<div dir="ltr"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Dante-Gabryell Monson</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:dante.monson@gmail.com">dante.monson@gmail.com</a>></span><br>
Date: Thu, Jun 6, 2013 at 12:06 PM<br>Subject: Fwd: #occupyGezi<br>To: <a href="mailto:econowmix@googlegroups.com">econowmix@googlegroups.com</a><br><br><br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>
From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Erich </b><br>Date: Wed, Jun 5, 2013 at 3:59 PM<br>Subject: Re: <nettime> #occupyGezi<br>To: <a href="mailto:nettime-l@mail.kein.org" target="_blank">nettime-l@mail.kein.org</a><br>
<br><br><div><br>
On 06/05/2013 10:41 AM, Felix Stalder wrote:<br>
> Like many people, I've been following the news re: #occupyGezi, but I<br>
> still feel I don't really understand what's happening there. It would be<br>
> great if someone could provide an first-hand, on-the-ground report<br>
> rather than just some second-hand theory based on media accounts.<br>
<br>
</div>Felix and all,<br>
Her is some first hand report that came in on another list, source<br>
should be trusted, as the sender cooperates with EDRi<br>
<br>
Gruesse<br>
Erich<br>
<br>
A Report on the Situation in Turkey<br>
<br>
Irfan Erdogan, <a href="mailto:erdogan.irfan@gmail.com" target="_blank">erdogan.irfan@gmail.com</a>, <a href="http://irfanerdogan.com/" target="_blank">http://irfanerdogan.com/</a><br>
<br>
I am writing this to inform you that people in over 65 cities of 81 in<br>
Turkey are demonstrating against the reactionary and oppressive regime<br>
of Tayyip Erdogan and his party. We have demonstrations even in the most<br>
reactionary cities in Turkey. People in every neighborhood in the cities<br>
are on the street. Police throw gas bombs at demonstrators, beat and<br>
arrest people. It is not like in the late 1960s, because people did not<br>
care about us much then. We students were demonstrating for independence<br>
and socialism then. Now everybody is on the street. Nobody cheered when<br>
we were demonstrating in the late 60s in Turkey. Now people are cheering<br>
and supporting the demonstrators. Today we have more people on the<br>
street in my neighborhood in Ankara than yesterday. Police are shooting<br>
gas bombs inside the houses because people are providing shelter for<br>
demonstrators who are escaping from gas and police beatings. Youngsters<br>
and people from every walk of life are on the street and want the<br>
Erdogan government to resign. Erdogan uses the classic rhetoric about<br>
demonstrators and he threatens them by saying that he can send one<br>
million supporters to the street (he means, to smash the<br>
demonstrations). He says: "I keep 50 percent of the population at home"<br>
(he means that he can use 50 percent of people who support him against<br>
the other people). His mindset and approach reminds me of Jay Gould who<br>
said once that he is not worried about demonstrations and labor strikes,<br>
because he can hire one-half of the working class to kill the other<br>
half. For a lot of people, Erdogan is a reactionary dictator. In Turkey<br>
people are scared to say something against Erdogan. Television did not<br>
provide any news about the demonstrations except the television stations<br>
of the major opposition party and Turkish Labor party television,<br>
because mainstream media either support the administration or are scared<br>
of Erdogan’s rage/wrath. People in Istanbul walked in front of the major<br>
television stations and announced that if they do not feature them in<br>
the news they will occupy the TV station. Then, TV stations started<br>
reporting, but in a highly distorted manner. After this incident, very<br>
few media personnel resigned from their posts in the TV channel. Erdogan<br>
scolded the Reuters journalist who dared to ask him a question that he<br>
did not like. The Internet is used for the most effective channel of<br>
communication and organization of the protests by everybody. Erdogan<br>
expressed his utmost anger against Twitter and social media. Everybody<br>
uses their mobile phone for communication and recording the events and<br>
putting/disseminating them on the Internet. Mainstream media started<br>
lying as usual. Two main labor unions in Turkey run by those who ask<br>
some meaningless concessions from the government try to stop workers to<br>
demonstrate, but workers are on the street, too. Demonstrations are<br>
rapidly spreading all over the country. Soon, I know, religious<br>
reactionaries (not all religious people are reactionary) will attack<br>
demonstrators. There is a high probability that we will witness a<br>
domestic/civil war in Turkey.<br>
<br>
I was at the center of the demonstrations in Ankara yesterday and the<br>
day before. Demonstrators do not do anything wrong, but police<br>
continuously shoot pressured water, gas and noise bombs at them and<br>
attack demonstrators. Police behave like they are fighting an enemy.<br>
They curse at and threaten people by e.g. saying: "get lost otherwise we<br>
arrest you and you know what we do when we arrest you." We know there<br>
are some progressive and conscientious people in the police force, but<br>
they are also under the threat of the empire of fear. But we will see a<br>
differing police behavior as the time goes by in the process. Now, there<br>
is an indiscriminate uss of gas bombs (CS gas). Your eyes get severely<br>
burned and you cannot breathe, you start coughing, and you feel dizzy if<br>
you are close to the fume. Also when it hits you or blows up beside you,<br>
you get shocked (I saw it). So far we have four killings and many wounded.<br>
<br>
As usual, they claim that demonstrators/provocateurs destroy and<br>
vandalize everything around. Yes we see a lot of destruction; in fact,<br>
it is started and done by plain-cloth police. How do I know: (1) this is<br>
a historical fact. (2) I know from the late 60s, because we could<br>
recognize the police then, but it is difficult to recognize them now.<br>
(3) How come there is no vandalism, destruction and terror where there<br>
is no police around? Here are few examples: I attend demonstrations at<br>
the center of the city where police provokes, attacks and where plain<br>
cloth police destroys everything aroun,d provoking some young people to<br>
do the same. My daughter and my wife and neighbors attend huge<br>
demonstrations in our neighborhood where there is no police presence<br>
yet: You can see no violence, no destruction and no vandalism in these<br>
demonstrations. Yesterday, I had to come back home early at night<br>
because I almost fainted three times because of the police gas. Later, I<br>
attended two neighborhood demonstrations and there were no destruction<br>
and violence. Last year, I attended two demonstrations in Athens,<br>
Greece. There was no police presence and there was no violence and<br>
destruction. Athens was burning when there was police presence. When<br>
police was involved, Athens was like a war zone, like in Ankara and<br>
Istanbul. Those who rule the police force organize and run the show of<br>
violence and destruction as usual.<br>
<br>
People are against "Erdogan’s empire" that is misrepresented in Europe<br>
and elsewhere. This reactionary party clearly stated that they "use the<br>
democracy train until they get the power and reach their destination."<br>
They are misperceived by Europeans who think that this government is<br>
anti-racist and democratic. They are not racist because their political<br>
view belongs to the middle ages of Islamic rule: They think that all<br>
Muslims are the people of God and those who are not Muslim are condemned<br>
by God and will all go to hell. That is why Erdogan is against<br>
nationalism, but his/their nationalism is based "ummad/ümmed" that means<br>
the collective community/nation/commonwealth/empire of Islamic peoples.<br>
Their nationalism is based on a different logic, the logic of Muslim<br>
statehood. A statehood where a prime minister considers himself king and<br>
tells people that he does anything he wants, he builds a mosque there if<br>
he wants (“there” refers to the park where people do not want the<br>
government to cut the trees down). Before the uprising, demonstrators<br>
were sleeping in the park and police attacked them at dawn. The<br>
government uses the known tactics of Hitler: The police invades people's<br>
(e.g., journalists, academicians, army commanders) houses and arrests<br>
them very late at night, especially at dawn. They call it “dawn<br>
operation”. They arrest young people for demonstrating or saying<br>
something against the administration. Students at school cannot wear a<br>
T-shirt with any message that can be considered “political expression”.<br>
Now, there are journalists, academics, politicians, army commanders,<br>
students and other political prisoners who have been in jail for more<br>
than 5 years WAITING FOR TRIAL OR TRIAL IN PROGRESS.<br>
<br>
Their rule is based on material plunder and ignorance that is fed by<br>
multi-channeled mis-information, education and re-education. Their<br>
current rule is historically comparable to extensive degrees of material<br>
plunder: They (party leaders and business owners) allocate material<br>
riches to themselves and immaterial values to the true and fake<br>
believers who generally are ready for slaughter while chanting “God is<br>
great” regardless if opponents are Muslims or not - like crusaders in<br>
the middle age who conducted killings in the name of Jesus despite the<br>
fact that Jesus is completely against oppression and killings. We hear<br>
this chanting on TV news when Syrian opposite forces fire guns and kill<br>
people. This also reminds me not only od the War Prayer of Mark Twain<br>
but also the pressure he got from his publisher and family against<br>
publishing it. The policies of the ruling party in Turkey are also<br>
supported by some old so called Marxists and/or, Maoists, “leftists” and<br>
their sons/daughters who mostly reside in Istanbul and live a posh life<br>
(some work for media corporations with 20-30 thousand dollars salaries a<br>
month and/or get paid by the media for their appearances in discussion<br>
shows or get benefits in different ways).<br>
<br>
The widespread fear in Turkey is also fed by private enterprises: Once<br>
there was state censorship (it still prevails), now we have censorship<br>
by the rule of private enterprises, so-called auto-censorship<br>
(self-censorship) which is buttressed by organizational and peer<br>
oppression in media and academia. I wrote a book for a university last<br>
year and I had to revise it many times because they are scared of law<br>
suits from private enterprises (especially by the media). You can not<br>
mention a corporation’s name, you cannot criticize a corporation by<br>
providing its name. I sometimes watch the Tonight Show and similar US<br>
shows in English in Turkey and Turkish subtitles do not give any names<br>
of any corporation that is mentioned in the show. I was sued by the show<br>
producer last month for 20.000 dollars for criticizing one of the most<br>
popular TV sitcoms in a meeting (I make about 2000 dollars a month).<br>
Freedom of thought and expression is suppressed not only by the ruling<br>
administration but also by the corporations and those who are scared of<br>
being a target of revenge. Freedom is a right and privilege of the<br>
ruling and powerful forces who can also manipulate and abuse the law for<br>
their own interests. Copyright freedom is not a freedom of the writers,<br>
it rather protects (or turned to be) the property right of the enterprises.<br>
<br>
This is the first time I am witnessing a public uprising. It is<br>
different than the one we had in the late 60s.<br>
<br>
People all over the world should know. Yet, unfortunately, the “whole<br>
world is watching” carefully packaged factoids. In Turkey, the media was<br>
not proving any news on the uprisings until yesterday, and they were<br>
broadcasting usual series, soap operas, sitcoms, competition programs<br>
and films instead. Now they cannot hide anymore, thus they started their<br>
usual mind management business in the news. To a varying extent, similar<br>
evaluations can be reached about the coverage on international news<br>
channels such as BBC, Al Jazeera, The Press TV and RTV that I watch often.<br>
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</div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>P2P Foundation: <a href="http://p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://p2pfoundation.net</a> - <a href="http://blog.p2pfoundation.net" target="_blank">http://blog.p2pfoundation.net</a> <br>
<br><a href="http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation" target="_blank"></a>Updates: <a href="http://twitter.com/mbauwens" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/mbauwens</a>; <a href="http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens</a><br>
<br>#82 on the (En)Rich list: <a href="http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/" target="_blank">http://enrichlist.org/the-complete-list/</a> <br>
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