In the continuing political turmoil in Turkey, the suicide of Hatice Can might have gone unnoticed. Hatice’s son, Onur, was a talented young architect — a graduate of one of the leading universities. In 2010 Onur was taken into custody on suspicion of selling drugs. He was allegedly tortured, verbally and sexually abused and, on his release, put under pressure by police to become an informer. After weeks of anguish the architect jumped from the balcony of his home, ending his life. This month his 57-year-old mother followed suit. The family’s efforts to bring the police officers responsible for Onur’s death to justice had all come to nought.
Recently, Turkey also buried Berkin Elvan. The 14-year-old was on his way out to buy bread last year when he was hit in the head by a gas canister fired during a police crackdown on anti-government protesters in Gezi park. After months in a coma, he became the eighth victim of the brutality used by police to put down last year’s unrest.
Tens of thousands of people turned out for Berkin’s funeral but the police used teargas and water cannon on the mourners. So his death has brought a wave of new protests and clashes across the country. Two people died in the trouble last Wednesday. As the film director Umit Unal tweeted of the vicious spiral of violence and grief: “Living in this country has turned into an agonising futility.”
While Turkey’s mainstream papers and TV channels are reluctant to give full coverage to these tragedies, the internet is awash with public anger. Via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, Turkey’s young, urban population are increasingly voicing their discontent and frustration. An irreversible transformation is taking place as corruption scandals involving government officials, businessmen, and even prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family are brought to light.
Every day a new tape recording is leaked, usually in the evening when internet use is at its peak. Millions of people, instead of going out to movies or to eat with friends, turn on their computers and go online to learn about the latest scandal. Both Erdogan’s supporters and opponents agree that the AK party is facing its biggest challenge in 11 years of power.
Phone-tapping scandal
Among the leaks was a tape that allegedly involved the prime minister talking to his son about meddling in elections for the chairmanship of Fenerbahce, a top football club.
If the tapes are shocking, the way in which they have been obtained is also problematic. It is now claimed that officers close to the Gulen movement, inspired by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, Erdogan’s chief adversary, have secretly and illegally tapped thousands of phones, and recorded thousands of conversations over the years. Pro-government newspapers are publishing details of the tapping, which in itself is another scandal.
Erdogan and Gulen, allies in past battles against the Turkish military, are embroiled in an epic feud. It first surfaced in 2010 after Gulen attacked Erdogan’s handling of the Gaza aid flotilla crisis, but Erdogan now blames Gulen for whipping up an anti-government plot. Already divided between conservatives and secularists, Turkey is facing yet another polarisation. But Turks themselves are increasingly tiring of this battle of wills. People from different ideological and cultural backgrounds are now united in profound distrust of their rulers.
From childhood, Turks learn to hold the state in high esteem, so much so that some people even name their children “Devlet”— state. Respect for the state today is the lowest it has ever been. As the power struggle rages, the people of Turkey feel betrayed and forsaken. When elephants fight it is the grass that suffers. Whichever side wins, Turkey’s democracy is already a casualty.
— Guardian News & Media Ltd
Elif Shafak is a Turkish novelist.
