Tear gas is a very good place to start trying to understand what is happening in Turkey. The main purpose of tear gas is to terrorise and thus break up large crowds of people. In Istanbul over the last weeks huge quantities have been used over and over to prevent large anti-government demonstrations developing. This wasn't about 'riot control' - generally there was no riot to control. In this piece I'm going to put the Gezi park revolt in the context of the cycle of struggles that began in 2010 and of the specific economic, politcal and historical situation of the Turkish republic to try and draw out the lessons for all of us fighting global capitalism.
Andrew, a member of Workers Solidarity Movement, gave an eyewitness account with photos of the Gezi park protests and the state brutality against people in Istanbul, where he spent a week recently. Sevinc , an anarchist from Turkey, gave details of the background of the struggle.
The video is includes photos & video from Gezi park. Recoded Thursday 27 June, 7.30 at Wynns hotel, Dublin
I have been in Istanbul for 16 hours, but already there is more to tell than I have the time to write. The purpose of the following blog is not to provide an in-depth analysis of the events that have lead up to the present situation in which I find myself, nor to provide a detailed scholarly analysis of the political, social and economic superstructure to which these events relate (one can find such things elsewhere and in time I intend to contribute to this), rather the purpose of this blog is to provide sporadic updates, quotes, interviews, links and images from the front lines of the as of yet unsatisfactorily termed 'Turkish Summer'.
An emergency demonstration of some 150 people took place in Dublin Saturday afternoon in Solidarity with those under police repression in Turkey. Check the WSM twitter for the latest updates from Istanbul and see our Fackbook album of the Dublin Solidarity demonstration.
In this 45 minute interview Sevinc who recently migrated from Turkey to Ireland provides context on the Gezi park struggle and the police repression from recent regional and left politics. Touches on the Turkish left & anarchist movement, LGBT & Kurdish struggles, the role of the Ultras, army & Police
Turkish anarchist on background to Gezi Park struggle in Istanbul - explanation for the left by Workers Solidarity on Mixcloud
The ‘Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2013’, published by the government on Thursday last (23rd May) is a clear attempt to bully public sector workers into voting for the re-hashed terms of the Croke Park II deal emphatically rejected by them just a couple of weeks ago.
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