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Home , Democracy Party (Turkey), Edirne, Gezi Park protests, Roboski massacre, Taksim Square, Taksim Square massacre

Timeline of Gezi

(Source: : Brutal Denial of the Right to Peace- ful Assembly in . : , 2013, pp. 54–58.)

Monday, 27 May

A number of representatives from Solidarity – a coalition of NGOs, political groups and professional bod- ies who had been actively speaking out against the regen- eration plans in Taksim – start gathering in Gezi Park after bulldozers arrive.

Tuesday, 28 May

A group of environmental protesters stage a peaceful sit-in at Gezi Park. use excessive force (tear gas and pep- per spray) in attempts to clear the park.

Wednesday, 29 May

The number of protesters in grows following public outrage at the excessive force used against the Gezi Park protesters.

Thursday, 30 May

Footage shared on and news outlets shows police setting fire in the early hours to the tents of

 DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Timeline of Gezi Protests  protesters occupying Gezi Park. Police use and to disperse the protesters. By evening, the number of protesters increases significantly.

Friday, 31 May

Police move in to Gezi Park in the early hours, using excessive force, including tear gas and water cannon, to clear peaceful protesters from the area. Violent interventions by police continue across central Istanbul and into the evening. Mass protests spread to and Izmir as well as other including , Eskişehir, , , Kocaeli, and .

Saturday, 1 June

Police withdraw from at around 5 pm but police interven- tions carry on in other parts of the . Protests continue to spread to other cities, as does the excessive use of force by police against protesters. Police clash with tens of thousands of demonstrators in Ankara, Izmir and Eskişehir and thousands of protesters in cities across Turkey including Adana, Edirne, Samsun, Antakya, , Bursa and Kocaeli.

Sunday, 2 June

The abusive use of force by the police continues across Turkey. Police intervention with tear gas and water cannon against protests continues in Ankara and Izmir. Police are reported to have attacked makeshift health clinics treating injured protestors in Ankara and Izmir. In a public statement, Interior Minister Muammer Güler says that in the six days of , 1,730 people had been detained in 235 protests held in 67 provinces.

Tuesday, 4 June

Abdullah Cömert (22 years old) dies having sustained multiple head injuries during police intervention at a demonstration in Antakya on 3 June. Witnesses say he was hit with a tear gas canister fired by police; 38

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014  Timeline of Gezi Protests people are detained in Izmir for messages they posted about the protests on .

Wednesday, 5 June

Turkish Medical Association reports that 4,355 people have been injured across 12 cities with the majority of injuries registered in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Eskişehir.

Friday, 7 June

Having returned from a four-day trip to , Prime Minister Erdoğan addresses a crowd of supporters in Istanbul. He refers to the pro- tests as being illegal; he says that around 1,000 people have been injured, most of whom are police, and that the protests must end. He also says that there may have been cases of excessive use of force by the police.

Tuesday, 11 June

In the morning, police carry out an intervention in Taksim Square, using tear gas and water cannon, ending the 11-day occupation of the square. Clashes between the police and demonstrators continue through the day and into the night. In the afternoon, Istanbul governor justifies police intervention into Taksim Square on the grounds that “banners of terrorist organizations” had been placed on the statue in the center of the square and surrounding buildings. He pledges that there will not be a police interven- tion in Gezi Park. From early evening, police intervene in the Gezi Park protest, using tear gas, water cannon and plastic bullets; 45 lawyers are detained for protesting the detention of another, smaller group of lawyers for attempting to make a press statement condemning police violence against Gezi Park protestors at the Çağlayan Courthouse in Istanbul.

Wednesday, 12 June

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issues a “final warning” to pro- testers to leave Gezi Park. Police fire tear gas in and around the makeshift health clinic in the early hours.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Timeline of Gezi Protests 

Friday, 14 June

Ethem Sarısülük (26 years old) dies having been shot in the head by a police officer during protests in Ankara on 1 June.

Saturday, 15 June

Police use tear gas, water cannon and plastic bullets to clear protestors who had been peacefully occupying Gezi Park. Protesters are prevented from re-entering the park. Police use water cannon and tear gas at the entrance of the Divan Hotel, filling the lobby with tear gas, where a makeshift health clinic had been established to treat injured protestors.

Sunday, 16 June

Police used excessive force to intervene in the funeral procession of Ethem Sarısülük in Ankara.

Monday, 17 June

A silent stationary protest – the “standing man” – begins in the evening, with many others joining in soon after. At least 16 solitary protestors are detained on Istanbul’s Taksim Square, and subsequently released after 8 hours. Turkish Medical Association reports that 7,478 people have been injured across 12 cities with the majority of injuries registered in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir.

Saturday, 22 June

Police fire tear gas in and around a makeshift health clinic at the Chamber of Architects and Engineers.

Sunday, 23 June

The Ministry of the Interior reports that almost 2.5 million people have taken part in demonstrations in 79 of Turkey’s 81 provinces. During this

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014  Timeline of Gezi Protests time, approximately 4,900 people had been detained for various periods of time.

Monday, 24 June

Turkey’s prime minister addresses a police academy graduation cer- emony, praising the police for their brave, heroic actions during the Gezi Park protests. Turkish Medical Association statistics show that since the start of the protests 8,038 people have sustained injuries in 13 cities.

Monday, 8 July

Gezi Park is opened to the public by Istanbul governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu. The park is quickly filled with activists and the public. After two hours police, tell the people in the park that they have to leave, and shortly after, the police use force including tear gas and plastic bullets. Police operation moves into the surrounding area and continues into the early hours; 50 individuals, including representatives of Taksim Solidarity, are detained when they attempt to enter Gezi Park peacefully.

Wednesday, 10 July

Ali Ismail Korkmaz (19 years old) is pronounced dead after having been brutally beaten by individuals in civilian clothes as he was running away from police intervention at a protest in Eskişehir on 3 June. Five people including one police officer were later arrested and charged with his murder.

Friday, 12 July

All of the representatives of Taksim Solidarity who had been detained on 8 July are released.

Monday, 22 July

Sevgi Park in Antakya, which had been occupied by peaceful protesters, is cleared by police in the early hours. Police use excessive force against protesters in Taksim Square.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Timeline of Gezi Protests 

Friday, 26 July

Prosecutors complete the indictment to commence the first prosecution against Gezi Park protests in Ankara. The prosecution is brought against 73 people for attending the funeral procession of Ethem Sarısülük, a protestor shot dead by the police.

Thursday, 1 August

The Union of Turkish Journalists reports that 81 journalists have been forced out of their jobs as a result of their coverage of the Gezi Park events.

Saturday, 3 August

Police use excessive force (water cannon, tear gas and plastic bullets) against peaceful protesters who wanted to stage a protest in and around Gezi Park. Police intervention continues through the night.

Monday, 19 August

Police in Antakya use tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators commemorating the 40th day since the death of Ali Ismail Korkmaz.

Tuesday, 20 August

Police use tear gas and excessive force against participants and support- ers of “walk for justice”, a group of four people who walked from to Istanbul to highlight the lack of justice for the victims of the police violence in the context of the Gezi Park protests.

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Index

28 February process, 67–9, 102 Atatürk, M. K., 51, 81, 123 Atay, F. R., 81, 82 Africans , 2, 5, 9, 17, 19, racial discrimination in 26, 39 Turkey, 84 Aydın, B., 104 and religion, 83 settlement plans for Bağış, E., 30, 38 emancipated, 83 Baykal, D., 69 slavery in the Ottoman Black Turks, 5, 78, 79, 86 Empire, 83 Bloch, E., 97 social history of, 82–3 bodies, kinesis of, 90 Africans Culture and Solidarity body politic, see politics, of the Society, 85 body Afro-Turks, 83, 84, 86 Brand Finance, 36 Agamben, G., 40, 97 brand Turkey Akit, 62 a model of democracy in the Alevis, 94 Middle East, 32, 37 , 19, 84 as a product, 35, 36 Ankara, 8, 72, 74, 80, 124, 125 Brazilian protests, 13 Ankara kissing Brown, W., 33 protests, 138 Bush, G. W., 38, 39 anti-capitalism, 61, 62 anti-imperialism, 61 Calf Festival (Dana Bayramı), anti-terror laws, 26, 29–30 84, 85 Arab revolts, 14 capitalism, 15, 62, 106, 107, 137 , 32, 33 Chamber of Engineers and Arendt, H., 66 Architects, 28, 29 Arınç, B., 20, 28, 54 Chile, 13 Armenian cemetery, 96, China, 13 106, 126 chromatism, 81 artillery barracks, see Ottoman Cleric, see Gülen, F. Artillery Barracks CNN Türk, 34 Atakan, A., 2 Cold War, 11, 16, 54, 55 Atatürk Cultural Center, 26 collective action, 3, 4, 6, 131, 139

 DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0015 Index  conservatism, 59, 60 , 70 see also Islamic conservatism environmental politics, 123–4 criminalization environmental sites of professionals, 34–5 destruction of, 72, 94, 123–4 of right to expression and assembly, laws against protection of, 27–8 29, 32 Erbakan, N., 67, 68 cronyism, 5, 26 Erdem, Y. H., 83, 85 Erdoğan, R. T., 54 decree laws, 27 and gender segregation, 107, 108, Delany, S., 107 117–18 Demirel, S., 52 labelled as a dictator, 32, 33 democracy and the Marmara Sea canal project, economic situation and, 12 124–5 influential factors of, 12 monopolization of power, 9–10, and middle classes, 12–13 20, 27 threat to, 15 neo-Ottoman ideologies of, 125, Turkey as a model in the Middle 129–30 East, 32, 37 and politics of polarization, 10 democratic authoritarianism, 5, 51, and racial discrimination of Turks, 54, 55 78–9, 86 Democratic Jurors’ Association, 29 reaction to Gezi protests, 2, 20, 92 Democratic (DSP), 69 case, 54–5 democratic politics, 15, 17 Ergin, M., 81, 82 Democrat Party, 52 Eskişehir, 8 developmental transformation evidence projects, 125 fabricated by SAC, 30 see also urban renewal projects gathered by the police against dialogue, 66, 68, 73, 95 protesters, 31 dictatorship, 33, 36, 45 against Gezi protesters, 10 dissent Evren, K., 58 legal invesigations against, 33–5 suppression of, 10, 28, 34–5, 62 Facebook, 104, 113, 130 family resemblances, 106, 113, 116–17 Ecevit, B., 69 fascism, 61 economic growth Freeland, C., 16 in Thailand, 15 in Turkey, 13, 20 Galatasaray Square, 104, 105 economic system, 11, 12, 15 gay honor killing, 108–9 Egypt, 12, 14 “Gay International”, 111 Egyptian revolt, 14 Gezi Park, 2, 9, 18, 21, 90, 106, 126, 127 elites Gezi participants, 21, 66, 72, 91 degenerate, 72 see also Gezi protesters old, 22 Gezi protesters of the ruling party, 9, 53 activities by, 93, 96 of Thailand, 14, 15 arrest of, 18, 29, 34 Westernized urban, 9 condemned as “terrorists”, 30

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0015  Index

Gezi protesters – continued ideological differences with co-presence and synchronicity Islamists, 59–60 among, 136 relationship with AKP, 58–9 Erdoğan’s actions against, 9–10, 20 rise of, 58 Erdoğan’s rhetoric against, 30, 70, views on Gezi protests, 55–6, 56 78, 79–80 Gülen movement, 17, 31, 59 Gülen’s criticisms against, 56, 57 and Turkish-Islamic synthesis of investigations against, 35 democratic authoritarianism, 5, 63 Mahçupyan’s opinion on, 60 Güler, M., 2, 135 maintenance of solidarity, 70–1, 107 materials used for self-defence by, Hamzaoğlu, O., 34–5, 36 90, 99 Hardt, M., 98 nonlethal technologies used against, Hatay (Antioch), 2, 8, 72, 74 2, 17, 19, 37, 48, 90 Hayal-et Yapılar (Ghost Buildings), use of social media, 31–2, 79–80, 127, 128 130–1, 136 Haydarpaşa railway station, 26 as volunteers, 93–4 headscarf ban, 67, 69 youth, 22 heritage sites, destruction of, 26–7, Gezi protests 27–8, 94 as an “empty signifier”, 94–5, 138–9 Hevi Istanbul Kurdish Initiative, 113, a “living multitude”, 98 114, 118 casualties in, 2, 9, 62, 72, 74 homonationalism, 114, 115, 116 court cases pertaining to, 28 (homo)sexuality, 106, 109, 114, 115 media’s perception of the, 2, 56–7 human rights advocacy, 71–2 participation of LGBT and queer communities in, 105 imperialism, 110, 112, 115 public participation in, 8, 19, inequality, 15, 17 20–1, 72 injustice frames, 3, 139 reasons for, 9, 20–1, 27–8, 72, 78, investigations 94–5 academics as targets for, 34–5, 47 as an urban grassroots movement, against doctors, 35 122–3 against lawyers, 35 Gezi resistance, 12, 62, 90, 91–3, 99, against media, 34 123, 131 on the purchase of surveillance “Gezi spirit”, 4, 5, 10–11, 66, 69–71, 91, equipment, 31 93–4 by SACs, 30 Global North, 107, 108, 115, 116, 117 Islamic conservatism, 52, 53 Global South, 107, 115, 116, 117, 119 , 52–3 Goswami, M., 116, 117 Islamist parties Gül, A., 20, 37, 54, 61, 69 National Salvation Party, 53 Gülen, F., 5, 51, 56, 57 , 53 Gülen community, 54, 55, 56 Islamists/Muslims, 18 convergence with AKP, 55–6, 57, 64 Izmir, 8, 83, 84, 85 ideals of, 57–8 secular intellectuals as part of, 60 Jennings, R., 83 Gülenists, 52 journalists, 34, 55, 61, 62

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0015 Index 

Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Gezi protests, 2, 56–7 authoritarian tendencies, 2, 20, 30, self-censorship, 8, 34, 38 38–9, 123 Menderes, A., 52 establishment of, 54 middle classes issuance of laws to concentrate “aspiring”, 14 power, 27, 28, 29 “status”, 14 Political Academy, 36 and democracy, 12–13 Political Academy manual, 36 economic system and, 15 usurpation of public spaces, 9, 18, production of participatory and 94, 123–4 democratic political spaces, 12 , 52 protests in Russia, 13 protests in Ukraine, 16 Kadıköy ferryboat port, 26 rebellion of, 14–15 kalekol, 104 support to the military intervention Kaplan, Y., 61 in 1997, 68 keffiyeh, 30, 42 military, 5, 15, 20, 33, 37, 52, 55, 67, Krastev, I., 15 68, 104 Kurdish guerilla, 58, 59 see also military coup Kurdish liberation movement, 104–5 military coup Workers Party (PKK), 1980, 30, 37, 58 35, 104 1997, 53, 58, 67–8 , 51, 70, 94, 104, 108 Milli Gazete, 53 Ministry of Environment and Urban lawyers, 29, 30, 35 Planning, 27, 28 LGBT Blok , 106–7, 109, 112, 113, 118 Ministry of Family and Social LGBT community, 104, 105 Policy, 28 LGBTI, 114, 118 Ministry of Forestry and LGBT Pride Week, 104, 105 Waterworks, 27 LGBTQ , 70 Ministry of the Interior, 8 LGBTQ community, 6 minority politics, 70 attack on, 107 Mishra, P., 15 ’s support to the, 116 Mussolini, B., 129 protests in support of the Kurdish liberation movement, 104–5 Najmabadi, A., 111 liberal democracy, 111, 115, 116 nationalism, 51, 54, 85, 96, 113, 116, 117 liberalism, 12, 116 negroes, 78, 80, 81, 86 Lice, 104 see also zenci locality, 137 neocolonial sexualization, 110 neoliberal globalization, 11 Mahçupyan, E., 60 neoliberal institutionalization, 29 majoritarianism, 15, 17, 21 see also neoliberalism, Manichaeism, 79 institutionalization of Mason, P., 11, 12 neoliberalism, 18, 39, 125 Massad, J., 109, 110, 111 beneficiaries of, 72 media and Cold War, 32–3 freedom of, 17 institutionalization of, 4, 26

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0015  Index neoliberalism – continued politics laws to promote, 26 of the body, 3, 5–6, 90–1, 95, 96–7, protests against, 32 98–9 neoliberal nation-states, 5, 26, 32, 38 democratic, 15, 17 neoliberal policies, 5, 14, 16, 36, 58 developments in the United States, 17 neoliberal rationality, 33–5 in Egypt, 14 non-people, 137 of equality and recognition, 72–3 non-places , 137 Gezi protests’ impact on Turkish, non-things , 137 17–18 Nurcu communities, 52, 58 of polarization, 79–80 queer, see queer politics Obama, B., 17, 59, 115 race, 79 Occupy Gezi movement of space, 6, 91, 96–7, 137 active forces in the, 91–2 in Thailand, 14–15, 24 as an anti-capitalist movement, 93–4 populism, 39 as politics of space, 91, 96–7 post-neoliberal urban politics, 72, 73 as politics of the body, 90–1, 95, Prague Spring, 11 96–7 “Preservation of Nature and , see Occupy Gezi Biodiversity” bill, 27 movement Pride Party, 105 “” movement, 17 progressive politics, 60, 71, 74–5 Okey, F., 35 Prost, H., 127 Olpak, M. protesters, see Gezi protesters biography of, 84–5 protests support for the upliftment of Afro- strengths and weaknesses of, 16 Turks, 85 in Ukraine, 16 views on Erdoğan’s rhetoric, 85–6 use of technology in, 12 Ottoman Artillery Barracks, 2, 94, across the world, 13–14 126–7, 129 see also Gezi protests , 5, 125 Puar, J., 114, 115, 116 Özal, T., 58 Qaddafi, M., 33, 68 participatory democracy, 73–4 queer community, 104, 105, 108 party politics, 71 queer politics, 6, 108, 109, 111, 114, Peace and 116, 119 (BDP), 107 Pinochet, A., 33 Rabia Square, 10 plebiscite, 28 race politics, 79 , see police violence Republican People’s Party (CHP), 52, police violence, 2, 9, 16, 17, 19, 38, 66, 68, 70, 71 71, 74, 96 resisting bodies, 93, 96, 97, 99 political action, 66, 73, 105 “Respect for the National Will” political ecology, 122, 123 rallies, 80 political Islamism, 67 revolts, 11, 14 political liberalism, 115, 118 right-wing extremism, 61, 62 political solidarity, 104, 105, 106–7, 109 , 2, 5, 37, 38

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0015 Index 

Roboski massacre, 35, 118 Taksim Square, 9, 18, 21, 27, 30, 104, Rodrik, D., 11 126–7 ruling party, see Justice and , 127 Development Party (AKP) Tanzimat reforms, 51 ruling power bloc, 52 Tel Aviv, 116 Russia, 13, 16 Thailand, 12, 13, 14 “thugs” (çapulcu), 2, 4, 80 Samanyolu TV, 58 Toledano, E., 85 scientia sexualis, 110, 111 Topçu Kışlası, see Ottoman Artillery secularists, 67, 68, 70 Barracks secularization, 51–2 Tunisia, 14 sexuality, 107, 109, 116 Turkish Academy of Sciences, 27 and identitarian terms used in the Turkish government Middle East, 111 centralization of autonomus Massad’s views on, 109–10 institutions, 27, 28–9 in the Middle East, 110 and conspiracy theories, 61–2, 62 and solidarity, 106, 113–14 influence on the population through shari’a, 53, 67, 68 media, 8 Shinawatra, T., 14, 15, 24 and intelligence agencies, 31 Shinawatra, Y., 14, 15 massacre of Kurds, 104 Sivil İtaatsizlik, 30 privatization of public assets, 26–7 siyahi, 81 response to protests, 2, 9, 10, 21–2, sloganeering, 10, 105, 107, 109, 113, 92–3, 95 118, 140 use of judiciary against dissent, Social Democratic 28, 29 (SHP), 68 warfare against urban elites, 9–10 social media, 8, 9, 17, 19, 136 Turkish intelligence (MİT), 59 see also Facebook; Twitter Association (Türk social movements, 14, 19, 27, 122 Dil Kurumu), 81 Special Authorized Courts (SACs), 30 Turkish Ministry of Health, 35 specter of Gezi, 17–18 Turkish politics spirit of the age, 11 center-right tradition in, 52, 54 “standing man” protests, 96, 101, class divide in, 78–9 131, 136 impact of Gezi protests on, 8, 11, 21 “state of exception”, 26, 29, 40 new regime, 54 surveillance, 26 old regime, 51–2 manipulation of technology for, 31 Turkish secularist feminists, 70 of social media, 32 Turkish secularization, 52 wiretap scandals and, 31 Turks, 81 , 14 see also Afro-Turks; Black Turks; White Turks Tahrir Square, 14 tweets, 10, 32, 34 “Taksim Pedestrian Transformation Twitter, 2, 17, 80, 104, 113, 130 Project”, 18 Taksim Solidarity Platform (Taksim Ukraine, 16 Dayanışma), 29, 95, 139 Umut, M., 113

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0015  Index

UN Human Rights Council, Yıldız, A., 108–9, 110 29, 30 youth urban and rural landscapes, environmentalist, 27, 122 reorganization of, 123–4 of the middle classes, 13 urbanites, 19, 21 urban, 12, 19 urban planning, 29, 126–7 urban renewal projects, 9, 79, 94, , 55, 56, 58, 62 107, 123, 124, 127 zenci, 5, 79, 80 urban utopias, 123, 124, 127–8, 130 definition of the term, 81 history and usage of the term, 80–1, Wall Street Journal, 33, 38 83–4 White Turks, 5, 78, 79, 86 see also negroes zenciye, 83 Yeni Şafak , 59, 61, 62 see also zenci Yıldırım, M., 104 Žižek, S., 14

DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0015