Why protests started in turkey

Despite the initial optimism, the Gezi Party soon lost momentum. The party could never open the number of provincial organizations required to participate in the elections.

The party faded and closed down in The United June Movement, which was launched in , was also quick to lose momentum. The disintegration continued following other differences of opinion. Gradually, the movement shrank; although it was not completely deactivated, its impact soon faded. Although some protesters have dispersed and others have chosen to lie low, most civic activists have combined different strategies. First, despite the deteriorating political environment and shrinking numbers of protesters, some civic groups have kept up their contentious discourse and activities.

For instance, the Northern Forests Defense, established just a few months after the Gezi protests for the ecological struggle, has continued to organize campaigns and protests. Their efforts were successful, as members of parliament have withdrawn the bill. The second strategy that has come to the fore is increased cooperation among different civic groups. Although cooperation is a regular part of civic activism, the considerable decrease in the number of people actively taking part in the campaigns has encouraged activists to work together with others.

However, this is not to suggest that the Northern Forests Defense or any other group can bring large crowds to the streets with ease. Third, civic activists have devoted more of their time to organizing community events and social gatherings.

For instance, environmentalist groups regularly organize trekking tours through some of the few forests that remain around Istanbul. Last fall, civic groups also jointly organized a camping trip.

Northern Forests Defense recently started weekly movie screenings and gatherings with other activist groups. Such efforts may help prolong civic engagement, encouraging those who might otherwise have drifted away to remain in contact with the movement and take part in its actions.

These additional strategies are not confined to new civic activists. Other groups that were active before the Gezi protests alternate between protests and social gatherings as well. For instance, LGBT groups have continued to march in their own Istanbul Pride Parade even though the authorities have banned the event for four years in a row.

They also stage demonstrations and issue press releases, especially in response to violence against members of the LGBT community. At the same time, they also undertake less direct activities, such as offering movie screenings, communal meetings, and psychotherapy services for the community. Finally, some groups have not altered their course in this period.

For instance, Vote and Beyond has continued to organize election monitoring in successive elections in Turkey and has seen more volunteers working on its initiatives. Some media outlets have approached such monitoring work suspiciously, while others openly defame the initiative.

Although its work intensifies during voting periods, it is important to remember that Turkish citizens have been to the polls six times since the Gezi protests: the and local elections, the June and November general elections, the referendum, and the presidential and general elections. When its preliminary preparations, including training programs, are counted in its work, this amounts to mobilizing tens of thousands of people around once a year. More recently, Vote and Beyond has been expanding its working area to better local governance through its Neighborhood project.

With this project, the initiative aims to act as a platform that brings local people together with other local stakeholders including municipalities, NGOs, and political parties to solve the problems that locals identify in their neighborhoods. The domestic political context is the primary factor that shapes the post-Gezi pathways of civic activists, though individual and collective decisions may also play a part.

Soon after the Gezi protests, the legal and political environment for civic activism deteriorated. In the aftermath of the failed coup attempt in July , the Turkish parliament with an overwhelming majority approved a state of emergency to investigate and punish in a more efficient way those responsible.

The state of emergency was extended at three-month intervals until it ended in July Although the government has the right and responsibility to pursue criminal proceedings against people involved in the attempted putsch, many interpreted the ensuing crackdown as an opportunity to silence opposing views. For many of the protesting students, unaffordable housing has been the latest in a string of economic troubles their families have dealt with in recent years.

Now the situation is serious enough that we have ended up in the streets to have our problems addressed. Yilmaz says rents near his university have more than doubled since before the pandemic, and he lives in a household with a fixed income.

Rents in Turkish cities have increased dramatically during the pandemic, according to official statistics and realtors, even as weeks-long lockdowns and other measures to halt the spread of the virus have thrown a wrench into the economic machinery of the country. A September survey by the Istanbul Municipality found that 95 percent of residents said rent was too high for them, and some 41 percent had been forced to delay paying it since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Turkey has seen painful increases in prices for consumer goods. The Turkish lira has continued to suffer severe bouts of volatility, falling to a new all-time low this week. Authorities have implemented temporary economic relief measures, briefly selling subsidised produce through municipalities, putting a ban on firing state employees, offering modest monthly cash handouts, and helping pay the salaries of some workers. Electricity and water connections were cut in the houses because the bills were not paid.

Those who could not pay the rent were evicted by the landlords. In Istanbul, the crowds have been chanting "Tayyip resign" -- referring to Erdogan -- and "shoulder to shoulder against fascism. More Videos Gezi Park protests peaceful for now Turkish protesters target prime minister Protests threaten Erdogan's grand plans Political turmoil in Turkey Read more: Turkey protests show no sign of letdown.

On Tuesday, the KESK confederation of public sector workers --representing , members -- called a two-day strike to protest what it called the "facism" of Erdogan's governing party. At first, the protests involved a handful of angry residents holding sit-ins. But the numbers quickly grew. Riot police moved in, lobbing tear gas and pepper spray and protesters responded by hurling bottles, blocking bulldozers and setting up barricades.

Then, outraged by the behavior of security forces, demonstrators began attacking police. International human rights groups Amnesty International and Greenpeace have denounced what they describe as the excessive use of police force against peaceful protesters.

A spokesman for European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton issued a statement that said Ashton "regrets disproportionate use of force by members of the Turkish police. Erdogan conceded Saturday that Turkish security forces had made excessive use of tear gas against demonstrators. Read more: War-torn Syria issues travel warning against Turkey.

Right now that is being investigated, researched," he said. When it is used excessively we are against it as well. And in fact there was such excess. However, on Monday, Erdogan dismissed allegations that security forces used excessive force, and denied that Turkey could be on the cusp of its own "Arab Spring. We did not use violence," he said before leaving for a four-day trip to North Africa.

On Tuesday, Turkey's semi-official news agency Andalou quoted Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc as saying the country's security and intelligence forces were working to prevent the escalation of violence. When they are executing their jobs, they may sometimes use extraordinary even excessive use of force. But they wait in a passive mode unless something comes from the other side," Arinc said.

He said security forces had been ordered to only use gas in self-defense. Since Friday, there have been protests in 67 of Turkey's 81 provinces, according to Andalou. There have been reports of confrontations in the capital, Ankara, as well as the port cities of Izmir and Adana. The Turkish Medical Association claimed that at least 3, people had been injured in clashes Sunday and Monday.

One protester, Mehmet Ayvalitas, died of his injuries, the association said. And the governor of Hatay in southeastern Turkey said that a year-old man, Abdulah Comert, was killed with a firearm by unknown suspects during demonstrations late Monday, Andalou reported. More than people have been detained since Tuesday last week, and most have been released, it said. Update on Turkey's unrest Turkish citizens want PM to resign Protest in Turkey turns violent Erdogan: Powerful, popular, polarizing The police crackdown on the park demonstrators set off the wider unrest.

Now, the scope of the protests shows there is a bigger issue, about freedom of speech and accusations of heavy-handed government, at stake. Elected to power than a decade ago, Erdogan is the most powerful and popular politician Turkey has seen in generations, but his approach to leadership doesn't sit well with all Turks, said Asli Aydintasbas, a columnist for Milliyet Newspaper.

Read more: Court to hear case at center of Istanbul protests. I, as your father, can decide on the park, the bridge, the city and the constitution. Tuncay, a year-old demonstrator, told CNN on Saturday. He has a big ego; he has this Napoleon syndrome. He takes himself as a sultan He needs to stop doing that. He's just a prime minister. A defiant Erdogan shows no inclination to give in to protesters' demands. On Monday, Erdogan said: "Those in Turkey who speak of the Turkish Spring are right; the season is, in fact, spring," he said.

He said opponents who had failed to defeat his party in elections were trying to beat it "by other means. Anice based liquor widely popular in Turkey. Yup cause Erdogan said so. Because with 1. The magic number is three. Because clearly there is not enough orphans in the world. We have more journalists in jail than Iran. We are never told what specific evidence the government has against these people. The monument they want to erect in Gezi Park has religious significance and is something that the public did not ask for.

This is also example of insensitivity to public opinion. Reyhanli attacks were significantly impactful yet got little attention from our government and media.