi started I got the chance to see what appeared to be new recruits patrolling the streets. As it is, many of the police seem be in their early twenties, and these officers could have come in place of older recruits that were long overdue for a break; recent reports have been coming in on how the long hours days without sleep has taken a toll on them. In one case, I witnessed a young police officer who had been hit badly by teargas since his gas mask was put on improperly, with his friends comforting him. Perhaps one attribute that made me think they were young recruits, in addition to the one getting gassed, was the fact that they were marching like soldiers down the side streets, chanting slogans (usually common among military forces and not police) such as “vatan sana canim feda” (I'll die for my country), as if they needed some encouragement. Whatever the case, chanting such slogans only causes a dangerous polarization and sense of alienation towards the other (on both sides).

  

marching through side streets July 8

  9. Lastly, on the protesters side, it is clear they have entered a new phase. From the masses at Gezi park, numerous forums have been setting up, while other groups protest independently (like we saw with the journalists). I have also met a group of professionals who meet weekly brainstorming how to move to a political action stage. There are great examples of learning about the other, and building on the extreme diversity of the different groups. This was demonstrated greatly by the massive Iftar breakfast dinner, where protesters opened a massive dinner for those fasting during the day along Istiklal, enjoying their evening in the shadow of riot police. While some are skeptical about a major political movement emerging from the Gezi protests, it is clear that the protesters have kept their demands alive through creativity and setting the agenda of when and where they will protest. Further, it seems that until now, they have set the agenda, a fact that should send a strong signal to the government to adopt new policies.  

A lone man walks up Istiklal checking phone teargas
in background. After police enter Nevizade; July 8, 1130 PM  

So the question remains: Will the government turn clashes on Istiklal into a ritual? Will it adopt a strategy to bringing the tensions to an end? Well, I think for now the answer is no. Firstly, the fact that arresting of protesters is still continuing, while others are being detained seems to signal the government is opting to continue its zero-tolerance to any forms of anti-government dissent. Nevertheless, I think it is clear that the government seems to have mismanaged the Gezi Protests from A-to-Z, giving protesters more reason to continue to their struggle. This is truly unfortunate for a government that on one hand is taking courageous steps to make peace with its Kurdish population, and that during the last decade has moved the country forward on so many levels.  

With Mashrou' Leila from Haifa to Beirut, and back to Istanbul

Here is my latest from Your Middle East (10 April 2013):

From the moment I heard that the Lebanese band Mashrou' Leila was coming to Istanbul, I knew I was in for a great evening; I just never imagined how much this band, made up of former students from the American University of Beirut, could dish out.

Just a year ago, this group made its way across my Facebook feed, and it took only weeks before they became a part of my daily life, with a ritual developing at my home where I would share their music with friends coming over in evenings before going out to enjoy Istanbul nights.

What strikes me most about Mashrou' Leila’s music, and its musicians, is that it seems to be very much a product of urban mixing, which I myself experienced both in Haifa and Istanbul. While their music offers a splash of Beirut, evident also in their Lebanese accents, it is rather a testament to a multicultural existence, which is not forced but natural; it is a dangerous mix of happiness and the backdrop of a much darker reality. Song after song, they offer a personal narrative of crossing borders, challenging existing cultural, social and gender constructs.

To continue reading, here is the link