‘Turkish demonstrations not against government’
Meltem Daysal, professor at Tilburg University’s economic faculty, is emotionally involved with the protests in Turkey. She had hoped that the university would speak out against the police-violence in her country of origin. “I want people to be well informed about the situation.” It is difficult for the university to take a stand about the political situation in other countries.
“I was not surprised that large organizations do not want to take a political stance on the matter. The demonstrations are not directed against the Turkish government. The demonstrators tell other people to stay calm and peaceful. The government creates discord; but they should unify the people.”
Since the start of the demonstrations, Turks protest daily against the increasingly more strict policies of Prime Minister Erdogan. When a peaceful protest in Gezi park (Istanbul) was violently shattered by police violence, resulting in three deaths, the protests erupted in full-force. Authorities used teargas, firearms, helicopters and physical violence to bring an end to the demonstrations.
Meltem Daysal uses the internet to follow her family and friends who are in the midst of the protests. It has taken a toll on her sleep: she sleeps three hours a night. Acquaintances of Daysal live near Gezi park: the major focus point of the protests in Istanbul. The teargas deployed by the police forces Daysal’s 73-year-old mother to stay indoors during the protests. At night, the violence only increases. A professor at Besiktas University recently lost an eye due to a teargas grenade. Daysal follows the incidents closely on Facebook. “The police recently threatened to rape a girl if she didn’t keep her mouth shut.”
Professor Daysal hopes that by starting a petition Turks will gain the right to go out and express themselves via demonstrations. Daysal considered going to Turkey: “But I decided against it. I feel guilty and bad about it, but I hope that this petition increases the international visibility of this crisis.”
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