[ayi]

I don't think i can do this.

Maybe you know Turkey as a modern, democratic country but we are not. I'm currently using Tor because of fear. You can face court in Turkey because of just re-tweeting something.

edit: sorry for my english. edited for some grammer mistakes.

[maeon3]

Ah, well then we'll take it on faith then. Why did you join the protest?

[ayi]

Because current government tries to change how we live.

I think government's job is just trying to boost the economy, trying to not get into any war, paying the debts to IMF and etc.

But current ruling party forces our life styles into a shape which they draw.

Just one example:

- Taksim Square is a famous tourist attraction centers of Istanbul. - Government first said to bars (pubs): "you can't put stalls on front of your bar." People protested just on facebook and twitter. - They said: "you can't sell alcohol after 10pm but you can sell other things". Nothing happened. Just some protests but our PM labeled protesters as "alcoholics". - After that they said: "Nope! No alcohol after 10 PM even for stores. You can't go to pubs, you can't buy from stores." People protested but PM said "So, you wanna raise your children as alcoholics?! We can't let this happen!"

You smell where these is going? Current ruling party tries to divide Turkey in two sides. "Religious good citizens" vs "atheists, lgbts, alcoholics, left-wings" etc.

Someone had to tell them "just because you are ruling party, you can't make everything you want". and we are trying to tell them this.

by the way, sorry for my english again.

[druiid]

Well, since you're answering questions... Would you say in general that the government is becoming less 'secular'? Have there been other large changes pushed by the government besides the big issues I have heard about (including the alcohol issue)? Also, have there been laws put in place against atheism or LGBT rights issues?

One of the big issues right now is that these protests are not really getting coverage in the media here in the US. It's hard to get the full story.

[ayi]

"less secular" is not the only problem "less humble" is another.

examples:

- a blind man approached minister of health and says "we can't live with minimum-wage. Please improve current situations." And this is what the minister says: "You are blind and we gave you job. How dare you want more?" Source news article: http://gundem.milliyet.com.tr/bakan-akdag-gozlerin-gormuyor-...

- they don't have shame. we are using one of the most expensive oil in the world and after the last raise government said: "we didn't raise the price of oil, we just raised the tax". I can't find anything to say about that.

- These people protested against "internet ban": http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%B0nternetime_Dokunma! What did government say? "These people are just a bunch of teenage porn-lovers"

- The PM said: "Not everyone need to go to college. People who are educated too much are miserable." http://www.radikal.com.tr/haber.php?haberno=144718

I can go on and on.

[adaml_623]

Is there an article you have seen in the western media that elaborates on what you've said here. I'm not finding my usual sources to be at all helpful explaining what is happening

[ayi]

english wikipedia is very comprehensive and up-to-date with even today: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_protests_in_Turkey

[lifeguard]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_protests_in_Turkey

Globalize human rights!