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Gezi Park Protests #5.13 PERSPECTIVES Political analysis and commentary from Turkey GEZİ PARK A NEW HISTORY IS BEGINNING FEATURE ARTICLES: INTERNATIONAL POLITICS CULTURE The unbearable appeal of Turkey and Iran: A Sunnite Axis Yunus Emre Cultural Centers: modernization: The fetish of growth against the Shiite crescent? The AKP’s Neo-Ottomanism and Islamism Bengi Akbulut - Fikret Adaman Hakan Güneş Ayhan Kaya Sayfa 14 Sayfa 52 Sayfa 56 TURKEY REPRESENTATION Contents Editor’s note 3 ■ Cover Story: Gezi Park / A NEW HISTORY IS BEGINNING How the Gezi revolt gave birth to park democracy, Deniz Özgür 4 Gezi Park protests: A historical milestone in the democratization of Turkey, Cengiz Çandar 8 #occupygezi: A revolution goes European, Ska Keller 12 ■ Feature articles The unbearable appeal of modernization: The fetish of growth, Bengi Akbulut – Fikret Adaman 14 Ten years of Turkish capitalism and tendencies, Mustafa Sönmez 18 Neoliberal stability policies fail to bring results, Hayri Kozanoğlu 22 Private sector and politics in Turkey, Ayşe Buğra – Osman Savaşkan 26 Energy or Turkey: Which one will be consumed first? Özgür Gürbüz 31 AKP goes to Africa: Imperialism by anti-imperialists, Ayşe Çavdar 36 AKP does not confine women to home, it chains them to the family , Hülya Osmanağaoğlu 40 ■ Ecology Draft Bill for the Protection of Nature and the concept of rights, Engin Yılmaz 44 ■ Democracy Turkey’s Terror Prevention Act: Source of problems in freedom of expression, Fikret İlkiz 46 The making of the Prevention of Financing Terrorism Law Müjde Tozbey Erden 50 ■ International Politics Turkey and Iran: A Sunnite Axis against the Shiite crescent? Hakan Güneş 52 ■ Culture Yunus Emre Cultural Centers: The AKP’s Neo-Ottomanism and Islamism, Ayhan Kaya 56 ■ Human landscape Burn witch, burn, Zozan Özgökçe 60 ■ News from hbs 61 Heinrich Böll Stiftung - Turkey Represantation The Heinrich Böll Stiftung, associated with the German Green Party, is a legally autonomous and intellectually open political foundation. Our foremost task is civic education in Germany and abroad with the aim of promoting informed democratic opinion, socio-political commitment and mutual understanding. In addition, the Heinrich Böll Stiftung supports artistic and cultural as well as scholarly projects, and co-operation in the development field. The political values of ecology, democracy, gender democracy, solidarity and nonviolence are our chief points of reference. Heinrich Böll’s belief in and promotion of citizen participation in politics is the model for the foundation’s work . Editor in chief: Dr. Ulrike Dufner; editorial team: Özgür Gürbüz, Semahat Sevim, Umud Dalgıç, Yonca Verdioğlu; contributors Banu Yayla, Saynur Gürçay, Heinrich Böll Stiftung Turkey Representation, İnönü Cad. Hacı Hanım Sok. No. 10/12, Gümüşsuyu İstanbul; Telephone: +90-212-249 15 54 Fax: +90-212-245 04 30 email: [email protected] web: www.tr.boell.org Editor: Yücel Göktürk Translation: Louis Fischer, Erim Şerifoğlu, Barış Yıldırım. Proofreading: Clare Frost Print Production: Farika Tasarım Date: April 2013 Printing House: Özgün Basım Tanıtım san. tic. ltd. şti. Yeşilce Mh. Aytekin Sk. No: 21 Otosanayi Seyrantepe / İstanbul. Tel: +90-212 280 00 09 Perspectives – Political analysis and commentary from Turkey will appear quarterly and distributed for free. For subscription please send your request by email to [email protected] The magazine and each article can be downloaded from our webpage www.tr.boell.org Articles published in Perpectives represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Heinrich Böll Stiftung – Turkey Representation ■ Democracy ■ International Politics ■ Ecology ■ Culture ■ News from hbs COVER PHOTO: KEMAL ASLAN Editorial efore the Gezi Park protests broke out, the These population and moral policies, which denied cover story of this issue had already been people any real say over their own lives reached an decided as “The Economic Growth Mirac- absurd level. These policies that literally tested the le.” Now, an analysis of the Gezi events limits of reason were key in triggering the explosi- begs the same question, whether asked on of creativity that we witnessed during the Gezi Bfrom inside or outside Turkey: “What was the reason protests. The Gezi Park protesters had the opportu- behind such a strong reaction, even as economic in- nity to experience first-hand that the exact opposite dicators seem so favorable?” This naturally brings to of the lifestyle imposed by the government was mind some other relevant questions: Which sectors possible, and that indeed such an alternative proved grew the fastest in Turkey in the 2000s? How did re- to be much more vibrant, creative and fun. The lations with foreign economic partners evolve? Which government’s condescending attitude and insults sectors of society benefited from growth, and which towards the protesters simply did not pay off; on the did not? What kind of a development model is the contrary, the protesters co-opted and transformed Turkish economy based on? Without seeking answers such derisive terms. For instance, when the Prime to these questions, it would be impossible to grasp Minister dismissed the protesters as çapulcu (looter, government’s growth fetishism and the increasingly marauder), they proudly declared themselves to widespread reaction of society against it. be çapulcu, turning “moral concepts and rules” We believe that this ‘‘growth fetishism’’ is the imposed from the top inside out. The Gezi protests main underlying concern of the protests, which left the government speechless; the moral autho- spread across almost the entire country over the last rity of the Prime Minister and the government was month. Our comprehensive analysis of the ‘‘economic shattered. Most likely, as the government saw vast growth miracle,’’ and its ‘‘development’’ and ‘‘trans- masses reject the lifestyle that it had been pressing formation’’ projects sheds light on today’s burning upon them for many years, it calculated that it had political issues. We can also see precursors to the no other choice but recourse to police violence and current protests in villagers marching on Ankara repression. last year to protest gigantic dam projects, the long- The Gezi protests must be interpreted as a reac- running legal battle against the construction of the tion against the AKP’s economical, social and cul- Ilısu Dam, and the years of opposition to the nuclear tural development model. Youthful masses took to power plants planned for Akkuyu and Sinop. Besides the streets and parks in great numbers, but we know these, demolition and construction projects –eup- that the protests were supported by a much wider hemized as ‘‘urban transformation’’– in almost every part of society across the country. Society started city across Turkey and the ensuing social problems to discuss what kind of an economic development also played a key role in laying the groundwork for model it actually wanted for Turkey. The Gezi pro- these protests. As for the struggle against ecological tests clearly showed that conservative social models destruction, the fact that Environmental Impact As- (be they from the AKP, the CHP or radical left-wing sessment reports, court decisions, and the will of the groups) restricting freedoms and the human would local population have been utterly disregarded and no longer be accepted by society. provoked the rage of vast rural masses and a sector It is necessary to take a clear stance against the of greater public opinion. As seen in the Ilısu Dam violence and human rights violations committed by case, the violation of court decisions demanding an the government and its security forces, and to stand immediate stoppage of construction made the public by a society which demands democracy and freedom. more and more skeptical about the prevalence of The European Commission and the member countries the rule of law. Prime Minister Erdoğan’s attempts of the European Union have a huge responsibility in to brand the leaders of these local struggles or the preventing human rights violations, and in having a initiators of the struggle against the demolition of serious and resolute debate with government officials Gezi Park as “enemies’’ or “terrorists’’ also drew the who are responsible for constructing a veritable ire of a large part of the population. democracy. They also need to explain to their own Furthermore, the government’s authoritarian, pa- societies the extreme importance of continuing EU ternalist and patriarchal style caused more concern accession talks with Turkey, especially opening up and anger. In the eyes of many, the government’s the chapters on basic rights, and pursuing a resolute claim to “serve society despite its will” had simply line in negotiations with the government of Turkey on become unbearable. The AKP tried to portray these issues. The Gezi Park protesters expect Europe itself as purveyors of “the best practice“ in almost to be capable of this. If you are really concerned every field while its credibility in the domestic and about the future of Turkey, it is time not to isolate, international arena eroded. Many social groups felt but rather to remind Turkey of its responsibilities, and hemmed in by the government’s imposition of a mo- to extend an invitation to the negotiation table. del family, which consumed ayran (a non-alcoholic drink made of yoghurt) rather than alcohol, had at least three children, enjoyed shopping at big On behalf of the Perspectives team malls, and lived in high-security housing projects. Ulrike Dufner Heinrich Böll Stiftung 3 How the Gezi revolt gave birth to park democracy oday in Turkey, society is going through as a revolt over “a couple of trees”– met with a a process which it hasn’t experienced in disproportionately violent response from the police, decades and which it may not experience it turned into an explosion of anger against the AKP again for decades to come. The series of government in general and Prime Minister Recep events that have been dubbed the ‘Gezi Tayyip Erdoğan in particular; this set the tone and TPark revolts’ have virtually turned into a popular character of the entire uprising.
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