In late May of 2013, tensions and conflicts erupted in Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, which quickly became the top headline in many news outlets around the world. These protests not only spread to other cities in Turkey, but have continued until today. The events, stemming from the Gezi Park issue, turned into a widespread and anti-government protest against the policies of the country’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The monthly journal of the peace line has conducted an interview with one of the representatives of the Human Rights Association in Ankara (IHD). Mr. Mendilalli Oghlu, in this interview, emphasizes the dire human rights situation in Turkey and mentions a minimum of 6 casualties in recent events in the country. He also states that the Turkish police’s treatment of protesters has been very violent.

He also believes that for more than 10 years, the Turkish government has been interfering in the private lives of its people in a targeted manner and trying to Islamize the country.

Please introduce yourself and then tell me what was the starting point of the recent protests by the people in Turkey?

I am “Cengiz Mandilali Oglu”, a representative of the Ankara Human Rights Association. The events and protests of Gezi Park, as the name suggests, are related to a park and green space in the center of Istanbul in Taksim Square, which the government intended to demolish and build a shopping center there under the guise of urban renewal. These protests initially started in a completely civil, democratic and peaceful manner, but the violent suppression by the government caused it to take on a much wider and popular dimension and spread throughout Turkey.

How did the issue of removing the park’s geese become so important that we witnessed such widespread protests after only three days?

Although it is a starting point.

Protests erupted due to the destruction of Gezi Park, but within a few days this incident turned into a protest movement that included all opposition and dissatisfied groups against the ruling party “Justice and Development Party” (AKP). If we look closely, this question comes to mind for every person: how can the destruction of a park lead to such protests? However, these events did not start today and are not solely related to a green space.

For many years, activists and various civil groups have been fighting against the excessive use of energy resources that lead to the destruction of the environment and nature. The fight of the people of “Bergama” village in “Izmir” against environmental destruction is a prominent example of this. Currently, they are also destroying all running waters for electricity production, and there is a fight against this as well. Unfortunately, this issue has not been discussed enough until now.

Of course, these protests were not only about environmental issues, but the main reason behind them was the interference of the ruling authority in people’s private lives, which has been going on for over 10 years. For example, decisions and interventions about how many children a family should have, what they should drink (according to the Prime Minister, they should drink yogurt), which schools students should attend, how women should dress, and even if there is a protest against the government, they determine the policy and direction. The reality is that so far, the Prime Minister has tried to give his opinion and establish laws regarding all of these issues, and he is currently working towards that goal. He openly talks about raising religious youth in the parliament; he even wants to impose his own preferences on religious matters.

I can talk for hours and write pages about these issues, but just by saying that citizens are not even socially equal and discrimination exists, I am content.

Do you think it is possible to call these protests a movement or even refer to it as “Turkish Spring” by borrowing from the recent protests in the Middle East?

Such protests are always present in our country and in my opinion, directly comparing it to the Arab Spring is not accurate, although they do have some similarities. Currently, those who demand a change in political rule are in a weak position and are not directly working towards overthrowing the government, but if state violence continues, it will make predicting future events more difficult.

As you are witnessing the situation up close, how do you assess the police force’s treatment of the people in terms of violence?

The talk is about a 30-year-long internal war in Turkey, and during all these years, in Kurdish areas of the country, our Kurdish compatriots were under constant pressure, but in the eastern part of the country and at different times when events of this nature occurred, it did not lead to such intense police intervention. This issue has been confirmed by the observers who were present at the conflicts. However, currently, the talk is about the very violent intervention of the police in popular protests, which they were obligated and even believed to protect. In fact, it must be said that the police sees the people as enemies and behaves accordingly.

Intentionally, they use tear gas capsules as weapons and it can be boldly said that most of the protesting women who were arrested have been subjected to some kind of assault. However, they are still protected by criminal police forces and ultimately, there is nothing but show trials in which the accused is not present. In some cases, it has been seen that by giving money to the perpetrators, they encourage them to do this. Even in the case of the murder of one of our members named “Atom Sari Solok”, who was killed by a bullet fired by a police officer, no arrest warrant was issued for the perpetrator.

This is all happening while the available videos and images of recent protests clearly show the extent and magnitude of police brutality, but currently the situation is like this…

Is there an accurate and reliable statistic of the killed and injured?

So far, during these protests, 4 protesters have been killed, and one passerby has also died due to suffocation from excessive use of tear gas by the police. One protester was also thrown off a bridge and killed when the police attacked the demonstrators. The number of injured and wounded has reached over 8,000, with at least 15 people losing one of their eyes and over 100 people being injured by tear gas canisters. Additionally, 4,900 people have been placed under surveillance and 133 people have been arrested for trial.

After a short while, the demands of the protesters quickly changed and even the discussion of “government resignation” was brought up; considering this, it would be helpful to explain a little more about the people’s demands.

As a result of widespread government violence, which millions of people in various regions were involved in, the resignation of the Justice and Development Party from the government became one of the demands of the protesters, and this situation is one of the consequences of the imposition of power by the Justice and Development Party, under the slogan of “I did it and it happened”.

What were the popular slogans during this period centered around?

“Resignation of the government”, “United movement of the opposition”, “Preservation of nature”, “Recognition of fundamental freedoms”, “Arrest and trial of all perpetrators and leaders of recent protests”, and “Increasing the capacity for democratic discourse in the country”.

In your opinion, to what extent has the current government of Turkey restricted the civil rights of the people compared to the past?

The Republic of Turkey, since its formation until now, has been one of the countries where human rights have always been in a critical situation. According to existing laws, it is one of the few countries where individuals are accused of “terrorism” and it is one of the biggest enemies of press freedom. We are talking about a country where simply holding a cloth banner can lead to being accused of terrorism.

The Justice and Development Party, with the slogan and promise of opening the roads of democracy in the country, came to power and also gained serious popular support. However, in recent years we have seen that this party’s approach to human rights has not differed from previous governments.

Critics, lawyers, students, and workers are constantly under pressure and thousands of opponents are currently imprisoned, and the judicial system has become completely politicized. Especially courts with special permits have been established that do not adhere to any international laws.

Human rights activists are also under the influence of this government pressure and are under systematic pressure and threats, and in society they also try to blind the people with constant attacks in neighborhoods known as “local pressure”.

In your opinion, how much will the decision of the Justice and Development Party to illegally ban the sale of alcohol after 10 pm violate people’s privacy?

This party repeatedly accuses those who consume alcohol of immorality and excludes those who do not follow a conservative lifestyle from their group. It has also been successful in certain areas. The restrictions imposed on alcohol consumption are part of the government’s interference in people’s lives, although when we examine this law alone, we do not understand what has happened.

Of course, I also consider it necessary to mention this point so that a wrong interpretation does not occur: “These protests have not only been against restrictions on alcohol consumption in Egypt.”

In any case, this was a matter that attracted a lot of attention; but has the government recently made a similar decision in line with the goal of Islamization of Turkey?

The Prime Minister had previously announced his intention and openly stated that he intends to educate religious youth and the country’s educational system has changed accordingly. In some cases, they have also completed this through the establishment of religious universities. If we consider the amount of budget allocated for religious promotion, we will better understand this issue; the money spent in mosques is more than the country’s management budget and the budget allocated for education. Recently, laws have been passed to make it easier for those studying in religious schools to obtain government jobs.

As a final question, please tell us at what stages have the protests been in after the government finally decided to determine the status of Gazipark through a referendum?

The decision to hold a referendum had no effect and when this decision was made, the demands of the people had gone beyond it.