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My Turn as Witness to Gezi Protests Before US Congress

A US congressional hearing on Turkey revealed some of Washington’s questions and concerns about the “Turkish model.”

People stand facing Ataturk Cultural Center during a protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 18, 2013. Performance artist Erdem Gunduz became the new symbol of anti-government protests in Turkey on Tuesday after his eight-hour vigil in Taksim Square earned him the nickname "the Standing Man". Gunduz said he was protesting in solidarity with demonstrators who were evicted at the weekend from Gezi Park adjoining Taksim, an intervention by police that triggered some of the most violent clashes to date. What
People stand facing the Ataturk Cultural Center during a protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul, June 18, 2013. — REUTERS/Marko Djurica

The US House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats held a session June 26 in Washington, DC, on the Gezi Park protests. The members of the subcommittee heard from me as a “witness.” Based on written testimony submitted to subcommittee members beforehand, I shared my opinions and observations about the Gezi Park resistance with the congressional members and answered their questions.

In Congress, anyone invited to address a committee in special session is referred to as a “witness,” but in this case, I am an authentic witness because the apartment I live in at Taksim Square is only a few hundred meters from the focal point of the protests that started on 31 May when the police intervened against a few hundred activists at Gezi Park. In subsequent days, the heavy use of pepper gas affected me more than a few times while sitting on my balcony or after opening the window of my den. When Taksim Square and Gezi Park were under the control of the protesters, I had the possibility of observing the events "on location."

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