Call intensifies for real democratic transformation of Turkey
Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Turks have demonstrated (see photo) to express solidarity with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and all minorities which have for centuries been part of Turkey. The march took place, for the first time, a few days ago and although only a hundred people participated, the event attracted the interest of the Turkish media, who rushed en masse to the Fanar, which has become a landmark of the "alternative" voices, who want a real democratic development in the nation.
The ongoing positions of the Patriarch Bartholomew has certainly contributed to this, particularly his latest declaration, in an interview with CBS, that "well feel crucified in Turkey”. This has caused the negative reaction of the Foreign Minister Davutoglu – from whom Erdogan has distanced himself, albeit elusively – as well as that of most Turkish press.
Participants in the demonstration are part of the "Genc Siviller" (young people) and are students and intellectuals, of various ethnic and religious extraction, among them most notably Baskin Oran. This proves that Turkey is not the homogenized mass, that the old Kemalist establishment wanted to accomplish with its secular-nationalist ideology and the elimination of all differences, using, where necessary, to the tools of ethnic cleansing and coups.
Members of the "Genc Siviller" call themselves sons of the tears shed for democracy, and as their representative Bilal Mecit said, they want to raise awareness among large segments of the Turkish population regarding the conquest of true democratic freedom and rebel against any coup tendencies, which are a recurring feature in Turkish politics.
The same spokesman said that the so-called "Cage Plan" was a planned attack against Christian minorities, that included the murder of Bartholomew and that aimed to attribute the responsibility to Muslims. Foiled two months ago, the plan was to discredit the current government internationally and provoke the intervention of the army under the pretext of wanting to prevent the Islamization of Turkish society.
Certainly it is interesting to see the events of this kind outside the headquarters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, when just 2-3 years ago on the same site demonstrations took place of the opposite mold, all moves by nationalists and people who adhere to the left, but who were in the pay of old establishment and demanded the closure of the Patriarchate and opposed the visit of Benedict XVI in Turkey.
In short as commentators in Istanbul have for some time been pointing out, in movements for real democratic transformation of Turkish society and groups from the world of print media are beginning to consolidate. They also supported by the continuous and latent confrontation between the old Kemalist establishment and the new AKP middle-class created, inspired by the Ottoman model. This has allowed a loosening of the stifling grip that the political apparatus in Turkey has always exercised on the population and gives the younger generations a taste for real freedom, that was completely unknown in the past.
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09/07/2007
30/04/2019 10:15
