Strasbourg, 12/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The current demonstrations in Turkey are a “revolution”, several demonstrators from Taksim Square told the European Parliament on 11 June. “A revolution is in the middle of taking place”, said Rojda Tekin from the anti-capitalist Muslims. While the events began because of “a few trees that were cut down”, there is a “much more important” foundation than that, in her opinion - such as the weariness of the people at speeches that no longer respond to what the people want and the fact that one person decides everything. This “has slowly begun to upset the people and this is what is now being experienced” in all classes of society and whatever the political opinions and beliefs, she said. She added that this is an “anti-AKP (Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party) movement and, in particular, a protest movement against the attitude of the government”.
“In the resistance at Taksim, extremely diverse people have made contact and have revolted against the state (…) This is a revolution for the rule of law from civil society, and for moving towards the EU too”, said Korhan Gumus, a member of the Taksim Platform coordination committee. “It's a revolution not a coup d'état”, added Sevil Turan, the co-leader of Yesiller-Sol Glecek (Green/Left Future). “The AKP uses a very authoritarian language. It believes it is the only existing force in the country and it despises all the demands”, she added. “Ten days ago, no one could foresee what was going to happen. It's difficult to see what this movement will result in. People who have never had a place in society are in the midst of getting organised. It's a movement for freedom, for solidarity”, she continued.
Call for dialogue. In the opinion of the protesters, the government must hold a dialogue. “These are demands for democracy and for freedom. We would like a democratic participative process - with dialogue”, Turan stressed. In Tekin's view, “Mr Erdogan is looking for someone to speak to. That 'someone' is the people (…) It's with the people that he must negotiate (…) He can't ignore what is happening any longer”, she added, saying that it must not come about that the people dialogue with the police because “police intervention only increases the people's resistance”. And while Erdogan “always says that we will do the reckoning at the ballot box”, “the ballot box is necessary but not enough - and he needs to understand that”, added Turan. (CG/transl.fl)