Meaningful Symbolism

"This park is a symbol. This is not just about the trees. Erdogan doesn't see us any more. It is his fanaticism that is the big problem."
Anil Alibeyoglu, Turkish electronic engineer

But this is obviously a young man of secular leaning. It is unlikely he would have voted for the Islamist Justice and Development Party. Mostly because he would be a traditional follower of Kemal Ataturk, believing in the necessity of the separation of religion and politics. Perhaps a little more of European thought motivates such as he. Representing most of those who first assembled in a peaceful protest at Taksim Square.

And isn't it interesting how so many of these Middle East 'protests' begin their lives at their capital cities' great public squares? Of course in the instance of Tunisia and Egypt the issue was poverty and unemployment. Turkey's economy is the envy of Europe and the European Union despite not yet having succeeded in knocking down the barricades to achieve entry to that now-economic-fumbling union.

The blister on the rear of Turkey's entry is France which does not believe a Muslim country belongs in the European Union. Which is rather ironic, given the immigration-and-refugee backlash from expatriates of former Muslim countries that have become a festering sore on the French body politic and its social welfare agencies, let alone its security and policing capabilities.

But then, that's the thing about national governments; like individuals they see quite clearly the errors in governance executed by others and have no qualms about expressing their opinions relating to same, yet never see those same failings in their own governance. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is horrified at the brutal reaction of the Syrian regime to the once-peaceful protests of Sunni citizens latterly become rebels joined by radical Islamists.

Mr. Erdogan sees himself as dignified and civilized, not for him such violent reactions. Even while he conspires to overturn the secular nature of Turkey and return it to its fundamentalist Islamist roots. A situation made glaringly obvious by his rooting out of the country's top military commanders, charging them with conspiracy to mount a coup against his government and re-creating the demoralized military in his own image.

He is steadily transforming laws and social settings to reflect the heritage of Islam hearking back to the Ottoman Empire when Islamist Turkey and world power were synonymous. One lonely little protest was met with unexpected and hugely inappropriate violence, raising the ire and the hackles of even more people, bringing them out in their tens of thousands right across the country in day after day of rioting protests.

To all of which Mr. Erdogan vows he will not bow to the anger and the demands of those who protest because they are led by thugs and terrorists, unrepresentative of those good Turkish citizens who elected him to high office. In no fewer than 67 cities across the country police have been using tear gas to control protests. In Ankara crowds marched on the prime minister's office.

Gezi Park has become a symbol of all that is wrong with the country in the estimation of those who are protesting. Mr. Erdogan plans to take this 600-acre green space in the heart of Ankara and turn it into a shrine to the Ottoman Empire and diminish its original purpose as a monument to the great modernizer of Turkey, Kemal Ataturk. It is to become a large shopping mall, and within it will be a mosque as a centrepiece.

Thousands of people have been arrested, an almost like number injured in the riots. The actions of riot police have simply further inflamed public opinion. The 'arrogant' and 'authoritarian' Prime Minister has declared that on his return to the country from an official government visit abroad all will be settled, everything returned to normal.

"There have been some mistakes, extremism in [the] police response", Mr. Erdogan admitted unapologetically. Weeks ago the government banned the sale of alcohol between ten in the evening and six in the morning. He characterized any Turks who drank to be "alcoholics", signifying his perspective from his religious conservatism stance in fundamentalist Islam.

He is intent on rewriting the country's constitution. Where once Sharia was forbidden and the wearing of women's Muslim head-covering was frowned upon, that will all change. Mr. Erdogan's wife appears in public well covered as decreed by Muslim custom. He plans to make changes that will affect the presidency, making it more powerful, and likely to be contained under his tutelage.

If Vladimir Putin could play musical chairs with Dmitry Medvedev to ensure he could retain the presidency after serving in the much less powerful post of prime minister, why cannot Mr. Erdogan play the same kind of game in reverse? President Putin ensured that the rules were re-written for a longer presidential term, and he has ensconced himself as the increasingly autocratic ruler of a country accustomed to strongmen.

Turkey's investigative journalists have on the one hand, much to write about, much to criticize, and on the other hand know that if and when they do write critically about the government in power and more specifically the prime minister, they will be subject to institutionalized harassment, charged with criminal offences, and incarcerated. In Russia they are more likely to be assassinated.

Most of the protesters are young, they are secular. Some of Turkey's unions have joined them. Older people are beginning to be represented in the crowds. Mr. Erdogan has blamed the political opposition for what he takes to be a major role in fomenting these disturbances, but they point out that though their supporters are among the crowds, the crowds are comprised of disparate social groups.

Despite which there are no Islamists among them, the very people who appear to form the majority in Turkey and who handily gave Mr. Erdogan and his ruling party a majority boost in the last election; far more votes than any other previous party and election has ever generated.