Tommy Gavin, who has reported from Istanbul with his colleague Ronan Burtenshaw for Rabble.ie, writes how, following a relatively quiet summer, things have kicked off again over the last few weeks.
In Trinity News, deputy editor Tommy writes:
“Police brutality has been the most consistent motivating factor in fuelling the protests. Amnesty International has called for a suspension of tear gas shipments to Turkey as police used 130,000 tear gas canisters in the first 20 days of the protests, depleting the 150,000 budgeted for the year. The Turkish Medical Association has reported that over 8,000 people have been injured by police who have been aiming with tear gas grenades at the heads of protesters.”
Speaking to Trinity News, one activist in Istanbul described the demographics of the protests now as being “more marginal and militant than they were in June. It’s not like it was in Gezi, you don’t have mothers and fathers banging pots and pans in the street as much anymore.”
One recent development has been the use of fireworks against the police. Trinity News has learned that one of the main groups to employ this tactic is the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H), a disciplined and well organised militant youth wing of the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).”
“The PKK is an armed Kurdish paramilitary group that has engaged in political terrorism, and in March entered a ceasefire with the Turkish government, though talks are now stalling. They have announced that they will not be the first to attack but the YDG-H has been active in the protests since June. They have not been directly visible though, as Kurds generally don’t want the peace talks to break down.”
“The most visible groups during the protests in June were university students and militant soccer fans from Turkey’s notorious football supporters clubs. The government feared that with the resumption of football season and the beginning of the academic year, campuses and stadiums would become major protest venues. In an effort to curb the possibility, the Turkish government has announced that private security on campuses and stadiums is to be replaced with police forces, plainclothes police will mingle with fans during football games, and scholarships of students who participate in anti-government protests will be withdrawn.”
The Turkish Uprising Revisited (Trinity News)
Previously: Turkish Despair