Family, nationality connect UCLA students to Turkish protests
By Taylor Aquino
June 6, 2013 1:57 a.m.
This post was updated June 28, 2017 at 12:55 p.m.
Gulnaz Kiper takes breaks from studying for her finals as often as she can to check news and social media accounts of protests currently taking place in Istanbul. Her family members are some of the Turkish citizens participating in violent protests that erupted in Turkey on Saturday.
The protests echo a widespread discontent with the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, according to the New York Times. Erdogan was previously the mayor of Istanbul, and has been prime minister for ten years.
One of Kiper’s cousins was arrested two days ago for taking pictures of police brutality.
“I know at least two people (who) lost their lives,” said Kiper, a first-year cognitive science student. “What kind of country does that to its own people?”
While a variety of issues have contributed to the discontent of some Turkish citizens, many are primarily concerned with what they consider to be the government’s attempts to increase their power, said James Gelvin, a UCLA history professor.
The protests began in reaction to the prime minister’s plan to build a shopping mall in Gezi Park in Istanbul’s Taksim Square. The square includes historic sites valued by the residents of Istanbul, Gelvin said. The new mall is another part of the construction projects Erdogan has implemented throughout the city, Gelvin said.
“You’re taking areas that are beloved in the city and they’re being destroyed, sold off so that a small group of people can make money off of them,” Gelvin said. “So you have this destruction of public space for private gain.”
Prime Minister Erdogan is currently trying to implement a new constitution that would give the president of Turkey more power, Gelvin said. Erdogan will probably run for the presidency when his term ends in 2015, he added. Turkey has both a prime minister, who enforces the constitution, and a president, who is more of a figurehead.
Erdogan’s government has supported several conservative changes to the law, including prohibiting the sale of alcohol from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m, Gelvin said. The perceived “Islamization” of Turkish laws have contributed to the widespread discontent among secular Turkish citizens as the people of Turkey align against those in power, he said.
Some turkish students feel like the rights of the people in their country are being diminished.
“A government cannot overstep the voices of the people,” said Keli Arslancan, who is half-Turkish.
Arslancan graduated from UCLA with degrees in art and history in 2012 and will be attending a teacher education graduate program at UCLA in the fall. Members of Arslancan’s family were in Turkey when the protests were underway, she said.
“While I didn’t see things that were happening, I was overwhelmed and frustrated by the entire experience,” Arslancan said.
Kiper said she thinks one aspect of these protests that makes the movement different from similar uprisings is the unification of people from different walks of life. She said she plans to return to Istanbul next week.
“Being here (at UCLA), I’m so frustrated because (the protest) means a lot to me and I just want to be there with them, hold their hands and stand in Taksim together,” Kiper said.
