This is the second part of Esra Dogramaci’s eye-witness account of the protests in Turky and her political analysis of what it means and where it is headed. Read the first part here. Here she starts off by looking at the role of the media

Dogramaci, Esra

LSE Research Online

2013-6-7Turkish Summer? Protests, politics and media – eyewitnessanalysisblogs.lse.ac.uk /polis/2013/06/07/turkish-summer-protests-politics-and-media-eyewitness-analysis/This is the second part of Esra Dogramaci’s eye-witness account of the protests in Turky and her politicalanalysis of what it means and where it is headed. Read the first part here. Here she starts off by looking at the role ofthe media.When the protests began, centred around Istanbul’s Gezi park,there was nominal media coverage. When things started to boilon Friday night however (the first night police used force) therewas no Turkish mainstream television media coverage. Thenext day, the front pages of all major newspapers had coverage,framed of course according to their editorial views. In thefollowing days, protests gathered around the headquarters ofmajor Turkish press – Haberturk and NTV, on their lack ofcoverage. When CNN international was live streaming Taksim,CNNTurk decided to air a documentary on penguins. Dogusholding – the parent company for NTV did issue an apology, andsince have committed coverage, including livestream of theevents around Turkey.Brands under the Dogus group were also specifically identified for boycott because of their apparent media apathy.When veteran journalist Fatih Alkayli interviewed the Prime Minister on Sunday, there was still palpable hesitation atquestioning the Prime Minister. By Tuesday the hard questions were being asked at a press conference with DeputyPrime Minister Arinc, who not only apologised for the excessive use of force, as had President Gul in the daysbefore, but also suggested solutions to protestors grievances.Arinc also made the distinction between peaceful protestors who were against the removal of trees versus thosewho were provocating. This is an important distinction. If we look at media coverage, by my first hand experience, itwas like ’embedded’ conflict journalism, the press were standing alongside police. Yes, they covered the use of forceof police by protestors but there was also a minor issue that needs a little more coverage and that is of theprovocateurs.Why this is no Turkish SpringWhy did the Egyptian uprising succeed? Because day after day for over 4 weeks, tens of thousands of people cameto protest at one focal point: Tahrir Square. Sure, there were protests in other cities but Tahrir Square became amicro city unto itself where protests continued day and night. When protests in Bahrain centred on the Pearlroundabout, the government quickly tore it down. Taksim square in Istanbul may be the most visible focal point butits not the only one. Protests are also largely taking place after work/school hours, weekend included.A general strike this week added more weight and a group of representatives met with the Deputy Prime Minister toshare their grievances: to stop the plans of development in Gezi park, for Police Officials to resign/be held toaccount, and for the banning of tear gas. At the time of writing (5.6.13) there has not yet been a response to thesedemands. These are very different demands to the ousting of a leader in Egypt, Tunis, Yemen or Libya afterdecades of various corruption, oppression, sham elections and the like. It is worth noting here that these demandsdo not call for Erdogan’s resignation.1/3Where are we going now?You might not like the Prime Minister but what’s youralternative?When the Prime Minister denies autocratic tendencies andemphasises he is a delegate of the people, he’s right. Its hisleadership style which irks people, the terms he uses,decisions he makes that stoke anger. But disliking someonebecause of their leadership style is not a reason to demandremoval.If the government is able to pass legislation seen asunfavourable by a great proportion of the population, theobvious question is, where is the opposition? And for thatmatter, where have the opposition been for the past 11years? Turkey is a land of polar opposites. There’s no greyarea and that is why this movement can very well lose steam and have limited success.If you watch Turkish parliamentary debates, its a yelling match. There is no negotiation or grey area. Pluralistdemocracy should be about bringing together opposing, even conflictual voices, to debate, to negotiate and throughthat process advancing democracy. That is not happening in Turkey. Ziya Meral has called for a speakers corner inGezi park. Sure, that’s one step, and then? If media are not even covering the events and its up to those able toaccess and circulate information on social sphere, is that really the democratic currency needed for participation anddecision making? Probably not.Social media OpportunismPrime Minister Erdogan has come out against Twitter, calling it a nuisance. Other articles have appearedspeculating on the use of social platforms in these protests. 3G networks did go down in Istanbul although this wasdue to network overload rather than government interference. In any case, the group Anonymous did respond onMonday by taking down various government sites. So what has the role of social media been in all this?Firstly, Turkish media did not cover the protests from day 1. CNNTurk aired a documentary on penguins and otherchannels continued with regular programming. It was only after massive Turkish rebuke that the press began tocover the story. One newspaper suggested that it was not the police withdrawal, but the Prime Ministers speechwhich led to the disbursement and calming of crowds in Taksim over the weekend. Protests have taken place in frontof the offices of Haberturk and NTV, as well as calls to boycott other holdings of the Dogus Group – the parentcompany of NTV for failure to cover the protests.Of course, domestic media have now caught up. This is an indication of the state of the media in Turkey. Perhapsthe interview with the Prime Minister by Altayli captured the situation. He squirmed in his chair, his face was flushed,softened the hard questions. He clearly did not look comfortable. In that absence, protestors, citizens have beencirculating images and text, with much misinformation also.It’s important to remember not everyone on Twitter is a journalist and just because something is published, it doesnot mean it is true of credible. An image of people on one of the Istanbul bridges wasn’t solidarity marches, it was animage from last years Istanbul marathon. The social space has been one of organising and sharing information,including carrying personal u-stream (live stream) broadcasts in response to media absence.2/3It’s also had the role of criticising the mainstream media as wellas developing memes around various comments, including theone by the Prime Minister calling protestors miscreants(capulcu). This has sparked internet memes (see left fordefinition). Many took offence to this, again becausedemonstrators are not necessarily for for or against but manyfall in that little acknowledged grey area.What now?Protests are continuing daily and continue around various citiesin Turkey.  The activity on social media is well down but analysis and commentary in Turkish press and beyond isup. Turkish commentators, journalists and the like are moving beyond the protests. Twitter users in Izmir have beenarrested for apparently spreading misinformation and certain journalists have received the Prime Ministers ire (andpublic notoriety) for speaking up or opposing him. This is not helpful – again we need to look for that grey area. Still,demonstrations are planned. If this holds until the weekend, then we may have something very different. That beingsaid, its not a revolution, its not a riot, and its certainly not a “Turkish Spring,” we’re in summer.Esra Dogramaci is a journalist and is also a student in the LSE Department of Media and Communications – she ison twitter as @EsraD and she also took the photos for this article. Copyright © 2014 London School of Economics and Political Science3/3

Turkish summer? Protests, politics and media – eyewitness analysis

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