Erdem Gündüz invented a new form of çapuling: to show his support for the Turkish protests against Tayyip Erdoğan that originated in Gezi Park, he stood silently in Istanbul’s Taksim Square facing the portrait of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk that hangs on the Atatürk Culture Center.
Erdem Gündüz, aka the “standing man,” began his vigil at 6pm and was eventually joined by a crowd of 300 people who stood beside him and stared silently in the same direction. At 2am, after Gündüz had left, riot police broke up the peaceful protest and arrested 10 people.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s crackdown on the non-violent protests that originated in Gezi Park and Taksim Square has grown increasingly brutal. At least four protesters have been killed by police.
The protests started in response to plans to destroy Gezi Park, the last green space in central Istanbul, to make way for a mall built to look like an Ottoman military barracks. The demonstrations were peaceful, but police responded with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons. Other groups opposed to Tayyip’s increasingly Putinesque rule joined the protests, which have spread to Ankara, where the police response has been especially violent.
Now Tayyip is threatening to call in the army to end the demonstrations.
Is Tayyip leading Turkey into turmoil? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
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