Update From Taksim Square

After a day of sight-seeing (on which I will report later), I headed down early this evening to Taksim Square to take in the latest.  It was an incredible few hours that I will try to convey here.  For context, I arrived down there at maybe around 6:30 pm Istanbul time.

There were of course some signs scattered around of the violence that has taken place in Taksim.  For instance, vendors sell gas masks and goggles along with their Guy Fawkes masks.  And, I'm not clear on how the cars got turned over and burned out; but the image is a bit disconcerting.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere in Taksim Square for the first 90 minutes or so of my visit was more than convivial.  It was downright festive.  It was sort of like being out on a warm summer day in Central Park or by Venice Beach when they are absolutely packed.  There was food and chanting and overall good cheer.  The ubiquitous tents I suppose gave it a different look; but, trust me, the vibe was relaxed and felt like a party.

The atmosphere was so chill that there were literally children painting.

At the same time, there was some serious and informative stuff too.

The English subtitles help a lot, don't they?

I listened to a couple of speeches, although it was hard to fully grasp most of what the speakers were saying.  In this one, for example, I thought the references to "DNA" meant that the discussion was regarding this week's landmark Myriad case by the US Supreme Court, where the unanimous Court held that natural occurring human gene sequences could not be patented.   Wrong.  It turns out the speakers were talking about the way that Erdogan has curbed abortion rights, restricted the ability to drink alcohol, and insulted Ataturk (the Turkish George Washington).

There were other journalists too.  I wasn't the only one working the story.  (The reporter here was from the English language channel of a Chinese cable station.  She was rehearsing her intro.)

In all the hubbub, I thought it interesting that I only observed one anti-US/anti-Israel sign.  (I don't really know what Obama and Shimon Peres have to do with these protests, but this sign was getting lots of attention and laughs.)

In any event, I eventually got pretty hungry and needed a break.  I'd read about a nearby falafel shop run by a Palestinian father and son, and it sounded like just what I needed.  It was damn good too.

I was finishing my meal when the trouble began.  There were all of a sudden lots of bursts of loud commotion and chanting, and what I learned were police warnings being issued by loudspeakers.  As I understand it, the police were telling people in the park to disperse or else they would be forced out.  The police, apparently, said that all children should be cleared out immediately.  And someone told me that the police said they did not want to harm anyone, but that people needed to leave.

For quite a while, I stood with large gatherings of people outside the park.  The protesters did not leave, and neither did the onlookers with whom I stood.  The protesters in the park and the onlookers intermittently chanted.  (I can't recall what the chants meant, although some people helped to translate them for me.)  Nobody seemed that scared or concerned.  Some did tell me that I should probably get ready to head out and back down the main street.

After another 10 minutes though, things appeared to get more serious.  The police warnings got more stern.

At that point, I decided to high-tail it out of there.  Many of the Istanbullus had goggles or masks.  I did not.  And most of the onlookers began to scatter.  I thought it prudent to leave too.

I walked down Istiklal Caddesi with streams of locals.  They were all chanting and were relatively exuberant.  This whole episode seems to have galvanized the people and led to enormous camaraderie.  They did not seem cowed to me.

The reports a little later were scary.  I'm sure you have seen them.  It appears that the police have cleared the park.  Water cannons, tear gas, etc.  It's a reminder that, although I have not once felt scared or in danger, this is very serious.  And we in North America and Europe and Asia -- no matter how much we dislike our governments -- should be grateful for the civil liberties that we enjoy.