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TURKEYS COMING HOME TO ROOST?
http://asbarez.com/110426/turkeys-coming-home-to-roost/
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013
The crowd at Taksim Square (AP Photo by Kostas Tsironis)
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
The parallels seem deliciously endless in number and category. A
week's worth of unrest in Turkey, spreading from Constantinople (Bolis)
to other cities, could go to unpredictable places, both good and bad.
Already, I've heard that the AKP's (ruling party) youth wing is
tussling with others. What does this suggest? Is it an indicator that
the party feels threatened and is unleashing its thugs? Contradicting
this is the reality that Erdogan left the country for a couple of
days. This is an indication of confidence, although it could just be
another manifestation of his renowned arrogance.
The first thing that came to mind when I heard about these goings-on
is "are the Islamists (Gulenjees, perhaps) and the secularists
(Ataturkjees) butting heads in what could be the beginning of something
big?" This was reinforced by the opinion I read that the situation
could devolve into civil war.
Imagine, something that started as simply as a protest to save Gezi
Park (evidently the only remaining green space in Bolis), could spark
huge changes. Here, we have a parallel with the successful struggle to
save Yerevan's Mashdotz Park. This also speaks to how fundamentally
important environmental issues are to life. The police overreacted,
using water cannons and tear gas- and here we have the parallel to
the Egyptian government's overreaction to the demonstrations in Cairo
during the "Arab Spring" just over two years ago.
Ultimately, the government stood down, and I saw pictures of
the demonstrators cleaning up the mess, not the authorities! And
here's another parallel, to the "occupy" movement that establish
self-governing mini-communities throughout the U.S. In fact, I even
saw "Occupy Gezi Park" thrown out as a term/name.
Various "man on the street" interviews portrayed this outpouring
as a reaction to Prime Minister Erdogan's increasingly repressive
government. Interestingly, he attributed this outpouring to the
political opposition and "foreign" ties. The latter accusation is
particularly ironic given Turkey's involvement in "promoting" the
Arab Spring actions as part of its grand, neo-Ottoman delusions, er,
excuse me, designs, on the Middle East. Turkey meddled in Libya, and
is the main conduit for supplies going to the rebel forces fighting
the Syrian government. Given this history, it would be no surprise
if other countries have decided to "return the favor" by stirring
the pot in Turkey. The three most likely countries are Syria, Iran,
and Russia, all of whom have every reason to desire revenge against
Turkey for its international shenanigans, particularly the murderous
outcome we're seeing in Syria. It is also a way for these countries
(and perhaps others, too) to tell the U.S. and Europe to "back off"
after the mess they've created in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
Finally, what is very intriguing is a hit piece on Turkey that
already appeared in a Jewish publication (The Tablet). This struck
me as odd since it seemed to me relations between Turkey and Israel
were on the mend. Perhaps there's more going on in the background
in this relationship. Otherwise, it's just plain weird that such a
strongly anti-Turkey piece should appear so soon after the protests
in Turkey started.
Keep a very close eye on this. Perhaps this is indeed a "Turkish
Spring" in the making. If so, we should strive to also make it an
Armenian, Assyrian, Greek, and Kurdish Spring, simultaneously.
http://asbarez.com/110426/turkeys-coming-home-to-roost/
Tuesday, June 4th, 2013
The crowd at Taksim Square (AP Photo by Kostas Tsironis)
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
The parallels seem deliciously endless in number and category. A
week's worth of unrest in Turkey, spreading from Constantinople (Bolis)
to other cities, could go to unpredictable places, both good and bad.
Already, I've heard that the AKP's (ruling party) youth wing is
tussling with others. What does this suggest? Is it an indicator that
the party feels threatened and is unleashing its thugs? Contradicting
this is the reality that Erdogan left the country for a couple of
days. This is an indication of confidence, although it could just be
another manifestation of his renowned arrogance.
The first thing that came to mind when I heard about these goings-on
is "are the Islamists (Gulenjees, perhaps) and the secularists
(Ataturkjees) butting heads in what could be the beginning of something
big?" This was reinforced by the opinion I read that the situation
could devolve into civil war.
Imagine, something that started as simply as a protest to save Gezi
Park (evidently the only remaining green space in Bolis), could spark
huge changes. Here, we have a parallel with the successful struggle to
save Yerevan's Mashdotz Park. This also speaks to how fundamentally
important environmental issues are to life. The police overreacted,
using water cannons and tear gas- and here we have the parallel to
the Egyptian government's overreaction to the demonstrations in Cairo
during the "Arab Spring" just over two years ago.
Ultimately, the government stood down, and I saw pictures of
the demonstrators cleaning up the mess, not the authorities! And
here's another parallel, to the "occupy" movement that establish
self-governing mini-communities throughout the U.S. In fact, I even
saw "Occupy Gezi Park" thrown out as a term/name.
Various "man on the street" interviews portrayed this outpouring
as a reaction to Prime Minister Erdogan's increasingly repressive
government. Interestingly, he attributed this outpouring to the
political opposition and "foreign" ties. The latter accusation is
particularly ironic given Turkey's involvement in "promoting" the
Arab Spring actions as part of its grand, neo-Ottoman delusions, er,
excuse me, designs, on the Middle East. Turkey meddled in Libya, and
is the main conduit for supplies going to the rebel forces fighting
the Syrian government. Given this history, it would be no surprise
if other countries have decided to "return the favor" by stirring
the pot in Turkey. The three most likely countries are Syria, Iran,
and Russia, all of whom have every reason to desire revenge against
Turkey for its international shenanigans, particularly the murderous
outcome we're seeing in Syria. It is also a way for these countries
(and perhaps others, too) to tell the U.S. and Europe to "back off"
after the mess they've created in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
Finally, what is very intriguing is a hit piece on Turkey that
already appeared in a Jewish publication (The Tablet). This struck
me as odd since it seemed to me relations between Turkey and Israel
were on the mend. Perhaps there's more going on in the background
in this relationship. Otherwise, it's just plain weird that such a
strongly anti-Turkey piece should appear so soon after the protests
in Turkey started.
Keep a very close eye on this. Perhaps this is indeed a "Turkish
Spring" in the making. If so, we should strive to also make it an
Armenian, Assyrian, Greek, and Kurdish Spring, simultaneously.