A Letter from Istanbul
photos: Zeynep Ozdemir
What started as a peaceful demonstration against the destruction of a park in Istanbul turned into a national outcry against police brutality and surpression of the freedom of speach and it became a political scandal of international magnitude in a matter of only a few days. I’ve been following the situation in Turkey now for over a week thanks to many Turkish friends on Facebook who share first hand impressions and media coverage. I’ve read horrible stories of the things happening around Taksim Square and Gezi Park that left me pretty much speachless.
Today I received a letter from a Turkish friend who is right in the middle of it all in Istanbul and I would like to share it here with you. There is not a whole lot that we can do from the distance, so giving our Turkish friends a voice is the least we can and should do to raise attention on the issue. Read about his devastating first-hand experiences from last night’s brutal attack against the protesters that did not only include a German MP from the green party (Claudia Roth), but also defenseless senior citizens and children – after the jump.