To simply say “protestors good, government bad” in Turkey is a symptom of the Blair delusion, that in civil conflicts there are guys with white hats and guys with black hats, and that the West’s role is to ride into town and kill the guys in the black hats. That is what “liberal intervention” means. The main aim of my second autobiographical book, “The Catholic Orangemen of Togo”, was to explain through the truth of the Sierra Leone experience how very, very wrong this is.
In fact civil conflicts are usually horribly complex, anent a variety of very bad people all trying to gain or retain power, none of them from an altruistic desire to make the world a better place. There may be ordinary people on the streets with that altruistic desire, being used and manipulated by these men; but it is not the ordinary altruistic people on the streets who ever come to power. Ever.
In Turkey the heavy crushing of a rainbow of protests in Istanbul has been going on for at least a month now. A week ago I was discussing it with my publisher, whose son lives in the city. A fortnight ago I was in Istanbul myself.
The Turkish people I was with were natural Erdogan supporters, and what struck me very forcibly was the fact that he has sickened many of his own natural allies by the rampant corruption in Turkey at present. Almost everyone I met spoke to me about corruption, and Turkey being Turkey, everyone seemed to know a very great deal of detail about how corruption was organised in various building and development projects and who was getting what. It therefore is hardly surprising that the spark which caused this conflict to flare to a new level was ignited by a corrupt deal to build a shopping centre on a park. The desecration of something lovely for money could be a metaphor for late Erdogan government.
The park is very small beer compared to the massive corruption involved in the appalling and megalomaniac Bosphorus canal project. Everyone talked to me about that one. The mainstream media, who never seem to know what is happening anywhere, seem to have missed that a major cause of the underlying unrest in Istanbul was the government’s announcement eight weeks ago that the Bosphorus canal is going ahead.
People are also incensed by the new proposal that would ban the sale of alcohol within 100 metres of any mosque or holy site, ie anywhere within central Istanbul. That would throw thousands of people out of work, damage the crucial tourist trade and is rightly seen as a symptom of reprehensible mounting religious intolerance that endangers Turkish society.
So there are plenty of legitimate reasons to protest, and the appalling crushing of protest is the best of them
But – and this is what it is never in the interest of Western politicians to understand – Government bad does not equal protestors good. A very high proportion – more than the British public realise by a very long way – of those protesting in the streets are off the scale far right nationalists of a kind that make the BNP look cuddly and Nigel Farage look like Tony Benn. Kemalism – the worship of Ataturk and a very unpleasant form of military dominated nationalism – remains very strong indeed in Istanbul. Ataturk has a very strong claim, ahead of Mussolini, to be viewed as the inventor of modern fascism
For every secular liberal in Istanbul there are two secular ultra-nationalist militarists. To westerners they stress the secular bit and try to hide the rest, and this works on the uncurious (being uncurious is a required attribute to get employed by the mainstream media). Of course there are decent, liberal, environmentalist protestors and the media will have no difficulty, now they have finally noticed something is happening, in filling our screens with beautiful young women who fit that description, to interview. But that is not all of what is going on here.
There certainly was no more freedom in Turkey before the AKP came to power. Government for decades had been either by the Kemalist military in dictatorship or occasionally by civilian governments they tolerated and controlled. People suddenly have short memories if they think protest was generally tolerated pre-Erdogan, and policy towards the Kurds was massively more vicious.
The military elite dominated society and through corruption they dominated commerce and the economy. The interests of a protected and generally fascist urban upper middle class were the only interests that counted at all. The slightest threat to those interests brought a military coup – again, and again, and again. Religion was barely tolerated, and they allied closely with Israel and the United States.
When Erdogan first came to power it was the best thing that had happened to Turkey for decades. The forgotten people of the Anatolian villages, and the lower middle class of the cities, had a voice and a position in the state for the first time. In individual towns and villages, the military and their clients who had exercised absolute authority had their power suddenly diminished. I witnessed this and it was a new dawn, and it felt joyous.
Then of course Erdogan gradually got sucked in to power, to money, to NATO, to the corruption of his Black Sea mafia and to arrogance. It all went very wrong, as it always seems to. That is where we are now.
Yes of course I want those pretty, genuinely liberal environmentalist girls in the park to take power. But they won’t. Look at the hard-eyed fascists behind them. Look at the western politicians licking their lips thinking about the chance to get a nice very right wing, anti-Muslim and pro-Israel government into power.
We should all be concerned at what is happening in Turkey. We should all call for an end to violent repression. But to wish the overthrow of a democratically elected government, and its replacement – by what exactly? – is a very, very foolish reaction.
Well, if I must explain myself. No intent to derail. Finding some socialists in Turkey was part of the subject, and my question had to do with public tolerance for such. It was a personal inquiry.
Now go bugger off.
Now, now, play nice hippy, Ben, remember? And you could, of course, just ask your brother, As for socialists, Sophie, above, has it right – it’s a sad game when people just see the world as divided into the two cadres of ‘socialists’ and ‘nationalists’. They do not necessarily represent the old ladies helping the tear gassed protestors, either of them.
Ben, re. the “gay presence” in Turkey, I have absolutely no idea – maybe you should ask your friend? I’d imagine there is a gay presence, as there is everywhere. Turkey is in the Council of Europe, etc. As for rights, that may be another matter, but then it took a struggle even in western Europe and north Amercia in very rcent times to achieve civil/human rights.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Turkey
NB Ben, was not suggesting that you were trying to derail; was genuinely puzzled.
“the old ladies” might be Communists, for all we know. Or Sufis. Or gay grandmothers. Or simply, grandmothers. Or gardeners. Who’s to say? Go back 40 years… and the old ladies were young ladies and the streets of Turkey were filled with lefties 9and righties, and in-betweenies). Anyway…
It wasn’t my brother, and I play nice until you screw wit me.
I apologize if the question was unseemly, Suhayl. I assure you nothing was implied.
Now I’ll just shut the fuck up.
Suhayl, quite true, thanks.
OT sorry but it is from The Guardian…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2013/jun/02/wit-wisdom-boris-johnson-review
The Wit and Wisdom of Boris Johnson, edited by Harry Mount – review
Comments are open at The Guardian on this article.
I’d be interested to hear the views of a Turkish student from a working class background, or that of a younger generation, because whatever comes out of the next few years cauldron, will be inherited by them.
Some are raising the spectre of a Turkish spring, a re awakening of secular thoughts, something the elites might want to steer and control.
I wish Turkey well, they would be an exciting EU inclusion, if HR reforms stick and the military lets go.
The Sarin gas incident is worrying, another sign of ancient connections and a manifestation that there is nothing that could not be supplied in Turkey.
Turkey’s north eastern peaks are welcome NATO listening posts, still, and any attack on Iran proper would ideally be carried out via Turkey, with the back up of NATO bases, so Turkey is strategically hot stuff, with Insirlik airbase access representing the sprinkles.
Israel will try its best to get rights to overfly and I can see the US waving its stick at Turkey to help this along, what it could do for Turkey to access the EU, etc., just let Israel use your airspace.
You’re so full of liberal bullshit. The amount of violence both done and condoned by police and government support behind them would overthrow any democratically elected government of yours. Watch some live streams over ustream maybe then you’ll realise just because people are appointed by democracy doesn’t mean they are ruthless tyrants.
Ben, no, no, the question was not unseemly at all. It’s an important subject. I just don’t know anything about the specific subject – good of you to think of me though, thanks, man.
There was a protest in George Square, Glasgow this weekend, by some members of the Turkish community and supporters, including leftists, against what the Turkish Govt is doing. I’ll try and link to some pictures – from a leftist website/news source – if I can, later. I know there have been (bigger) protests in London, too.
“Now I’ll just shut the fuck up” – Ben, not intention, see comment above.
Helicopters fired tear gas canisters into residential neighbourhoods and police used tear gas to try to smoke people out of buildings. Footage on YouTube showed one protester being hit by an armoured police truck as it charged a barricade.
‘Extreme’ response
Erdogan admitted there may have been some cases of “extreme” police action.
“It is true that there have been some mistakes, extremism in police response,” he said.
However, calling the protesters “a few looters”, the prime minister remained defiant, pledging to push forward with the plans to redevelop Taksim Square.
Erdogan singled out the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for attack over a dispute he described as ideological.
“We think that the main opposition party which is making resistance calls on every street is provoking these protests,”
Erdogan said on Turkish television.
(Al Jazeera: worth comparing Erdogan’s statements to comments above)
Has Boris shafted Cameron?
I didn’t think much of the scenery in Taksim square last year. But the buses ran from there, so I did pass through. However, I recalled that when we strolled through that park below the Topkapi, a bunch of youngsters entered with make up on to join in some international zombie thing. We found it quite amusing, and marvelled at how the internet was linking people culturally thoughout the world. But we were at the exit gate by now, and the kids were warned to play it subdued by the park keeper whom we reckoned didn’t know whether he was meant to allow zombies in the park or not. At that point we saw the clash of competing civilizations. A western crazy youth culture where anything goes. You see that in street fashion in all the free countries. And an old Ottoman state which was once the centre of the “civilised” world. So what is it to be in Turkey? Modern, liberal, free? Or the hijab?
Tony Benn really gets it right when he makes much of the ability to get rid of those we elect.
OccupyTaksim
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHyDaAXw8Ck
Operation Solstice documentary on Battle of Beanfield
“What we the ITN camera crew have seen today has been some of the most brutal police treatment of people I’ve witnessed in my career as a journalist…. The number of people who have been clubbed while holding babies in their arms has still to be counted. There must surely be an inquiry into what happened here today.”
– Kim Sabido ITN – June 1st, 1985
Technicolour Try telling what you said to me to the posters of the Boris SamCam items which seem to be totally irrelevant here. Mine was about six decades of our wars, staged on several continents, and the terror and destabilization that ensued. Craig’s post deals with NATO to which we belong, Blair, Sierra Leone, etc etc.
Get off my back. I have enough bother here to be going on with.
David, 9:37pm, today: The gatekeeper/park keeper might just as well have been an old Kemalist secularist or just the guy in charge of keeping public order in the park in a major public/tourist part of Istabbul (and so it’s his job to keep some semblance of order).
What you call the ‘hijab’ (i.e. Islamism) is a new, postmodern phenomenon. The old Ottoman state was an old land empire, last seat of the Caliphate, yes, and used religion as a political instrument. But it is important, I feel, not to confuse that with either secular Kemalist order and nationalistic/militaristic (sometimes OTT) pride and Islamism.
Youth culture has been around in Turkey since the 1960s. Just listen, for example, to their rock music from the late 1960s, onwards. Some really good stuff, btw. ‘Zombies’ are nothing new.
Turkish rock music – check it out on Youtube. Erkin Koray was a pal of John and Yoko.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatolian_rock
“This is chemical war, this is violence! #occupygezi pic.twitter.com/dIBNjckMC5 #OpTurkey”
https://twitter.com/YourAnonNews/status/341301528562388993
Click on the photo for a bigger version
(Turkish police spraying protesters)
@ The Scourge (21h09 today)
“Has Boris shafted Cameron?”
______________
Are you unable to read? Or just unable to contain your excitement?
Please read Craig’s admonition, posted at 20h02 today, which points out that this blog is not a tabloid newspaper.
And stop playing with your keys.
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La vita è bella, life is good!
April Showers/Flaming June wails:
“Technicolour Try telling what you said to me to the posters of the Boris SamCam items which seem to be totally irrelevant here. Mine was about six decades of our wars, staged on several continents, and the terror and destabilization that ensued. Craig’s post deals with NATO to which we belong, Blair, Sierra Leone, etc etc.
Get off my back. I have enough bother here to be going on with.”
—————
Technicolour was quite right to reprimand you. You introduced Blair (again) in an earlier post and now you give us a list of wars (for about the umpteenth time on this blog). Please keep on-topic, otherwise I shall suspect you of being a troll.
And in case you hadn’t noticed, Craig’s lead-in post is about TURKEY, not NATO, Sierra Leone and Blair.
****************$
La vita è bella, life is good!
Another view:
“The determining factor in (Erdogan’s) political trajectory, however, has been its commitment to a full-blown neoliberal economic policy shaped around privatisations and trade liberalisations. Short-term effects of neoliberalisation have materialised in the decrease of the poverty trend by national standards (constant decrease from 2003 to 2006), fluctuations in the Gini index (2002: 42.7; 2005: 42.6; 2007: 39.3; 2008: 39) and a slight improvement in country inequality trend. By 2011, Turkey had become the 18th largest economy (measured by nominal GDP) after a disastrous financial crisis in 2001.
This illusionary success story has conjointly reinforced a misplaced faith in free market dogmatism despite the fact that the social indicators of development—such as the number of people living below the national poverty line—took a downturn after 2008. While neoliberal policies have become part and parcel of Turkish economic administration since the 1980s, the AKP amplified the existing drive to an unprecedented extent. The implementation of $380 million of annual privatisation before 2003 has skyrocketed to a staggering $6 billion during Erdoğan’s three terms in office. Almost every remnant of the developmental state—from bridges to the tobacco monopoly (TEKEL), power stations to the state-owned banks—have been privatised or listed for auction. While the sweeping reforms have engendered wide-spread resistance including the long-fought struggles of TEKEL workers and grassroots coalitions against the construction of the Hydroelectric Power Plants (HES), the government has maintained its neoliberal onslaught on services, communities and the environment.
http://adamdavidmorton.com/2013/06/the-gezi-park-occupation-confronting-authoritarian-neoliberalism/
@ Rouge (15h16) :
“Like you then on ‘The Toils of the Historian’ thread, with your ‘Tony Blair’s recruiting!’ comment -”
_______________
Not really.
And I think that the TBA advert is something of a historic document actually. I shall certainly remember it.
One person’s view from Ankara.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEapNRakzDI&feature=youtu.be
Yes, good post, Technicolour (10:34pm, today): Unfortunately, as suggested, both main parties in Turkey are neoliberal. Remind one of somewhere… nowadays, everywhere…?
Nonetheless, to be fair, it has to be said that in spite of all that, the health, literacy, etc. parameters continue to improve, decade-on-decade, probably due to the hard work of people in civil institutions but also to deeper macroeconomic changes (so some of the capitalist chnages will be driving these in a positive direction at this stage of a country’s configuration), increased urbanisation, falling birth rates (increased literacy) and so on. It’as not yet on a par with the average in Europe, but it’s getting there.
Usual prefixes:
who.int/countryfocus/cooperation_strategy/ccsbrief_tur_en.pdf
who.int/countries/tur/en/
oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/turkey/
Flaming June ignore the sour grapes 😉
Look reality check time.
Last Turkish general election 2011 – not that long ago.
Erdogan got 50%, almost exactly.
The main Kemalist, very right wing Republican People’s Party got 26%. That lot are well to the right of the BNP.
The openly pro-military rule Nationalist Party got 13%.
Identifiably “left wing” plus environmentalist parties got 3% between the lot of them. 3%. Let me write that again. 3%.
Yes of course Turkish socialists exist. So do albino guinea pigs. But that is not what this is about.
@ Doug Scorgie :
re my comment of 22h25 above, it would only be fair of me to say that you have posted some good, thoughtful comments lately. So, on reflection, I’ll forgive you your vile suggestion 🙂