Anti Turkish government protests in Istanbul

[apollo]

It is the duty of the opposition parties to get their acts together, stop squabbling amongst themselves and put forward a coherent policy for the country. Then , maybe, the AK parti can be voted out by the Turkish electorate.

 A few expats here in Turkey attending demonstrations or people in London and other parts of the world mobbing Turkish Embassies will have very little effect on this or any Turkish Government.

If previous governments had cared about the poorer and neglected parts of the country then the AK parti would not have been able to get such an iron grip on parliament.

[Dutchie]

Thanks for your post Col.

For a lot of Turkish people, and for me as well, it has reached the point that they say "enough".

So many new laws has been implemented or proposed. The new  4+4+4 school system (so children can starts imam hatip schools at an earlier age), the removal of TC from government buildings, the new alcohol laws, the law related abortion, the advice to have three children per family, the cancelling of alcoholic drinks on domestic THY flights, the ban on bright coloured lipstick for THY hostesses, the proposed ankle lenght new uniform for THY hostesses...the list is endless.

All of this with just one goal...turning Turkey slowly slowly into a religious state. People are fed up and want their freedom back.

Erdogan has made a big mistake. Three people died during the clashes but the media was silence. Nothing was mentioned because of censorship. If it hadn't been for social media, we wouldn't have known.

[Dutchie]

You're right Apollo. And it's true that Erdogan has made a lot of economical improvements. It's just too bad he has a hidden agenda. But that agenda isn't hidden anymore so I think (read: hope) that his days are numbered.

[stoop]

Some of us have been saying for quite a while that this government is looking East rather than West. Unfortunately we are unable to change this and no number of posts on here will change it either. It's up to the people of Turkey to decide.

Yes it's worrying and I guess even more so for those who have made their lives there - but all we can do is watch and hope.

[Colwyn]

The map of 2011 election results shows the political problem for opponents of the AKP. There are some MPs elected as "Independent" (actually nominated by the Democracy and Society Party who were not qualified to stand candidates under the party's banner) and representing Eastern constituencies. There are MPs for the leading opposition party (CHP) mostly in the Western coastal provinces and in the European-side provinces. But most of the vast tracts of Anatolia are solidly AKP who even controlled Istanbul. Since most of us visit the S.W. tourist areas we can get a false impression of the liberal westward looking nature of the Turkish population. Mugla province, I have been told, is an especially strong radical republican area.

[apollo]

The map of the election results clearly shows the extent of the challenges for the opposition parties. For some reason, they seem to be incapable of addressing the issue.

A factor which may have influenced the drive to the east is the EU ,in effect , closing the doors to Turkey's membership. The AK Parti , after years of negotiating by previous governments, appear to have been the only party to move the application on.

A couple of years ago Ahmet Davutoğlu ,in an interview with Al Jazeera, said that if Europe does not want us then we will form trade and cultural alliances with our neighbours in the east.

[Dutchie]

I think the map of the election results give a false impression. It looks as if the biggest part of Turkey has voted for the AKP but that's not true. Yes, in the yellow provinces AKP was the biggest party but over all AKP got just under 50 percent of the votes.

Of course a high figure but not nearly as high as would you expect looking at this map.

[col]

I think the map of the election results give a false impression. It looks as if the biggest part of Turkey has voted for the AKP but that's not true. Yes, in the yellow provinces AKP was the biggest party but over all AKP got just under 50 percent of the votes.

Of course a high figure but not nearly as high as would you expect looking at this map.

And after the 2014 elections, perhaps far less yellow!!!!

[cenk]

Found this on Facebook. Around Taksim Square, Istanbul.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQkBqJ6nTcE&feature=share

[starman]

My take on things.
Erdogan has been in power far too long and has gotten too comfortable and removed the best parts of the opposition and those generals that could have been a problem for him. Just like any leader that is in charge for 10 plus years, they start to get comfortable and think they know best (remember Thatcher). Erdogan and his family and closest friends are making a fortune (his son owns all the sweet corn stands you see around as well as an oil tanker and his wife owns the karafirin chain).
The police have gotten far too much power and their behaviour over the last few days is nothing new. They have a policy of shooting gas into anything that mildly upsets them or to what they dont like. I myself have been on the receiving end of police brutality on a few occasions with the last being a couple of years ago when I was trying to park my car outside my office and got my car shot at by a cs gas canister that went through my radiator and set my car on fire whilst I was still in it. I still have the photos of the copper taking aim at me and some of you may remember me appearing on show tv news as this happened. I got my car fixed and paid for by the police but only after I signed a waiver to say I would not be taking any further action against the police.
in my opinion the police need to be held accountable for and punished. There are many videos posted in the last few days of police committing several barbaric acts like shooting gas through peoples living room windows, shooting someone in the head then celebrating with his friends like he just scored a goal, ramming fellow drivers off the road, using their water cannon trucks to run people over and so on and so forth.
The big problem here is there is no suitable person to take over and this will most likely just fizzle out. I cant see another 1997 happening either as most of the key generals are either sacked or in jail for the sledgehammer scandal.
I feel for the Turkish people and wish them luck.
Now I have to go for more pressing matters which is to stop a group of monkeys from raiding my bin every morning