Turkey Urban Protesters Blame Erdogan for Narrowing Freedoms

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After his landslide re-election in 2007, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan pledged to govern on behalf of all Turks, not just those who voted for him. Underlying the past week’s unrest is a belief among some Turks that he hasn’t kept that promise. Asked why they’re joining the crowds that have gathered in Istanbul and Ankara every day since May 31, many cite what they say is a threat to their freedoms from an Islamist-rooted government increasingly unwilling to countenance dissent. Erdogan, who has blamed “extremists” for the spread of protests, has introduced curbs on alcohol, objected to popular television programs and said he hopes to preside over a “pious generation” of young people. “The government is trying to impose restrictions on my social life, it is trying to annihilate me,” said Hakan Badik, a 21-year-old musician, in the morning of June 2 as he gazed around Taksim Square in the center of Istanbul where the protests began, now blocked to traffic by barricades the protesters erected. “I don’t feel myself safe or free outside this area.” Erdogan has won successive elections, with a growing share of the vote, by campaigning as a leader who has expanded freedoms in Turkey, as well as delivering economic growth. He points to majority support for an easing of restrictions on Islamic practices, such as wearing the headscarf, that were imposed by past governments, often under the tutelage of a secular army whose powers have also been clipped. Holding Hands Without opposing the relaxation of curbs on religion, some protesters say it has translated into a restriction of their own freedoms. Gizem Oray, 21, was among a crowd of students dodging tear gas and water cannons fired by police in Ankara on June 3. She described how two weeks earlier, a roommate and her boyfriend were attacked by a group of men wearing Islamic dress for holding hands on the street. “These guys would never have dared to do this, in the heart of the capital, a few years ago,” she said. “This government is responsible, there’s no other explanation.” The wave of protests against Erdogan and his government began when police used tear gas and water cannons to clear a small group of demonstrators out of a park near Taksim, where they were opposing redevelopment plans. It has spread to more than 60 cities, leaving hundreds of police and protesters injured. Clashes continued overnight, including in the southeastern provinces of Tunceli and Elazig, after a fifth day of protests yesterday. ‘Different Choices’ At least two people have died at rallies, one hit by a car in Istanbul. The circumstances of the other death, in Hatay province near the Syrian border, are under investigation, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said yesterday. In the western city of Izmir, a stronghold of the secular opposition, police have been ordered to arrest 38 people for spreading false information about the protests, and 25 have already been detained, the state-run Anatolia news agency said. Erdogan had earlier blamed posts on Twitter for fueling the unrest. Speaking from an Ankara balcony on election night in July 2007, Erdogan said he would govern on behalf of those who voted against him, too, because “their concerns are our concerns. We see different choices as an extension of democracy.” Arinc, seeking to calm the protests, echoed that language. He apologized to the victims of excessive police violence at the start of the unrest, and said the government respects different lifestyles and is open to demands from all sides when they’re expressed peacefully.