​Gezi victim’s death stokes Gezi II

TURKEY - In Brief 11 Mar 2014 by Atilla Yesilada

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Berkin Elvan was 14 years old when he was sent to buy a loaf of bread to the grocery store. He was hit in the head by a police gas canister who were raiding the neighbourhood to weed out Gezi protests in June, 2013. His death on Tuesday after more than 250 days in a coma stoked the biggest spontaneous protests in Turkey since last June. According to press, protests were staged in 32 cities across Turkey. I’ve added the link to dissident website OdaTV to share some pictures of the incidents. The police countered the protests with its usual brutality. Two protestors were run over by an armoured police vehicle, with one being reported in critical condition. Another protestor was hit in the head by a rubber bullet, but his condition is not known. So far 8 people died because of documented use of force by the police in Gezi-related demonstrations. To the extent such information is accurate, I believe all 8 Alevites, which adds a sectarian dimension to the outrage. Gezi was accumulation of grievances against Erdogan for months. It exploded and calm ensued. Since then Erdogan managed to cause offense to Turkey’s non-conservative minority in many ways. The latest example—as reported by The Gynaecologists Association of Turkey is a ban on en e first trimester abortions in state health facilities. Erdogan’s non-chalant admission of at least two audio recordings, where he meddles with a court case and orders the cancellation of military vessel tender granted to Koc Group may have also stoked the anger. In our recent reports, I’ve assigned 70% odds to Gezi II after the elections. I stand by my prediction. Erdogan’s “us against them” rhetoric is alienating larger numbers of people ...