The Gezi protests: A historic struggle for democracy

Last year, on this very day, hundreds of thousands of Turkish people hit the streets to protest the security forces’ brutal crackdown on environmentalist activists’ peaceful protest against the government’s plans to demolish a symbolic park, Gezi Park, at Istanbul’s historically important Taksim Square. Since then, a number of books, academic studies and documentaries have tried to provide an in-depth analysis of the motivations behind the massive Gezi Park protests and of their political and social consequences.

Turkey’s social democratic opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), also studied the Gezi protests in a report titled “The Gezi Movement,” prepared by its Research and Policy Development Department. The 76-page report was written by a team under the leadership of CHP Deputy Head Sencer Ayata, Turkey’s renowned sociology professor.  

“Sadly, I have to acknowledge that the citizens’ basic rights in our country are being limited by a political regime whose authoritarian tendencies have become increasingly evident. This oppressive regime is not content with limiting political liberties; it interferes with individuals’ private lives, and restricts their freedom of personal choice,” wrote CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in his introduction to the report. For him, the Gezi Movement was a reflection of the people’s demands for freedom and democracy, which is why “Millions of citizens, of all ages and from all sections of society, who adamantly defended their right to the city, participated.”

Here are some exerpts from the report, which describes the Gezi movement as a “historic struggle for democracy”:

Who participated...