What is happening in Taksim Gezi Park?

What’s happening in Taksim Gezi Park?

You know me friends, I’ve long lost my belief in cities and put all my heart to rural.

Yet today, we’re seeing the most hope-giving stuff in last 20 years, perhaps.

The small-yet-meaningful protests (seems to be against tree-cutting in the park, but actually against all the shitty destruction and pressure we are continously getting under the arrogant, absurd and greedy government) in Taksim Gezi Park quickly became a place where all people from all backgrounds and with different yet rooted-in-the-same-shit problems gathered and ask for… Life itself.

You know, I always argue that the moment where this discriminatory, unsustainable, greedy and liar paradigm will hit its peak, that will be the beginning of its fall. I have now, first time after sooo long, that we are in that peak today. We get a long and painful way up to that peak, lots of suffering, lots of inner-struggles, yes. But now, we’re rolling downhill on a bike. With a smile in our faces.

Yes, smiles on our faces. That’s why I get so excited and hopeful from this small protest that organicly became “OccupyGezi/Taksim”. I see the excitement around. I hear hearts beating like crazy from 600 kilometers away, in my village. I myself feel my heartbeats get faster, and my smile getting bigger every second.

The police continuously attack the “rebels”, burning their tents, spraying tear gas the way I wash my companion Çakıl the Dog in a hot summer day. They will attack more, they will beat more, they will even kill perhaps.

But the bike is now downhill – and nobody seems to intend touching the brakes.

Durukan Dudu

Genç Yeşiller

Ecosystem of Istanbul is being looted wildly!

Dear friends,

There are a few hot issues happening in Istanbul now where we try our best to prevent. We wanted to inform you briefly.

– The old park (Gezi) next to Taksim square in Istanbul which is one of the only remaining green spots downtown and under the risk of a mall construction recently, illegally attacked by construction workers and machines on 27th May midnight even though an injunction secured against that part of the project. We again faced with police’s disproportionate force to the ones who wanted prevent construction. Since then people occupied, resisting and on watch 7/24 to protect the trees and the park.

– On the other hand today there was a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the third bridge which will cause over 2.000.000 trees destruction in Bosphorus. A project that will destroy an important part of the North forests of Istanbul. Project exempted from the environmental impact statement and started although there are ongoing 17 lawsuits. 75 percent of the new route is made up forest areas and water depots to the North of the city, which will threaten whole ecological life.

– Rulling party AKP’s (Justice and Devolopment Party) incursion against Turkey’s natural reserves and Human Rights has been in operation for years now. Peaceful occupation in Gezi Park signaling an embodiment of all sections who seem to be disturbed by all these policies shapen up with a ultra conservative populist discourse.
This morning at 5.30 pm aganist all peaceful and non-violence occupation for the most basic right- to breathe- police again attacked and gave the park on fire. Machines started to work and they were stopped again by the deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder. There are still many people from every section resisting and prostesting police’s disproportionate force and goverment’s insusceptible and profit minded attiudues.

We are also keen on drawing the attentions of every reader of this text to disclose these capital based political mind, free from its discourse, will always conceive nature, public spaces and most regretably life herself, nothing but commodities…

We’ll keep showing our solidarity repeat our demand for green and fair world.
Please do not hesitate to spread this message and help us to raise our voices

For a Peaceful and Fair World,
Young Greens of Turkey