{"id":641,"date":"2019-10-02T16:24:08","date_gmt":"2019-10-02T14:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicolasacco.com\/website\/reportages\/istanbul-quel-che-resta-di-gezi-2\/"},"modified":"2020-03-06T14:47:01","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T13:47:01","slug":"istanbul-quel-che-resta-di-gezi-2","status":"publish","type":"reportages","link":"https:\/\/www.nicolasacco.com\/en\/reportages\/istanbul-quel-che-resta-di-gezi-2\/","title":{"rendered":"After Gezi Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I meet Tayff Akmal for lunch in a bar in Ortak\u00f6y, a neighbourhood in the Be\u015fikta\u015f district of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, situated on the European side of the Bosphorus river. A 24 year old student at the city\u2019s university, he is a member of the \u201cFree Education Platform\u201d (\u00d6zg\u00fcr E\u011fitim Platformu<\/em>), an independent group that helps organize training and education opportunities outside of the state system. Tayff was at Gezi Park during the long hot days of the protest. \u201cThe strong ties we built there have survived\u201d, he tells me.
And in fact, while the protest movement may have lost its physical epicentre, it\u2019s as if the seeds that were sown there \u2013 now the violence has subsided \u2013 are continuing to put up shoots, beneath the ashes of Gezi, through networks that have emerged across the city and indeed the country. \u201cAfter they cleared Gezi, people started meeting in other parks across the city. In Istanbul alone there are 47 meet-ups taking place on a regular basis\u201d, remarks Tayff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other parks, such as Abassaga in Besiktas \u2013 one of\nthe most active districts – Cihangir and Yo\u011furt\u00e7u, and even in Kad\u0131k\u00f6y, on the\nAsian side of the river, people continue to meet, talk, make plans and look for\nways of achieving more direct forms of representation in relation to the\ndecisions affecting the city itself and the wider country beyond. Discussions\nrevolve around the future of people\u2019s local neighbourhoods and districts but –\ninevitably \u2013 a key issue is also the future of the nation as a whole, the\ndevelopment of democracy in the Turkish Republic and its ability to resist the\ngrowing pressure from supporters of the government and the omnipresent AKP (the\nparty for justice and development) of premier Tayyip Erdogan, who disapprove of\na protest movement which has nevertheless succeeded in making its voice heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seen from a Europe \u201cin crisis\u201d, certain aspects of the\nevents in Istanbul may seem hard to comprehend. Turkey, the European country\nwith the highest percentage of under thirties, represents a success story not\nonly because of its impressive economic results but also for the way it has\nsteered itself towards democracy over the last decade \u2013 a journey that has\nbrought it to the threshold of the European Union. But the protesters are not\ncontesting the results so much as the methods with which they have been\nachieved – the widespread grievance being the lack of opportunities – elections\naside – for participation in the country\u2019s political process. Increased\ninvolvement in the political and social life of the country and in local\ndecision-making is what is being called for, making the multifaceted Turkish\nprotest movement no different from those that have emerged in other countries in\nEurope (Spain), North Africa and Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Istanbul, historically, is a centre of trade and\ncommerce, but in 2012, youth unemployment edged close to 20 per cent (Eurostat)\na figure which goes someway to explaining the broad make-up of the protest\nmovements, which are not led by a single political party or a specific\nideological or religious position. \u201cThe protests were attended by people from\ntrade associations, trade unions, students, workers, professional classes, fans\nfrom the city\u2019s three football clubs, academics and journalists\u201d say Bade Kaya\nand Cemre \u015een. The two both work for an agency that organizes and promotes\nmusical events – on the face of things not an environment one would necessarily\nassociate with politics. And yet, as we sit in the shade of some tall trees at\na bar outside Abassaga park, their words, too, are imbued with the spirit of\nGezi. \u201cThis aspect, this fragmentation, which at first might seem a weakness,\nis actually one of the strengths of the Taksim square protest movement. Various\ngroups, with their different demands and agendas, have all been screaming their\ndissent at the government\u201d. A kaleidoscope of different movements thus emerged,\nthat on their own would not normally have much in common – and that in some\ncircumstances might even find themselves in opposing camps. Can Ustundag, 29,\nworks in public relations for her family\u2019s business. Together with some\nfriends, Can went to protest at Gezi and was caught up in the clashes. We meet\nin a bar in S\u0131raselviler Caddesi, a long street that ends at Taksim square.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n

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