Wednesday 13 November 2013

Gezi in One Song




There are several references which were the reasons that drove / was driving Turkish people to the streets in the clip1 and what we have here my friends is the true form of art;

Sound of pots and pans;
A protests method used by people for decades, but the voice at the start of the video belongs to PM Erdogan with his usual ignorance and arrogance
Inconsistent remarks;
PM Erdogan has some speeches which even contradict with each other and which were on crucial matters regarding the attitude of the state. There is even a video clip named ‘1 PM, 2 Erdogan’2 compiled with only his contradicting speeches.

Sold Forests;
The trees both in Gezi Park and in the route of the planned 3rd bridge of İstanbul that passes through a dense forest zone
Knocked down cinema;
Emek Movie Theatre like Gezi Park, it reminded the Secular Republic to AKP, and was demolished in 2013 in order to build a shopping mall. The demolishment had started at March 2013, and had been completed May 2013, just before Gezi Park demolishment was about to start. The insults were enough for Turkish people, the public unrest has started. 


Of course AKP’s police force again used extreme measures on the people who just wished their cinema to remain3. The footage is from May 22, 2013, before Gezi Protests.
Crossing the bridge;
The 3rd bridge of İstanbul is named4 after one of the Ottoman Sultans, Yavuz Sultan Selim who is known for the mass killing of alevites who are a major part of current Turkish population, and strong supporters of secularism in Turkey. 

The video clip itself is also worth mentioning with the police crackdown scenes and my favourite scene with the penguins5. During the protests, CNN-TURK, one of the major news channels in Turkey broadcasted a penguin documentary, which became the symbol of the resistance, or Çapulcu’s6.


  1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-kbuS-anD4
  2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H07y6R9rC2c
  3. http://webtv.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/3185/emek-protestosuna-sert-mudahale.aspx
  4. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/23389274.asp
  5. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/09/turkey-mainstream-media-penguins-protests
  6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapulling


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