I know many people want to hear about the Istanbul Worker's Day demonstration turned riot, but during this time of the year, I want to write about something more pleasurable. So, I found a way to do both: give commentary to feed the blog-interested masses on yesterday's efforts at paralyzing the city and a new name to watch for and why.
Can you imagine a city the size of Istanbul having the main arteries of travel cut off during morning commute traffic? On purpose! This is exactly what happened when the police closed transportation corridors on the ferries and Metro and added to it the thoroughfare to the Bosphorus Bridge along with closure of Besiktas, an area which sits on the Bosphorus and leads to Taksim Square.
Not only did it create mass traffic problems, but many employers told their employees to stay home, so no work today (or rather yesterday).
We have recently seen two weeks of thousands in the streets here in Istanbul, making it seem to outsiders that Turkey is on meltdown with everyone running riot in the streets. This is just not true!
You can liken it to the fields of people vocalizing the immigration issue in America. Yes, Turkey is claiming her voice; taking to the streets carry their democratic right to be heard. Hoorah for the people of this Turkish Republic!
This May Day was a special commemoration of the workers who lost their lives 30 years ago trying to stand up for their rights. Workers wanted to have a public ceremony in Taksim, the town center of Istanbul, but the police prohibited it and concocted a way to prevent it while adding more pandemonium to this booming city.
As a former police officer and one who gave training to Turkish police and prosecutors a few years, I can say they have not yet enacted the training I gave on Influencing the Outcome of Confrontation. We still continually witness police creating a lot of the chaos seen in the street, and dare I say, human rights violations. I could wax poet all day long about my observations, but I will spare you the diatribe.
For now, I want to leave you with one last bit to watch for in future posts associated with these large gatherings of people trying to affect change.
Thanks to my friend, Nuri, who gives me good insight with his Turkish political perspectives, we should watch the name of Professor Turkan Saylan, a Turkish woman, professor and president of one of the most successful NGOs in Turkey, The Association in Support of Contemporary Living (Cagdas Yasami Destekleme Dernegi, CYDD).
Prof. Saylan has dedicated her life work to influencing positive social change for the destiny of Turkey and now impacts the political system here in profound ways. Do you know any scuttlebutt on this mover and shaker for Turkey's future?
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