06.06.2013 TAKSİM GEZİ PARK RESISITANCE SPEAK UP: REASONS & DEMANDS This text is written with efforts that aim to detect the reasons and demands of many different people who have gathered in the common ground to give a support to the Taksim Gezi Park Resistance. As a method, the aim of close-knit (face-to-face) working have been explained to the people from many different aspects that came together to resist in the common ground. It was asked them to write down their reasons and demands for resistance. Later on writings of these people were put together. Among those, the ones that consist of humiliating statements were eliminated therefore not stated. The text aims to reflect the whole picture of the resistance in general and doesn’t necessarily reflect the opinions of individuals or groups specifically. REASONS * I resist against the ruling government’s initiatives upon privacy such as imposing a certain kind of morality, banning of morning after pills, restricting abortion, censorship, etc * I resist because the ruling government maintains policies upon any kind of discriminations such as gender issues, race, language, sects, worldwide and personal opinions, etc. * I resist because I don’t accept being ruled by the majoritarian democracy. * I resist because I am against sexist policy concepts. * I resist because I am against “one man” cult * I resist because I am against totalitarism and its derived practices. * I resist because I am green and environmentalist. However the government doesn’t pay attention to the reports regarding law, and prefers not to save the nature, but the economy. * I resist because the extension of neoliberal policies such as education, health and labor are controlled by the capital. * I resist because I don’t accept the police using brute force against people who use self-defense. * I resist because I don’t accept the government making the laws which serve his own supporters and pass many of these legislations without discussing with the public as bag bills. * I resist because I care the rights of human, animals and the nature together with the historical and cultural heritage. * I resist because I want to protest the police for turning this peaceful demonstrations into a war, the government for giving the order accordingly and the media for reflecting the events as the government wishes. * I resist because I want this resistance to be known and remembered as a peaceful and uniting public movement. * I resist because I don’t accept growing censorship on art, freedom of thought and speech. * I resist because I stand up against the political abuse by using some important symbols and/or names to insult people. DEMANDS * I demand the Prime Minister to resign. * I demand the Project imposed for Gezi Park to be cancelled. * I demand police terror to be stopped. * I demand pluralism rather than majoritarity. * I demand governance rather than “being ruled”. * I demand an equalitarian political language instead of any kind of sexist and discriminative political language. * I demand all public places to be open for democratic demonstrations. * I demand all the parties who intervened the resistance to be announced one by one transparently, put on trial, to resign and/or discharged. * I demand the people to have a voice on the urban and environmental planning for the city they live in. * I demand all the data of the people who died, injured and taken into custody to be declared transparently. I demand the data of the people whose names have been taken into the records of the police because of the resistance to be erased. I demand the authorities to announce that they won’t be prosecuted. * I demand any paramilitary reorganization, if planned, to be cancelled immediately. * I demand structural regulations in order to free the media from the yoke of rulling government. * I demand to set up an independent commision who will be in charge to investigate the personal assets/wealth of the people who have organic connections with the ruling government, and that all the results to be declared publicly. I demand all the identified undeserved/unlawful profit to be utilized for the public benefit. * I demand that this resistance should be taken into account while the new constitution is being prepared, and this should be done urgently. * I demand that election threshold should be repealed. * I demand that peace process must not be stopped by protests or justifications of any kind.

Taksim Resisters

07.06.2013 They tried to hinder our innocent and peaceful protests which started 11 days ago in Taksim Gezi Park for our legitimate demands by the use of excessive force by the police. The fact that they tried to violate our most basic democratic right by use of a great amount of violence which is illegal and unprecedented in any democratic country has led large masses of people to support our protests. While defending our legitimate demands, we took great care not to use an exclusive language, to understand everybody without discrimination and to stay away from violence. We will continue our efforts to warn anybody who may shed shadow on our rightful campaign with their acts and to keep a distance between such people and ourselves. We do not accept and we strongly condemn any violence or discriminatory and exclusionary behavior, insult or invective against any person, group, ideology or belief regardless of its means and methods. We regard any act which may threaten the experience of coexistance which we deem essential for the formation of a democratic political environment as extremely dangerous and aimed at the destruction of the peaceful relations we have formed. We believe that the dismissal and punishment of those responsible for the illegal police violence which has continued for several days despite its futility will facilitate the cease of violence and the establishment of a peaceful negotiation environment. We repeat our belief that the only condition for the solution of the problem is opening up the path of dialogue and negotiation. Taksim belongs to all of us! Taksim Solidarity Platform

06.06.2013 Our peaceful protests which started 11 days ago in Taksim Gezi Park were met by excessive force from the police. Violating our democratic right by violence has led large masses of people to support our protests. While defending our legitimate demands, we took great care to be inclusive and to understand all points of view and to avoid violent confrontation at all costs. We will continue our efforts to warn those who wish to shed shadow on our rightful campaign and to keep a distance between such people and ourselves. We condemn any violence or discriminatory behavior or insult or invective against any person, group, ideology or belief. We regard any act that threatens our coexistence which is essential for a democratic political environment as extremely dangerous and aimed at the destruction of the peaceful relations we have formed. We believe that the dismissal and punishment of those responsible for the illegal police violence which has continued for several days despite its futility will facilitate the cessation of violence and the establishment of a peaceful environment in which negotiations can take place. We repeat our belief that the only condition for the solution of the problem is opening up the path of dialogue and negotiation. Taksim belongs to all of us! Taksim Solidarity Platform

05.06.2013 To the Government and the people of the Republic of Turkey, Across the country, particularly in Istanbul-Taksim, all the citizens are demonstrating their democratic reaction to the police violence pursued by the government as a response to the social sensitivity to the attempts to demolish Taksim Gezi Park at 22.00 on 27th May 2013. First, we are share the grief of the families of Abdullah Comert and Mehmet Ayvalitas who lost their lives and we want to convey best wishes for a speedy recovery to our thousands of injured citizens. Unfortunately, The government continues to follow policies of violence, oppression and prohibitionist rule despite the fact that the protesters are peacefully and democratically voicing their demands, which are democracy and the most basic human rights. We want everybody to know that we are making intensive effort to reach the social climate where not a single citizen’s nose bleeds, the tensions disappear and the democratic demands can be expressed. Therefore, as Taksim Solidarity, we are waiting for the government to take concrete steps to immediately meet our demands listed below. Gezi Park should remain a park. WE DEMAND that • Taksim Gezi Park will not be re-developed under the name of Artillery Barracks or any other project, • an official statement on the cancellation of the current project is made, • the attempts to demolish Ataturk Cultural Centre stop, • everybody responsible for the thousands of injured people and two deaths, starting with the Governors and the Police Chiefs of Istanbul, Ankara and Hatay and everyone who prevented the use of the most basic democratic rights of the people; who gave orders for violent repression, enforced or implemented these orders are dismissed from their posts, • the use of tear gas bombs and other similar materials is prohibited, • detained citizens who attended the resistance across the country are immediately released and an official statement which declares that there will not be any investigation about them, • starting with Taksim and Kizilay squares, all the meeting and demonstration bans effecting all of our squares and public areas and all the de facto blockings are abolished and stopped, • barriers to freedom of expression are removed. Furthermore, we believe that the content, the spirit, the expectations and the demands of the reactions which have risen in the squares, avenues, streets and all the public areas of our country since 27th May 2013 22.00 should be recognized by the authorities. Trying to explain what has happened with “marginality” means ignoring it. It is seen that the current understanding of power which has been symbolized with the Gezi Park demolition is interpreted by our citizens as “intervention in their life styles and scorning”, that they have shown a public reaction to this with men, women, the young and the old and that their response to power is “we exist, we are here and we have demands”. We would like to inform those who are currently in government that the content of this rising reaction consists of • our reaction to the pillaging of our ecological heritage with plans and practices like firstly the project for the 3rd bridge over Bosporus, the project for the 3rd airport in Istanbul, Kanal Istanbul project, AOC (demolition of Ataturk Forest Farm), HES (Hydroelectric Power Plants) and more recently the draft law on the Protection of Nature and Biodiversity, • our opposition against the war policies in our country and our region, our demand for regional peace, • the sensitivities of our alawite citizens, • the rightful demands of the victims of urban transformation • the rising voice against the conservative male politics establishing control over women’s bodies, • the resistance against the oppression on the universities, courts and artists, • the demands of all the labourers against their rights being deprived, particularly at Turkish Airlines, • the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, • the demand for the removal of all barriers between the citizens and their right to education and health service.

04.06.2013 Press release

Across the country, particularly in Istanbul-Taksim, all the citizens are demonstrating their democratic reaction to the police violence pursued by the government as a response to the social sensitivity to the attempts to demolish Taksim Gezi Park at 22.00 on 27th May 2013. The government continues to follow policies of violence, oppression and prohibitionist rule despite the fact that the protesters are peacefully and democratically voicing their demands, which are democracy and the most basic human rights.

To communicate our demands and to take a positive step, we will have a meeting with Mr Bulent Arinc representing the government in the Prime Minister`s office on 5th June at 11.00.

To the attention of public, with our sincere respect.



TAKSIM SOLIDARITY