You may or may not be aware that thousands of people have gathered in Istanbul (and recently, in other cities in Turkey) under the hashtag of #OccupyGezi.

Who are these people, and what are they protesting?

It’s a mixed bag, but by and large, the Turkish citizens organising under the Occupy Gezi banner are Istanbul residents, and Turkish citizens in general as the protests spread across the country.

Resistance in the streets of #Ankara, this pic is from 10min ago#occupygezi twitter.com/ILoveArctic/st…

— Anonymous (@AnonOpsLegion) June 3, 2013

Why are they protesting, and what’s a “Gezi”?

The protests originated in Istanbul’s Gezi Park, which is a small green space in Taksim Square, one of Istanbul’s largest public spaces.

Says Gawker:

The occupation of Gezi Park began last week, as developers removed trees in the first step of a major development plan that would transform Taksim Square and replace Gezi with a mall (itself inside, subtly, a rebuilt Ottoman-era barracks. But tasteful, I’m sure!). Gezi, though small, is among the only public green spaces in Istanbul, and the protestors have objected to what they see as a unilateral government decision to eliminate it.

The planned elimination of the park is only the latest in a string of development initiatives undertaken by the country’s ruling party, AKP (“The Justice and Development Party”). Under AKP and its popular prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, the city’s oldest movie theater was demolished for a mall; ground has been broken for a third bridge over the Bosphorus, named for a Sultan famous for slaughtering the religious minority Alevi Muslims; and an enormous canal through the city’s western side has been proposed.

When did things start going south?

Things went pear-shaped when Turkish Prime Minister, Erdogan ordered a police crack down after four days of peaceful protests. Hundreds of police entered the square, burning tents and firing tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons at protesters. The over-reaction sparked the public’s ire, and now the protests have morphed into something broader, and much bigger than he would have originally liked to deal with. What started out as a protest against the removal of a green space has turned in to a conversation about, and a movement away from Erdogan’s Islamic conservatism, and militant ruling style.

As Erdoğan condemns social media, it rises as the most important communication tool at #occupygezi via @kitoconnell twitter.com/BanuAkdenizli/…

— Banu Akdenizli (@BanuAkdenizli) June 4, 2013

Reports are emerging that protestors are dying as the protests spread.

The place #OccupyGezi activist Abduallah Cömert was killed in #Antakya: twitter.com/hikmetsir/stat… — Anonymous (@AnonOpsLegion) June 4, 2013

Cops beatng up another defenceless protester in Izmir. A lot of arrests in Izmir, Yasar Uni need lawyer #occupygezi twitter.com/ILoveArctic/st… — Anonymous (@AnonOpsLegion) June 3, 2013

People watch this video before youtube takes it of the air. #occupygeziyoutube.com/watch?v=cBsbv0… fb.me/2gWwdsUf5 WARNING GRAPHIC! #ya — YourAnonLive (@YourAnonLive) June 4, 2013

Meanwhile, Turkey’s notorious soccer fan clubs have gotten involved. From the New Yorker:

I got in touch with members of Çarsi, the leftist fan club of Istanbul’s Besiktas soccer team; I’d written about them for the magazine in 2011. They had come up with a new slogan: “Give us 100 gas masks, we’ll take the park.” I asked Ayhan Gÿner, one of Çarsi’s senior members, what he had to say to New Yorker readers. “Çarsi is the last barricade. Çarsi keeps alive the hopes of the people in the resistance of Gezi Park,” he told me. “This resistance has inspired the leaders of Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe”—rival Istanbul soccer clubs—“to come together. Damn American imperialism to hell.” Fifteen minutes later, I got another text: “Pepper gas is the Besiktas fan’s perfume. Nobody can intimidate us”; and, shortly after that, “We are the soldiers not of the imam, but of Mustafa Kemal” (referring to Ataturk, the founder of the secular Turkish Republic).

How will this pan out?

Only time will tell.

Photo: occupygezipics: A man plays the accordion in Adana behind the barricades. perfect picture #occupygezi… tmblr.co/ZcVu1wmZ2z1J

— çapulcuhanim (@handeinan) June 4, 2013

[Source : Gawker, New Yorker]