I joined a trade union
delegation, in a personal capacity, to Taksim Square in Turkey, to show
solidarity with our Turkish sisters and brothers who are campaigning against the
lack of democracy of the Recip Erdogan administration.
What started out as a
small protest against government plans to bulldoze Gezi Park, one of the few
green spaces in Istanbul, and replace it
with a shopping mall, came to symbolise a massive outpouring of frustration and
anger at the lack of democracy in Turkey, with tens of thousands of women, men
and children setting up camp and occupying Gezi park against the bulldozers.
Some of the measures
Erdogan has put in place include a ban on public displays of affection, a ban
on the consumption of alcohol after a certain time, the closure of a socialist
public cinema and the indiscriminate jailing of anyone deemed to be subversive
to his administration. This includes the jailing of hundreds of trade unionists
and trade union leaders, journalists and socialists.
That this is occurring
in the financial heart of Turkey, and in the largest city in Europe (Istanbul’s
geography means that half of it sits in Europe, while the other half is in
Asia), is remarkable in and of itself.
Given the turmoil within
this region, as Turkey shares its borders with Syria, Iran and Iraq, this mass
civil unrest could end either in a victory for its people, or complete and
utter catastrophe. It is vital that
trade unionists globally put pressure on the Turkish government and do all that
we can to expose their practices, and offer practical and moral support to our
sisters and brothers there during this time to fight for a victorious people of
Turkey and a better life for all who live there.
On 15 June 2013, I
joined a trade union delegation to Taksim Square in Turkey, scene of mass
demonstrations against the Erdogan government.
The delegation consisted
of Steve Hedley, Sean MacGowan and Karlson Lingwood of the RMT, and Martin
Powell-Davies of the NUT.
We arrived in the middle
of the night to a carnival atmosphere, all facets of society were represented
in the square: hippies, working class families, artists, and trade unionists.
There was even a German pianist who had flown over especially, with his piano,
to give free performances to the demonstrators. People gave out ‘free hugs’,
kids wearing ‘anonymous’ masks played around in burnt out water cannons.
There were dozens of
food stalls, giving out free food and drink, and tellingly, stalls selling
goggles and masks, to be used in the event of gas attacks.
What struck us was how
well organised and disciplined the park was, and how democratic (the committee
consisted of representatives from across the social strata). No wonder Erdogan
and his administration were running scared.
While children played
football on the adjacent pitch, water cannon tanks loomed large, and hundreds
of police pointed their guns menacingly as they began to round in.
The next morning we met
the general secretary of the main civil service federation, KESK, who gave us a
chilling insight into the treatment of trade unionists at the hands of the
administration, police broke into the homes of leading trade unionists,
arresting them on the grounds of ‘terrorism’ for organising trade unions, and
the seizure of trade union files containing information on members and
activists.
This draws parallels
with the methods deployed during the early days of Pinochet in Chile, or Franco
in Spain.
Later that day we joined
striking cabin crew trade unionists and technicians, who had been sacked for
union activities. Their picket line was well organised and well attended. We
gave brief speeches of solidarity and they gave us chocolates and tea. The
hospitality we received during our visit was incredible and testimony to the
warm and friendly culture of the Turkish working class.
Due to lack of time (I
bought my ticket the night before the trip), I was unable to take PCS flags
with me, but I did have a PCS tabard which I gave to one of the striking women,
she put it on straight away and walked around proudly wearing it.
In the early evening we
met with the Gezi Park organising committee, who gave us an insight into their
organising methods and their plans to build upon the mood. Around 120 different
organisations are represented on this committee.
On returning to Gezi
park, we enjoyed an excellent performance by a leading Turkish singer. Old men
danced with their grandchildren on their shoulders, the park was packed with
families, young and old all enjoying the music and soaking up the atmosphere.
We decided to get some
dinner in a restaurant on Taksim Square at around 8 pm. No sooner had we sat
down to eat we were informed that the police were attacking the park. While it
was clear they were planning to do this due to their heavy handedness, we
didn’t expect it to happen on Saturday evening when the park was full of
families and particularly, small children.
We immediately raced out
to offer solidarity and were met with horrifying scenes of old people gasping
for air, and children running for cover, wearing swimming goggles to protect
against the tear gas which was thick in the air.
At no time did we see
any of the protestors respond with violence, instead they began signing and
chanting. This however did not pacify the police who began to shoot plastic
bullets at the crowd, as well as water cannon, tear gas and pepper spray.
Our delegation got water
cannoned and tear gassed several times, pics attached, there was no escape. A
plastic bullet shot in our direction missed Steve Hedley’s head by a matter of
inches, and a tear gas canister exploded right next to me and our Turkish
translator.
We were led to safety by
a group of demonstrators who gave us fresh lemons to rub on our faces (which
gets rid of the effects of the water cannon chemicals), and towels.
On returning to our
hotel, we all had at least 3 showers, yet this exacerbated the effects of the
chemicals, making our skin burn even more.
We had sore throats,
sore eyes and burning stinging skin. The discomfort was awful but imagine how
this would be to a child or an older person?
We then discovered that
there was a march consisting 10,000 people making its way up the motorway to
Istanbul to join the protestors and give support.
The irony is that the
oppression has brought together those who previously were sworn enemies;
Kurdish separatists, Turkish nationalists, democracy campaigners, socialists,
communists, trade unionists and youth.
On touching down at
Heathrow, we drove straight to Trafalgar Square to speak at a rally organised
by Turkish community group the Day-Mer Centre. We gave messages of solidarity
from Turkish workers and reported on our trip.
The KESK and DISK trade
union federations have already called strikes in response to these attacks. The
international trade union movement could play a decisive role in the fight for
democracy and civil rights.
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