TURKEY'S DOUBLE TROUBLE : A WAR AT ITS BORDER AND UNREST AT HOME

 

 photo: Osman Orsai

If anyone wondered whether the recent developments have taken a toll on Turkey, one only needs to look at the unrest that is developing today.

A small protest against developers, who were cutting down trees in a famous park, has turned into a protest against the authoritarian government style of prime minister Erdogan.

As Turkey sits at the edge of what could soon become a pan-Arabic conflict, it now has to deal with a developing unease against the increasingly more Islamic tone of reforms Erdogan has stewarded in the recent months.

The lipstick debacle, where stewardesses of the Turkish airline were prohibited from wearing red lipsticks might just have ignited a potent backlash in the Turkish conscience.

Although a solidly Muslim country, Turkey prided itself of its European-ness, which had developed following the secularization program of Kemal Ataturk.

After decades of secularism, the knee jerk turn towards more strict interpretation and application of muslim mores is not sitting well with the majority of the Turkish people 

Used to a solid democracy, the population of Turkey fear that an 'Islamization' of the country could seriously curtail the civil rights they have enjoyed for so long. 

One of the demonstrators at the park exclaimed that "We do not have a government, we have Tayyip Erdogan...even AK party supporters are saying they have lost their mind, they are not listening to us."

More tension seems to be accumulation on a whole slew of problems.  One of them is Turkey's stance on the neighboring Syria conflict.  The other, is a tightening of alcohol and attire restrictions and warning about public displays of affection. 

An 18 year old expresses it best when he says: "This isn't about trees anymore, it's about all of the pressure we're under from this government. We're fed up, we don't like the direction the country is headed in."

Amnesty international has already raised concerns about the seemingly repressive use of force in the latest unrest, since the protest has started as a civil demonstration with peaceful intent. 

Source : France 24/ 5.31.13