Resisting Oppression, Tasting Tear Gas in Turkey

While hanging out at a bar in Istanbul after five straight days of demonstrations there recently, I finally set my wine down, turned to the table at large, and asked the question journalists are supposed to ask—the most obvious one. “So, what’s the deal with these protests?”

The demonstrations, sparked by the death of a protester in the country’s south, were the latest resurgence in protest activity after the government’s plans to revamp Istanbul’s cherished Gezi Park set off rallies nationwide several months ago.

Clearly, some level of dissatisfaction continues to seethe under the surface here. So what is this all about? I asked. Are these demonstrations held together by something deeper, or are they just a cool way to make a point about freedom of expression?

After a bit of debate, a consensus emerged at the table, which held an assortment of foreign journalists and academics. The protests are a personal rebuttal to the leadership of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as well as a statement about public space in Turkey, I was told.

Such was the take of expats living in Istanbul. I decided to dig a little deeper, so I touched base with Ekin Sanac, a 31-year-old Istanbul native who edits Bant Magazine, a publication focused on culture, music, film and art. The interview was conducted by e-mail and has been slightly edited for clarity. Here’s what she had to say.

Millennial Letters: Have you participated in any protests yourself?

Sanac: Yes, I first went to Gezi Park on May 30th and after that I have participated in various protests in various places such as the park area, around Taksim, Istiklal Street, Caglayan Law Court, and my neighborhood Kadikoy.

Millennial Letters: Thus far, many of the demonstrations appear triggered by various events—from Gezi Park to Ahmet Atakan's death—do you see any particular underlying issue or demand that unites them?

Sanac: I’ll try to write this shortly. In my opinion, the most clear demand that unites them is the demand to be visible. To be visible against the state violence, the police state, violently intolerant state politics, selling of urban parts and neighborhoods for income and displacing people. There are so many different people in this country that have felt invisible and faced injustice for many years. It’s a demand for people’s constitutional right to protest, but the state is attacking and killing people with fear and fury. So the general suppressing activities of the government and the police violence was underlying many of the demonstrations. No justice is brought for people killed around Turkey during Gezi Park protests so the pain and burden in people’s hearts keep becoming bigger and bigger. What about in Reyhanli, in Uludere? What about Hrant Dink? What about the people severely injured, sexually harassed? What about the women being killed every day? What about the earthquake victims in Van who are struggling for life but death is coming fast? This is a country where the media is a sell-out, the state is a criminal, and the police and the army are and have been enemies to the public, the people. 

Millennial Letters: I’ve heard that the elderly also make a showing at some demonstrations. Are different age groups demanding different things?

Sanac: Yes, we have seen so many people from different age groups. Not just elderly, many really young people too. Within a movement so big and crowded, it’s not possible to make generalizations because different people comprehend situations differently and have different demands. So although it was mainly against the oppression, there were people demanding different things, but I don’t think it’s easy or right to separate these demands through different age groups. 

Millennial Letters: I was also told in Istanbul that these rallies were really a demonstration for public space and to send a message of dissatisfaction to Erdogan. Do you agree? Disagree?

Sanac: Yes, I partly agree. It did start from the public space. And there has been a continuous open attack against nature and people’s neighborhoods under the term “urban transformation” that goes way back. And shortly after the incidents started in Gezi Park, there was a growing desire to send a message of dissatisfaction to Erdogan and the state’s oppressing politics, intolerance, and bullying. Not just in Istanbul, though. There have been rallies in different sizes all around Turkey during this process.

Millennial Letters: If you have participated in a protest, can you recall any particular moment that really stood out to you? 

Sanac: There have been many, many moments for sure, rather than describing certain incidents I’ll try to write about how it made me feel. Although I’ve been in a few protests before, and I have an idea how the gas tastes, etc., I had never witnessed such violent attacks by the police with my bare eyes. What stood out for me and still does generally is the courage of people, because I’m still a big coward. And of course the unity and organization that came along with the courage. I can never forget the moment where police moved back from the area on the 1st of June, and we could go up to Taksim Square and enter the park at last, right after a really violent attack. It was extremely crowded but there were no slogans being shouted, not even talking at all for a while, it was such a weird and silent moment, really tense too. My heart was about to explode. And after that, I can never forget how inspiring it felt for a few days where the whole city center, Taksim, was surrounded with barricades built by people, the few days when “the park was ours.” There were no police attacks in the area. Although in some other parts of the city and country the attacks were going on …