“We were patient, we will be patient, but there is an end to patience, and those who play politics by hiding behind the protesters should first learn what politics means,” Erdogan said.
Protesters have accused Erdogan of becoming authoritarian during his 10 years in power and attempting to impose the Islamization of Turkey, which is currently governed by secular laws. Erdogan brushed off the accusations, calling himself a “servant” of his people.
RT. “Turkey police crush protests, govt refuses to resign (PHOTOS, VIDEO)”. June 10, 2013.
For his post-Kamalist autocratic methods, Erdogan makes an easy foil for the political opposition not only in Turkey but, opposite NATO (over Syria, lately), in Russia too.
As popular demonstrations attract everyone with a political bone to pick — or youthful and wild energy to expend — they can get out of hand to the point where authority (of any kind) must intervene with force. So here one may ask: apart from the Turkish middle class and whatever known fringes may be familiar to the Turkish political scene, who else may have been in that crowd?
And who put them there?
Ah, the gate opens to wild speculations.
To trim that some, I thought we might look together at RT‘s coverage of the story.
“There is now a menace which is called Twitter,” Erdogan said on Sunday, dismissing the protests as organized by extreme elements. “The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society.”
RT. “Turkish activists rail against media for ignoring protests, police brutality.” June 5, 2011.
Turkish police have taken several dozen lawyers into custody for joining the ongoing protests. The arrests in Istanbul come as police launched a crackdown on protesters in the city’s Taksim Square.
RT. “Turkish police ‘attack’ protesting lawyers at courthouse, many arrests (VIDEO).” June 11, 2013.
If you were the Russian autocrat, would you not wish to fan the flames beating at the bottom of the Turkish one?
Perhaps “yes”, but I’m not certain I would have to work hard, or even at all, to play up the drama, disrupt Erdogan’s Administration, and, just a jogging bit, shake the NATO tree.
RT has put up a live updates pate on the Turkish protests, but this last seems to feature the same timbre in headlining that seems to me also . . . fair:
“There are serious clashes in the small streets surrounding the square. They are running after each other tossing stones, bottles and smoke grenades there. It’s a real meat grinder in there,” reports RT’s Ashraf El Sabbagh.
RT. “Turkish police oust Taksim protesters with tear gas as Erdogan cheers removal of ‘rags’.” June 11, 2013.
Is the statement embedded in the RT article inflammatory or just plain good dramatic reporting?
My call: the latter.
Autocratic regimes or ones drifting in that direction — I would not write differently about Putin’s — do it to themselves. The more they feel they control in their spheres — and control is what autocrats and “malignant narcissists” are all about, that plus themselves, their image, their glory — and the more they extend that control into the reasonable provinces of constituent life, the more resentment they sow and, over time, the more chaos too when those resentments surface from multiple constituencies, including those with whom they have dealt with a heavy hand.
Frankly, the story more prevalent in the news I’ve been encountering along the way seems to be the Turkish media’s blackout on the protests.
Additional Reference
Al Jazeera English. “Turkey’s media: Caught in the wheels of power?” June 8, 2013.
Oktem, Kerem. “Why Turkey’s mainstream media chose to show penguins rather than protests.” The Guardian, June 9, 2013.
The Voice of Russia. “Turkey unrest: ‘Turkish spring’ or just a seasonal storm?” June 2, 2013:
Tarasov also names the government-led soft Islamization as a possible reason. Some people didn’t like plans to demolish the Ataturk Cultural Center and build a mosque at the site, thus neglecting the heritage and legacy of the first President of Turkey Kemal Ataturk.
BackChannels 