- Know I am safe.
- Know I am being smart and staying away from the protests.
- Know that these events started because peaceful protesters were reading in a park because they were trying to save the trees... The protests are different now.
"When all that capitalism can offer is shopping malls and asphyxiating gas, then defending a park turns into a fight for life itself."
Today marks the fifth day of protests in Istanbul. What started off as a small peaceful protest for the protection of Gezi Park in Taksim (because the government wants to tear down the park and surrounding historical sites in order to construct yet another shopping mall) transformed yesterday into a massive pilgrimage of Turks protesting the current Turkish governmental regime. After increased suppression in recent years due to the AK Party's take over, the excessive brutality demonstrated by police against the peaceful Gezi Park protesters was the straw that broke the camels back. The Gezi protest is the gateway for what many hope is the start of a Revolution. People are seizing this opportunity to gather in the masses to finally speak up and voice their discontent for the current Turkish government (which many believe to be more Fascist than Democratic) and the current Turkish Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan, who is known for using this country's religiosity to manipulate the polls.
 |
| Protesters set an image of the Prime Minister ablaze in defiance today. |
Despite what you may have heard, believe what I am telling you now...
There have been multiple deaths from extreme reactions to tear gas, an unidentified orange gas (which is causing vomiting and feels stronger than the tear gas but is most likely not "agent orange" which is banned by the UN for use other than in war), and from canisters of these gasses being shot directly at the heads/bodies of protesters. Law states that when using these gas guns they must be aimed at a 45 degree angle towards the ground. However there are images of police shooting them directly in people's faces. Water cannons are supposed to only be used in attempts to break up aggressive riots, however there are images of police shooting single persons simply standing there. Many protesters have permanently lost their sight, others have literally lost their eyes from plastic bullets. There are rumors of the police using real guns against protesters and photographs of blood pools are circulating which confirm these rumors.
There is only ONE Turkish national news media reporting reliably on the events. Most of the public media is tied with or bribed by the government to keep hush hush about it. CNN Turkey actually reported that there have been no deaths so far, this is not true. Turkish citizens have resorted to using social media in order to get the truth out to foreign media. However the government has put constraints on the internet within the country and access to sites such as Facebook and Twitter from Taksim is extremely limited in attempts to prevent images from leaking.
 |
| Innocent animals are suffering too :( |
There are many reports saying that the police have backed down, this also is not true. The police claimed to retreat only to return with more tear gas and more officers. They finally allowed protesters into the park only the trap them there and then have helicopters drop tear gas down upon them. They used so much tear gas in the last two days that they had to have more imported from other cities. They used so much gas that it has literally puddled up in the streets. They threw gas bombs into the metro and I even heard stories that they chased protesters all the way to the hospital and proceeded to gas bomb the ER. This isn't about dispersing the crowd anymore, it is about the police trying to use force to silence the population.
But it isn't working. The crowd keeps growing and growing. They are busing supporters in from all across the country. In attempts to prevent access to the city center the government shut down one of the Bosphorus bridges and a few of the main ferry routes. However the protesters found their way into the city anyways... The number of protesters is not countable but estimations have been as high as one million.
Istanbul is no longer alone in their protests. First the protests spread to many different districts within the city aside from Taksim and now they can be found all across the country in cities such as Izmir and Ankara. Also many smaller protests have been held on foreign land in support of Istanbul's efforts.
 |
| Arial images of the crowd in Taksim |
 |
| Protesters walking across the Bosphorus Bridge after it was shut down in order to reach the city center |
The most amazing fact of all...
Despite the police's persistent and excessive aggression, the protesters have remained peaceful. Despite the huge number of protesters that exist, there have been hardly any reported cases of force/harm towards the police from civilians. I have heard eyewitness accounts that whenever a protester gets too riled up others will pull them back and calm them down to preserve the peaceful nature of the protest. It's awe inspiring that these people have managed to keep their composure through all of the events that have taken place. Everyone is banding together. There are websites set up that list "safe houses" for protesters in Taksim to find refuge where lemons and milk are provided. Lemons are acidic which counteract the effects of tear gas, and milk is basic which counteracts the effects of the unidentified orange gas.
Those who are not participating directly in the protests are at home showing their support through parading in their neighborhood, or banging pots together, or cheering, or flashing their lights when it gets dark.
It is very sad that the FIRST time I have felt unsafe in this city is because I am scared of the police.
Today my friend and I ventured to the top of the Istanbul Sapphire (the tallest building in Turkey) to see the events from above and I snapped these pictures of Taskim...
 |
| White "smoke" from excessive tear gas rising from Taksim in the distance. |
 |
| Grey smoke rising from a fire in Taksim in the distance. (we later learned the fire was burning tires set ablaze by protesters following the helicopter gas bombing of protesters reading in Gezi Park) |
No comments:
Post a Comment