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Kent Messenger, UK
June 21, 2013
Wife of Lib Dem politician joins Turkey protests
by Anna White
The wife of a political figure will join thousands of campaigners in
her home country in protests against the Turkish government.
Diana Gerard will leave behind her husband Jasper, the Liberal
Democrat's prospective parliamentary candidate for Maidstone and the
Weald, when she travels to Istanbul.
The world has watched riot police clash with peaceful demonstrators
who are fighting the demolition of Gezi Park, a rare green space in
the city, to make way for a mosque and a replica barracks from the
13th Century Ottoman Empire-era.
This protest has been swelled by those who accuse prime minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan's government of becoming increasingly authoritarian and
of trying to impose conservative Islamic values on a secular state.
Mrs Gerard, an Armenian Christian who was raised in Instanbul, said:
"I just feel I have to go. I certainly don't support violent protest,
but I believe it is right for people to stand up for what they believe
in.
"When I grew up there people enjoyed more freedom. But gradually the
government is bringing in creeping Islamic laws, and that is very
dangerous."
Mr Gerard said: "London is where I would prefer my wife to
demonstrate, rather than Istanbul, as the last thing I want is for her
to be caught up in trouble. But she will stay away from anywhere
violent."
June 21, 2013
Wife of Lib Dem politician joins Turkey protests
by Anna White
The wife of a political figure will join thousands of campaigners in
her home country in protests against the Turkish government.
Diana Gerard will leave behind her husband Jasper, the Liberal
Democrat's prospective parliamentary candidate for Maidstone and the
Weald, when she travels to Istanbul.
The world has watched riot police clash with peaceful demonstrators
who are fighting the demolition of Gezi Park, a rare green space in
the city, to make way for a mosque and a replica barracks from the
13th Century Ottoman Empire-era.
This protest has been swelled by those who accuse prime minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan's government of becoming increasingly authoritarian and
of trying to impose conservative Islamic values on a secular state.
Mrs Gerard, an Armenian Christian who was raised in Instanbul, said:
"I just feel I have to go. I certainly don't support violent protest,
but I believe it is right for people to stand up for what they believe
in.
"When I grew up there people enjoyed more freedom. But gradually the
government is bringing in creeping Islamic laws, and that is very
dangerous."
Mr Gerard said: "London is where I would prefer my wife to
demonstrate, rather than Istanbul, as the last thing I want is for her
to be caught up in trouble. But she will stay away from anywhere
violent."