The Gezi Park Movement

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In late May 2013, what started as a peaceful civil protest in opposition to demolition of the Gezi Park, which is one of the last green spaces in Istanbul, to build a shopping centre, has evolved into a broader protest when police violently attacked the protestors. The excessive use of pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets, which caused serious injuries, encouraged more demonstrators into the Gezi Park. After the harsh crackdown by the riot police, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defended the police action and denounced protesters as "terrorists" and “marginal”. In a short time, a peaceful environmental protest turned into a nation-wide social movement against the Islamist-rooted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his autocratically governing style.

The Gezi Park movement became one of the most important sociopolitical issues of Turkey in recent years. According to the Amnesty International’s report (2013) almost 2.5 million people attended the protests held in 79 cities across Turkey. 5 people died in clashes with the police and more than 8,000 injured. The protests attracted both national and international attention due to an overwhelming impact.

Many scholars, especially sociologists and political scientists, have been interested in studying the protests (Bilgic and Kafkasli 2013; Nikos 2013; Ete and Tastan 2013; Gokay and Shain 2013; Gole 2013; Xypolia 2013; Tastan 2013). Soon after the demonstrations begin, scholars started to investigate this unexpected upheaval. Most of the studies focused on the profiles of the protestors and the reasons of its origin (Bilgic and Kafkasli 2013; Gole 2013; Ete and Tastan 2013). Some scholars tried to investigate the aim of the protests and what do the protests really mean ...

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Tastan, Coskun. 2013. “The Gezi Park Protests in Turkey: A Qualitative Field Research.” Insight Turkey 13(3). Retrieved November 15, 2013 (http://www.insightturkey.com/insight-turkey-volume-15-no-3/issues/350).

T24 2013. “Sendikalar Gezi Parki Direnisine Destek Icin Is Birakiyor.” T24.com.tr June 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013 (http://t24.com.tr/haber/sendikalar-gezi-parki-direnisine-destek-icin-is-birakiyor/231357)

Turgut, Pelin. 2013. “Women on the Front Lines of Turkey Protests.” World.time.com June 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2013 (http://world.time.com/2013/06/08/women-on-the-front-lines-of-turkey-protests/)

Yilmaz, Ismail Guney. 2013. “Ayaklanma, Gezi ve Sinif Uzerine Bir Tartisma.” Fraksiyon.org December 2013. Retrieved December 23, 2013 http://fraksiyon.org/ayaklanma-gezi-ve-sinif-uzerine-bir-tartisma/

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