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Background
Trke [edit]
Ting Vit
A Zazaki
"state of emergency" was declared in Turkey after the failed coup attempt in 2016. Over 50,000 Turks
were jailed inEditthe aftermath of the failed coup.[5][6] 140,000 have been removed from their jobs in a
links
number of fields, particularly civil service, military, judiciary, academia and media.[5][7] The government has
said that it is targeting those who are suspected of supporting Fethullah Glen, who the government
believes was behind the coup attempt.[7]
The Guardian reported that interviews with people involved with the Turkish judiciary and various experts
on the topic has shown:
"a broad and systematic attempt at intimidating and reshaping Turkey's judicial branch in an
effort to further consolidate power in the hands of the ruling AKP and Turkey's president Recep
Tayyip Erdoan."[7]
Experts have commented that the Turkish justice system was "crippled" following the 2016 coup attempt.[7]
4,000 prosecutors and judges have lost their jobs since the coup attempt.[8] Kldarolu commented that
judges wait for orders from the presidential palace before making decisions.[7]
In an opinion piece published in the New York Times opposition leader Kemal Kldarolu said that he and
others were marching for "democracy, justice and freedom from fear and authoritarian rule in Turkey."[9]
Kldarolu listed democracy, rule of law, freedom of expression, the jailing of parliament members, and
dysfunctional courts as reasons for the march.[9]
The march began in Ankara on June 15, 2017 after CHP member Enis Berberolu was sentenced to 25
years in prison for providing the opposition paper Cumhuriyet with a video that showed Turkish intelligence
agents smuggling weapons into Syria.[1] Turkish government officials have confirmed the authenticity of the
videos, but have maintained that the videos were published by FET members. Cumhuriyet' s editor in chief
Can Dndar was sentenced to five years in prison, and fled to Germany after surviving an assassination
attempt outside the Courthouse. [10][11]
The law that stripped members of parliament of their immunity and made Berberolu's imprisonment
possible was passed in May 2016. Though dozens of pro-Kurdish HDP members have since been jailed,
including HDP chairman Selahattin Demirta, Berberolu is the first CHP member to be imprisoned in 15
years of AKP rule.[12]
March [edit]
The protest was led by opposition leader Kemal Kldarolu.[13] The march
has been compared to Gandhi's 1930 Salt March.[14][15] Thousands of
protesters participated in the march, carrying signs that read adalet (the
Turkish word for "justice") and chanting "rights, law, justice".[16]
seven years in prison for suspected involvement in the coup attempt. Some who participated in the
march had been directly affected by the purges, including a former political science professor who was fired
by government decree in April 2017.[5] He was one of the 1,100 academics who were investigated for
signing a petition calling for an end to violence in Turkey's southeastern conflict with the Kurdish people.[19]
The march reached Istanbul on July 9, 2017 with a mass rally attended by
hundreds of thousands of people in Maltepe, where Berberolu is
imprisoned [20] the biggest opposition gathering since the protests in Gezi
Park in 2013.[21][22][23] Kldarolu spoke at the rally. During his speech
Kldarolu said that the state of emergency declared by Erdoan and his
government in response to the 2016 coup attempt had suspended the
powers of the national parliament and the judiciary.[24] He said: "We
marched for justice, we marched for the rights of the oppressed. We
marched for the MPs in jail. We marched for the arrested journalists. We
marched for the university academics dismissed from their jobs. [25][26]
President Erdoan has said that the marchers are supporting terrorism: "If you are launching a march for
terrorists and for their supporters, something which you have never thought about doing against terrorist
groups, you can convince no one that your aim is justice."[28] He said that the opposition party's actions
exceeded the scope of political opposition and said that they were "acting with terrorist organisations and
the forces inciting them against our country". [29] Erdoan likened the march to the coup attempt: "The
coup soldiers had their F-16s and tanks; Kldarolu has his march." [30]
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yldrm called the march "non-national" saying: Mr. Kldarolu, you should
give up. You can go nowhere with separatists and FET but a dead-end street.[31] On June 16, the second
day of the march, Yldrm said that Kldarolu should have marched against the coup: "Those who did not
take to the streets that day [July 15] are now marching from Ankara to Istanbul. If you will march, you
should march against coup. Justice cannot be sought in the streets."[32] He mocked the protestors, saying
they should have taken a high-speed train to Maltepe instead of walking in the hot summer weather.[32]
AKP Justice Minister Bekir Bozda said that Kldarolu's comments that the Turkish judiciary was "worse
than the police force" and subject to manipulation by the governing AKP were slander against Turkish
courts, judges and prosecutors.[8]
After Erdoan said that the march was only being allowed as a government favor, former AKP official
Abdllatif ener said that the comment "should ring warning bells for democracy," adding that it "comes to
mean that you can do nothing if we (the government) do not want you to." [33][34] Some commentators at
the pro-government Daily Sabah newspaper have written that the march "is an attempt to release some
pressure emerging from intra-party dissident voices." [35]
Devlet Baheli, chairman of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said that the march "aimed at
anarchy". Baheli said that Kldarolu's actions were equivalent to supporting FET.[35]
The government did not try to stop the rally from taking place. 15,000 police officers were deployed to
provide security for the crowd gathered at Maltepe, Istanbul.[25]
References [edit]
1. ^ a b c Fahim, Kareem (2017-07-03). "March for justice by Erdogan opponents in Turkey gains momentum and
alarms government" . Washington Post . ISSN0190-8286 . Retrieved 2017-07-08.
2. ^ "Thousands gather in Istanbul to protest against President Erdogan following 'justice march' " . The
Independent. 9 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
3. ^ "Spotlight: Turkey's opposition-sponsored march for justice continues amid tensions - Xinhua |
English.news.cn" . news.Xinhuanet.com . Retrieved 12 July 2017.
4. ^ "Main opposition CHP leader defies gov"t calls to end "justice march" - POLITICS" . Hrriyet Daily News |
LEADING NEWS SOURCE FOR TURKEY AND THE REGION . Retrieved 12 July 2017.
5. ^ a b c Lowen, Mark (2017-07-05). "Turkey protesters stage long march against Erdogan" . BBC News . Retrieved
2017-07-10.
6. ^ Cunningham, Erin (2017-07-09). "Turkeys opposition stages massive rally in a show of strength against
Erdogan" . Washington Post . ISSN0190-8286 . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
7. ^ a b c d e Shaheen, Kareem (2017-07-07). "March for Turkey's jailed judges highlights purge on dissidents" . The
Guardian. ISSN0261-3077 . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
8. ^ a b "Opposition"s "justice" march upsets Turkish government - MURAT YETKN" . Hrriyet Daily News . Retrieved
2017-07-10.
9. ^ a b "Kilicaroglu to end 'justice' march with mass rally" . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
10. ^ Srivastava, Mehul (2017-06-14). "Turkish court sentences opposition MP to 25 years on spy charges" . Financial
Times. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
11. ^ "A Journalist in Exile Awaits Turkeys Momentous Referendum" . The New Yorker . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
12. ^ "Opposition MP joins other lawmakers in Turkish prison" . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
13. ^ a b c "On 250-Mile March, Turkey Opposition Starts to Find Its Way" . Bloomberg.com . 2017-07-05. Retrieved
2017-07-08.
14. ^ "The Justice March is changing Turkey MURAT YETKN" . Hrriyet Daily News . Retrieved 2017-07-09.
15. ^ a b Kingsley, Patrick (2017-06-15). "Erdogan Adversary Begins 250-Mile Protest March in Turkey" . The New
York Times. ISSN0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-07-09.
16. ^ "Thousands Turn Out For March For Justice In Turkey" . NPR.org . Retrieved 2017-07-08.
17. ^ "Turkeys opposition head leads march for justice" . Retrieved 2017-07-08.
18. ^ "Turkish high court rejects cancelation of copper mine in Black Sea"s Cerattepe GREEN" . Hrriyet Daily News .
Retrieved 2017-07-08.
19. ^ "Turkey: Detention of academics intensifies crackdown on freedom of expression" . Amnesty International .
Retrieved 2017-07-10.
20. ^ "Huge crowd rallies in Istanbul against Turkey's post-coup crackdown" . Reuters . 2017-07-09. Retrieved
2017-07-09.
21. ^ Kilicdaroglu, Kemal (2017-07-07). "A Long March for Justice in Turkey" . The New York Times. ISSN0362-
4331 . Retrieved 2017-07-08.
22. ^ agencies, The New Arab &. "Turkey opposition chief enters Istanbul in 'march for justice' " . alaraby . Retrieved
2017-07-08.
23. ^ "Turkey protest: Istanbul rally concludes anti-Erdogan march" . BBC News . 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
24. ^ a b c "Hundreds of thousands rally as Turkish opposition leader ends 25-day 'March for Justice' " . Los Angeles
Times. 2017-07-09. ISSN0458-3035 . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
25. ^ a b "Turkish opposition stages huge justice rally to challenge Erdogan" . South China Morning Post . 2017-07-10.
Retrieved 2017-07-10.
26. ^ (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Turkey's 'March for Justice': opposition calls for unity, reform | Europe | DW |
09.07.2017" . DW.COM . Retrieved 2017-07-11.
27. ^ Gall, Carlotta (2017-07-09). "March for Justice Ends in Istanbul With a Pointed Challenge to Erdogan" . The
New York Times. ISSN0362-4331 . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
28. ^ "Erdogan slams CHP as opposition march nears Istanbul" . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
29. ^ "Turkey protest: Istanbul rally concludes anti-Erdogan march" . BBC News . 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
30. ^ "Opposition leader"s march challenges Turkish politics - MURAT YETKN" . Hrriyet Daily News . Retrieved
2017-07-10.
31. ^ "Debate over CHP"s "justice march" escalates POLITICS" . Hrriyet Daily News . Retrieved 2017-07-08.
32. ^ a b "If you march, you should march against coups: PM Yldrm tells CHP head - POLITICS" . Hrriyet Daily
News . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
33. ^ "Turkish opposition leader accuses 'dictator' Erdogan of judicial interference" . Reuters . 2017-06-20. Retrieved
2017-07-10.
34. ^ "Spotlight: Turkey's opposition-sponsored march for justice continues amid tensions" . Xinhua . Retrieved
2017-07-10.
35. ^ a b "Will Kldarolu's march bring him candidacy in 2019 elections?" . DailySabah . Retrieved 2017-07-10.
Categories: 2017 in Turkish politics 2017 protests June 2017 events in Asia
June 2017 events in Europe July 2017 events in Asia July 2017 events in Europe Protest marches
Protests in Turkey Turkish democracy movements
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