Erdogan avisa que "a paciência chegou ao fim", mas propõe referendo e recebe manifestantes.Turkey's leader issues 'final warning' to Gezi Park protesters. / Guardian. Taksim Square protests: not a Turkish spring, but the new Young Turks./ Guardian.

Erdogan avisa que "a paciência chegou ao fim", mas propõe referendo e recebe manifestantes.

Por Alexandre Martins in Público
14/06/2013

Primeiro-ministro turco insiste que o "parque Gezi não pertence às forças ocupantes, mas sim às pessoas"

Foram 24 horas recheadas de sinais contraditórios. Depois de ter aberto a porta à realização de um referendo sobre a construção de um centro comercial no Parque Gezi, o primeiro-ministro turco lançou um "último aviso" aos manifestantes, mas acabou o dia a convidar algumas das mais destacadas figuras dos protestos para uma reunião.
"No seguimento do convite do primeiro-ministro, os membros da Solidariedade com Taksim vão discutir com ele a nossa convicção de que o Parque Gezi deve continuar a ser um parque", disse à Reuters Eyup Muhcu, presidente da Ordem dos Arquitectos. Recep Tayyip Erdogan tinha recusado até ontem receber representantes da coligação Solidariedade com Taksim, que reúne vários grupos ambientalistas.
Poucas horas antes do anúncio da reunião, o tom de Erdogan parecia indicar que o desfecho seria outro. "A nossa paciência chegou ao fim. Este é o meu último aviso. Peço às mães e aos pais que levem os seus filhos. Não podemos esperar mais porque o Parque Gezi não pertence às forças ocupantes, mas sim às pessoas", avisara o primeiro-ministro, no final de uma reunião do Partido da Justiça e Desenvolvimento, que decorreu em Ancara.
O ultimato de Recep Tayyip Erdogan chegou depois de uma noite pacífica em Istambul, mas violenta na capital, onde prosseguiram os protestos contra o Governo, instigados pela manifestação contra a construção de um centro comercial no parque adjacente à Praça Taksim.
Na quarta-feira à noite, representantes de outras organizações reuniram-se com o primeiro-ministro turco. No final, foi anunciada uma proposta que foi encarada pelos sectores próximos do Governo como um gesto de paz: a realização de um referendo sobre o derrube de uma das poucas áreas verdes no centro de Istambul.
"O resultado deste encontro é que podemos estudar a realização de um referendo para os habitantes de Istambul. Não será um referendo nacional, mas vamos perguntar a opinião aos residentes de Istambul", anunciou Huseyin Celik, porta-voz do Partido da Justiça e Desenvolvimento. Erdogan quis reduzir os protestos na Praça Taksim à construção do centro comercial, mas a proposta não aliciou os manifestantes, que há muito protestam também contra o que dizem ser a progressiva islamização da sociedade turca. Para o problema do Parque Gezi "já existe uma decisão do tribunal que ordena a suspensão dos trabalhos", lembrou Tayfun Kahraman, da coligação Solidariedade com Taksim.
Para além da providência cautelar com vista à suspensão das obras, os representantes da Solidariedade com Taksim questionam também a legalidade de um eventual referendo, já que a população turca só pode ser chamada a votar sobre assuntos constitucionais.
"Vão perguntar-nos se concordamos com o corte de árvores? E o que é que isso mudaria?", questionou um jovem estudante de 22 anos, identificado apenas como Arzu, que falou à agência AFP.
Os manifestantes são claros nas suas exigências, e mostram que o problema já ultrapassou há muito os limites da Praça Taksim: "É indispensável que o Parque Gezi continue a ser um parque, que a violência chegue ao fim e que os responsáveis por essa violência sejam investigados", disse o arquitecto Ipek Akpinar, que esteve na reunião com o primeiro-ministro.
Depois dos avanços e recuos de ontem, Erdogan deixou uma promessa para hoje. O chefe do Governo disse que vai "partilhar com a nação" os pormenores do "jogo" dos media internacionais: "É como se toda a Turquia estivesse a ferro e fogo, como se estivesse a colapsar. É enganador e não é ético", afirmou.

Turkey's leader issues 'final warning' to Gezi Park protesters


Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says government has reached end of its patience with 'troublemakers' camped out in Istanbul

Peter Beaumont in Istanbul
The Guardian, Friday 14 June 2013 / http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/13/turkey-gezi-park-protesters

Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, delivered a stark "final warning" on Thursday to thousands of defiant protesters still camped out in Istanbul's Gezi park, demanding that they end their occupation.
Describing the protesters as troublemakers, Erdoğan said the government had reached the "end of its patience" over the continuing demonstrations against his leadership, in which five people have been killed since 31 May. Erdoğan had earlier issued a 24-hour deadline to clear Taksim Square and Gezi park.
Erdoğan spoke as the latest person to die in the demonstrations was named as 26-year-old Ethem Sarısülük, who had been on life support for days. He was pronounced dead after he was hit in the head by a tear gas canister on 1 June during a protest in the capital, Ankara.
Reports early on Friday said Erdoğan was holding talks with protesters in the capital, Ankara, and Istanbul's governor had offered to meet protesters in a cafe near Taksim Square through the night in a bid to find a solution. News agencies said the talks involving Erdoğan broke up amicably but without a clear outcome. The protest group Taksim Solidarity told Reuters that Erdogan had promised to abide by the outcome of an ongoing court case filed against the redevelopment and reiterated his plan to hold a referendum if the court finds in the government's favour.
The protests erupted after a violent police crackdown on 31 May following a sit-in by activists objecting to a development project that would involve cutting down the trees in Gezi Park and replacing them with a replica of an Ottoman-era barracks. Since then, protests have spread to dozens of cities and been transformed into a broader complaint over Erdoğan's style of government.
Erdoğan also hit out at criticism by the European parliament of the force being used. The European parliament has voted to condemn the use of "harsh measures" against peaceful protesters and urged Erdoğan to take a unifying and conciliatory stance.
"We have arrived at the end of our patience," Erdoğan told local party leaders in a speech in Ankara yesterday. "I am giving you my final warning."
He urged parents with children at the park to convince them to pack up and go home. Erdoğan added that he had instructed police that "we cannot allow lawbreakers to hang around freely in this square … We will clean the square".
Responding to a vote in the European parliament in Strasbourg, Erdoğan added: "I won't recognise the decision that the European Union parliament is going to take about us … Who do you think you are by taking such a decision?"
Although there were no fresh clashes yesterday, many have interpreted Erdoğan's remarks as a clear signal that he will move soon to clear the park of protesters.
A new poll of those occupying Gezi park suggests that almost 60% are protesting about Erdoğan's style of government, which opponents have criticised for its creeping authoritarianism.
Despite the warnings, new protesters of all ages continued to arrive in the camp, insisting they would not be frightened away. Among them was Kerim Ozken, 63, a retired bank worker and writer. "I think the police might attack again tonight," he said, reflecting the fears of many in the camp, which is surrounded in places by makeshift barricades. "Tayyip [Erdoğan] said it will be over tonight. He thinks it is a war. It is idiotic. Really idiotic. He thinks he can change people's minds by force."
So far during the protests, 5,000 protesters and 600 police have been reported injured.
Erdoğan's defiant tone comes despite the floating of a proposal to have a popular referendum on the fate of the park. Pouring cold water on that notion, a senior judge insisted that the courts had already ruled on the development.
Istanbul governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu went on a nationally-televised talk show on Thursday and offered to meet with the demonstrators.

'At Taksim the flag (bearing the image of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk) has served as a reminder of the cherished ideals that were being trampled by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – chiefly the separation of state and religion.' Photograph: Yannis Behrakis/Reuters

Taksim Square protests: not a Turkish spring, but the new Young Turks

The movement so rudely shattered this week is reminiscent of a group credited with laying the groundwork for modern Turkey

Betty Caplan
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 13 June 2013 19.00 BST / http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/13/taksim-square-protests-new-young-turks

By now you will have seen pictures of police battles, burning tyres, riot shields and tear-gas – stricken protesters. These images have become so familiar to us over the past few years that we are almost immune to them. But what you can't get from the pictures is the extraordinary transformation that took place in Taksim Square – the centre of Istanbul – in the space of a mere 10 days. It became a living, breathing community of peace, love and hope. "Woodstock" people whispered as they strolled amongst the stalls of free food and books, and the forests of posters and red flags. Too beautiful too last. We all knew that.
The organisation of the protesters has been impeccable: all over Gezi Park every inch of space is still covered by tents, blankets, tables laden with food, maps and information posts. Barricades block all the entrances so that only the trusted can enter. There is a library, a clinic, theatre masks and gas masks and even a garden. In order not to allow the municipality with its large vans to collect rubbish, each morning the community has been organising a roster of members to clean up the mess, passing bags along a human chain. Instead of the streams of relentless shoppers each caught in his own acquisitive world, people have felt free to engage one another in talk.
This movement which was so rudely shattered on Tuesday has historical precedents. The Young Turks were a diverse group of Turkish citizens who rebelled against Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II and his extremely authoritarian government in the early 20th century. They are often credited with laying the groundwork for the modernisation and ultimate demise of the Ottoman Empire. The association of the Young Turks with radical ideas and revolutionary change is so widespread that the term is often used in slang to refer to groups of youthful and politically active individuals who agitate for change.
Their origins lie in 1889, when an atmosphere of quiet dissent began to spread throughout the Ottoman Empire, primarily among students and disaffected members of the military. After a brief period of constitutional government from 1876-1878, the Sultan suspended the Turkish constitution, causing a great deal of unrest among many Ottoman citizens. The Young Turks began meeting in small cells to talk about the creation of a secular, constitutionally based government as an alternative to Turkey's existing monarchy, and the movement quickly spread until 1906, when the Young Turks came out in the open and began to actively agitate for change.
At times, it was a group whose passion was greater than its vision. It got rid of one sultan only to replace him with his aged brother who had been dragged into the limelight from the palace where he had been imprisoned by Abdul Hamid for 30 years. Imagine his terror when he heard the 101-gun salute, followed by relief at being crowned Mehmed V.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern, secular Turkey, played a minor role in the Young Turk revolution, and those who have visited Takism square over the course of the last week will have noticed many red flags bearing his image. Those known as the Kemalists often worship their leader blindly. But at Taksim the flag has above all served as a reminder of the cherished ideals that were being trampled by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – chiefly the separation of state and religion. Turks are ready to gloss over the man's failings because he helped to bring the modern republic into being. Erdoğan resents the power the great father still holds over his people, and longs to find a comparable role.
What began as a protest against the demolition of one of the few remaining green spaces in Istanbul has become a beacon of radicalisation for the whole country. Each night as dark falls, cities are alive with the banging of pots and pans. But there isn't a coherent plan, rather a cry of pain. The prime minister has reacted with fury because try as he might, he can't crush the social media. He has been defeated by tweets. And the police have over-reacted because for years they have been brought out in busloads whenever three people have gathered together, only to sit around for hours, chafing at the bit. At last they've had some real action.
For now the brief occupation of Taksim is over and soon the cars will be back after the blood has been scrubbed away and the debris removed. Erdoğan may show contempt for the capulcu but the bourse is suffering and potential investors are turning away. Those are things he can't ignore for long.