Greetings all!
This post comes amid tense events both at home and
abroad, and to make up for taking time to allow these events to develop, I plan
to write two pieces for this week instead of just one. Today, I shall cover the
current protests and social movement which has arisen in Turkey. In light of
these protests, this week’s quote comes from Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
These growing protests in Turkey are a fairly new
development, only showing after intense police response to a sit-in against
reconstruction in Taksim Square. Originally, the sit-in was intended to shine a
light on opposition to redevelopment plans for the area which involved taking
away local greenery in favor of new industrialization and buildings. Almost
immediately, the Turkish authorities sanctioned the use of tear
gas, water
cannons, and extensive
violence against the participants. This quickly mushroomed into large
anti-government action by thousands of civilians, continuing even now. Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has responded with a sneer, declaring protesters
to be violent looters that ally themselves with terrorists.
On the first day of protests, I had thought little of the
possible consequences presented for Turkey. I assumed these protests were
similar to those which have plagued European nations for years, like those
which have occurred in France, the U.K., Sweden,
Spain,
Portugal,
Italy,
and Greece.
To me, I thought that this would boil down to dissatisfaction with the lack of progress
through capitalism, alongside social upheaval that tends to tag along. The only
thing I thought strange of these protests was that Turkey had experienced
economic prosperity for the most part for years. Weird, perhaps, but I welcomed
such events nonetheless.
Needless to say, I received quite a surprise to learn
that this movement had evolved to a considerable level, where the protests
represent entirely unique concerns not characteristic of a European
post-industrial nation. Instead, Turkish protesters face much more immediate
and dangerous problems which threaten the very institutions of a nation fought
so stridently for in the past. This uprising has two significant faces:
secularism vs. Islamism and democracy vs. authoritarianism.
While not the driving facet of the current social
upheaval in Turkey, religious issues in Turkey are a topic worth discussion. We
must remember that the modern Turkish state was founded by a man who considered
religion a barrier to social progress; indeed, Kemalism and the CHP (the
opposition Kemalist political party) espouse a secular public sphere. For
nearly the entirety of Turkey’s current existence, it was a secular state in
which the military readily intervened to prevent religious influence on
government. This happened on multiple occasions, with mostly successful though
at times questionable results.
However, under Erdogan political Islamism has gained
ground in Turkey. A gradual Islamization
of Turkish institutions has taken place, supported by the rural Muslims that
Turkey hosts in its society. And yet, public support for religious dominance is
significantly divided in Turkey, with urban citizens being significantly less
religious than those living in smaller areas. This is mostly due to unequal
development of Turkey, in that Turkey is a nation with large income inequality
that drives strong growth in cities while leaving less populated areas behind.
As a result, these areas do not move forward socially either, leaving the
nascent local religion (in this case Islam) as a driving force. Previously,
these areas were held as the best places for progress on fronts such as
education and poverty relief during secular rule. But under Erdogan, the public
sphere has shifted to suiting this backwards view of society, thereby imposing
new morals on those that chose to reject them and expected support from their
government. By flirting with ideas such as bans on alcohol, Erdogan has created
a tense atmosphere in which his morals constrict the citizenry, whereas secular
morals never truly restrict the private practice of religion. And as Islamism
becomes accepted as a legal framework for disputes in Turkey, the
dissatisfaction with oppression of the secular citizenry will only grow.
The second face of the Turkish protests is much more
prominent: that of true democracy. This is largely the underlying force for
those fighting the Turkish government at the moment. For Turkish citizens,
democracy is a carefully crafted and well-protected institution worth keeping
around; military dictatorship is a frequent casualty should democracy come into
question. Instead, it is preferable that Turkey maintains a democratic
tradition and continues to elect its leaders instead of having the military
orchestrate government as it sees fit. And while Erdogan has been elected to
government, elections are not the only defining aspects of democracy. Indeed,
Turkey is not entirely free; it has imprisoned many
journalists, and Turkish media is effectively controlled by the state. Peaceful
opposition is not a complete right in Turkish society now, and this is why those
in Turkey feel the need to fight back. Authoritarianism is wrong for them, just
as it should be.
In light of this, I hope protests continue. I hope they
grow in strength, and that their righteousness is recognized. I wish to see
Turkey return to its secular roots, and for Turkish society to prosper in the
modern world without turning to autocracy. I wish to see Erdogan fall out of
power, even if that must mean military intervention to see it happen.
That is all for tonight, and I hope I've provided a good
read for all. As always, your feedback is encouraged through comments, my email
at zerospintop@live.com, my Facebook,
Twitter, Google+, Steam, DeviantArt, Tumblr, and Reddit accounts. Good night,
and this is KnoFear, signing off.
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