On July 2nd, 1993, 33 human beings, 33 Alevi’s, 33 intellectuals were burned alive in Sivas. After the Friday prayer, people who left the mosque with cries of allahuekber [Allah is the greatest], gasoline cans in hand, set them on fire… centuries after the “Dark” Age. They killed the ones who played saz the best, …
Category: Turkish politics
Jun 17
At least 1235 workers died in 2013.
According to our compilation based on news items published in media, reports of labor organizations, and testimonies of workers and their families, at least 1235 workers died in 2013. Work murder, not work accident … As The Assembly for Workers’ Health and Work Security, we document deaths at workplace. The criteria for our documentation is …
Jun 12
AKP talks about women.
This is a brief and incomplete compilation of what AKP leaders said about women, gender equality and feminism. It is part of our monthly theme “Why revolt in Turkey?”. Note that this is clearly not a list of all sexist or patriarchal discourse in Turkey. We aimed at a less ambitious goal of restricting our …
Jun 08
How I was tortured on May Day – Umur Ozan
I am one of many who got detained on May Day in Beşiktaş, Istanbul. I wrote this text because I think everyone (and not only my family and friends) should know that what we experienced was unlawful. May Day was not a holiday in the advertising agency I work. Early in the morning I left my …
Jun 05
Why revolt in Turkey?
The spirit of this century seems to be one of mass struggles and highly confrontational demonstrations. Every morning, we wake up to hear about a huge protest in some distant part of the planet. It turns more and more difficult to follow what is going on here and there. But why are all these people …
Mar 27
A young girl… can die right at this moment. – Şöhret Baltaş
Note: This essay, written by Şöhret Baltaş, was published in Jiyan.org in Turkish on March 18th, 2014 with the title “Bir kız çocuğu… Şu dakika ölebilir.” As part of our efforts to inform the English speaking audience about male violence in Turkey, we attempted a free translation of this literary text. Location: Bingöl, Turkey. Year: …
Jan 08
The Political Crisis in Turkey – Mehmet Baki Deniz, Sinan Eden
Possibilities for the Turkish Society While the Ruling Class Coalition Falls Apart In the last weeks, Turkey has witnessed a rising trend of political strife that started with the arrest of dozens of people by the prosecutors due to allegations of corruption and bribery. The interrogation revealed an illicit chain of bribery and close …
Nov 03
What is going on in METU, Ankara?
The METU Forest The Middle East Technical University (METU) was founded in 1956 in an area of 4500 hectares. This huge region was said to consist of swamps and have a soil like white powder. The forestations were launched on 1961, when students, academics, Ankara citizens as well as some politicians participated in the festivals. …
Aug 26
Labor unions in Turkey and in Gezi protests – F. Serkan Öngel
I’m not saying “Don’t unionize.” Do it, but do it in your spare time. The Turkish original of this article, “Sendikalı olma demiyorum hobi olarak yine ol!”, signed F.Serkan Öngel, was published on August 4th, 2013 in Birgün newspaper. For our English-speaking audience, we prepared a shortened translation of the article. Permission to Collective Agreement …
Jul 18
The Mayonnaise Phenomenon – Sinan Eden
The original of this article, titled “L’alchimie de la Mayonnaise”, was published in French in Rouge & Vert, the newspaper of Les Alternatifs, on July 11th, 2013. It was written on June 23rd. It starts with a camp to prevent the destruction of a public park in the middle of Istanbul which is attacked by …