Laughingnomad

Well, yesterday, Erdogan, after initially promising to leave the park alone, emptied the park with only seconds of warning.

The police emptied Gezi Park in Istanbul with tear gas, water cannons with water that leaves people with skin burns, extremely strong gas and all manner of cruelty by the police including rubber bullets and clubbing. Just because people want to peacefully exercise their right of free speech and free assembly. In a democratic country, this is an attack on democracy everywhere.

The police attacked makeshift infirmaries in hotel lobbies with tear gas and clubs…where children and elders especially…had taken refuge. There was no escape. Erdogan is a megalomaniac on every level and must be stopped. When one protestor asked a policeman why he was doing this, the policeman said: “You pay me like the government does and I will fight for you too.”

10 people have lost an eye, at least 4 people are dead, one in Ankara shot dead with a real bullet by a policeman, and scores are hospitalized with serious injuries…not just in Istanbul but in other cities.

Today, with tax money from all Turks, he is shipping AKP party people into Istanbul in a show of support. He intends to follow with “dog and pony shows” in other cities. My friends in Turkey are saying they will also show up again today. I am worried for them now.

I hope the people take heart in the fact that Erdegon has shown the world he is not a Statesman. He is using secularism in a thinly disguised move toward absolute authoritarianism. Ataturk would turn over in his grave.

A comment to an article in the Waahington Post today: “To form a meaningful opposition, the various political parties need to form a united front with a limited set of common objectives. Until now, every one of them has insisted on their own ideological purity in positions. It’s a classic example of ‘divide and rule’. Maybe, just maybe, these events might be the trigger to form a common opposition party.”

Erdogan met with members of the Solidarity Group yesterday. Apparently it didn’t go well.

On Facebook this morning by OccupyGezi:

Media claims that PM Erdogan has raged at the previous night’s meeting with the representatives and left the meeting suddenly without even handshakes. They wrote that PM Erdogan was mad at Arzu Cerkezoglu, the General Secretary of Confederation of Progressive Trade Union, about her comment. Cerkezoglu says she told the PM Erdogan “Sir, if we were making this meeting on 25th of May, we could have been talking about the architectural and environmental issues. But it has been weeks now, people are on the streets, 4 of them dead. It has been 17 days, mothers are on the streets. If we are here for the solution, we must talk about the truth. Those people are telling you something on the streets from day to night. Don’t you think that we have to talk about these issues? This is not an architectural issue, it’s a sociologic issue.”

Arzu Cerkezoglu says in the paper “The PM, who has been continuously interrupting my speech, gave a harsh response when I say this is a sociologic issue. He raised his voice and said `Who are you to teach us sociology? We know sociology and psychology. How do you dare saying those to us?`”

http://haber.gazetevatan.com/uzun-gecede-gergin-anlar/546123/1/gundem

Some protestors say they are not represented by any group political or otherwise. And a tweeter on the ground says they will occupy one symbolic tent in the park while the others will leave. We will see what happens.

Meanwhile Erdogan is planning on counter-rallies in several cities in a show of support for himself. Tens of thousands are expected to show up. PM Erdogan speaking at the rally: “Our people has sense that this is a trap, a threat! We extend our hand but they extend their fists. How can we handshake?”

Hakan Aygun, a journalist, claims that all the personnel from municipalities and ministries has been obliged to come to the rally and brought there with official vehicles.

The Al-Monitor Pulse said: It is not realistic to expect the Gezi Park protesters and their representatives to be satisfied with the “possibility of a referendum.” The Taksim Platform, consisting of some 80 leading non-governmental organizations orchestrating the resistance, announced it would not agree to a referendum and that it had no intention of evacuating the park.

Erdogan: Tomorrow we hold an Istanbul rally. Let me make this clear. If Taksim is not emptied, police forces will empty it.” #occupygezi

Divide and conquer.

From Facebook today: “PM Erdoğan addressed to the mothers of the protestors and said “call them back to your houses for their own safety”. Mothers answered. They showed up at Taksim Square. Formed a human chain between the police and the protestors. In front of Gezi Park. This is the real “tear” gas.”

Mothers Form Human Chain Between Protestors And Police

Erdogan has called a meeting with a Solidarity Group…not some meaningless actor like he met with before which was a joke.

Tonight there is another concert in Taksim Square. I’m watching it live on DHA. It’s beautiful and watching the people makes me cry.

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Meanwhile in social media…a conversation between two people in Istanbul. I am taking the liberty of posting it here.

The real problem is that his bullshit economic policies are reaching an end. He was expanding credit at 40%/year rate. Eventually you reach your borrowing max and you have to start paying down the debt. It is MAJOR recessionary! Apparently, the number of employed people has dropped by about 5% in the last year. That was what happened over 4 years in the US from 2008-2012. The de-leverage is gonna happen soon and it will get REALLY ugly!

What u have to realize is that the prosperity of the last few years was all bullshit. It was artificially generated by insane borrowing through credit expansion And it would appear that it was the worst kind of borrowing, that is for consumption of mostly foreign goods. Not investment! Remember 2 years ago I said there was gonna be a currency collapse? It didn’t happen because the Saudis are propping up the currency by short term borrowing. They want Turkey to protect them from Iran. I don’t know how long that will last. The economic hardship hasn’t even started yet!

So, does he wanna go before economic recession himself? Why is he provoking people, why does he not give in for a simple request like keeping a park as it is, and instead use excessive police force? How do U.S. politicians look at the issue? Do they want him to go?? They were backing him, but recently it seems that they withdraw their support?? What do you think?

D: As I have told you before, everything I know about Jihadis I learned from my Jewhadi relatives. You gotta understand, they can’t control themselves and they have these tribal instincts that makes them pounce on a chance. He is provoking because he thinks he will win. He is a psychopath. Why back down when a vistory will consolidate his power. The one thing these folks go crazy about is when there is a challenge to their authority. When u are god’s messsenger, any dissent against you is blasphemy. Really quite simple.

As far as U.S. goes, all our leaders are idiots. They will back him as long as they see him as staying in power. Who else r they gonna deal with.

The worst is still yet to come!

After being gassed out of Taksim Square, the government spent the night cleaning up. Just in time for the children to come back with this:

Night After Gassing of Taksim

Gorgeous Photo

The Children Of Taksim

By dint of their imagination, humor and self-possession, they are proving themselves to be just the kind of people who should make up the “new” Turkey that Erdogan’s party promised to create when it came to power in 2002. When Erdogan says he hasn’t got an inkling what the children of Taksim want, that may be all too true, but it’s his confusion not theirs.

Andrew Finkel has been a foreign correspondent in Istanbul for over 20 years, as well as a columnist for Turkish-language newspapers. He is the author of the book “Turkey: What Everyone Needs to Know.”

Maybe this is all just taking me back to the days in the 60’s and 70’s when we thought all we needed was love.

In Spanish, the singer is Müge Zerin.