Daily Lessons from Life 03 June 2013 - Turkey PM denies 'Turkish Spring' amid fresh clashes

"Turkey PM denies 'Turkish Spring' amid fresh clashes - AFP Jun 03, 2013 ISTANBUL - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday rejected talk of a "Turkish Spring", facing down the worst protests in his decade-long rule as fresh clashes erupted between police and demonstrators in Ankara. Erdogan defied protesters who accuse him of seeking to impose conservative Islamic reforms on secular Turkey, stressing that he was democratically elected. "Was there a multi-party system in the Arab Spring countries?" he said in televised comments. Erdogan's ally President Abdullah Gul on Monday urged calm and promised protesters that their voice had been heard. "The messages delivered with good intentions have been received," he was quoted as saying quoted by the Anatolia news agency. With Turkey's allies calling for restraint and international human rights groups denouncing the police crackdown, Gul acknowledged the demonstrators' right to protest but called for an end to the clashes. Erdogan had earlier denounced demonstrators as "vandals". He also lashed out at the social messaging service Twitter, used by many of the protesters. "There is a troublemaker called Twitter, the worst of lies are in there," he told the Haberturk television channel on Sunday, citing false tweets about attacks against protesters and fatalities. "What they call social media is the nuisance of societies. Society gets terrorised this way." The protest started as a small campaign against the redevelopment of Gezi Park near Taksim Square, a rare green spot in central Istanbul. After the local protest was met with a tough police response, the unrest quickly spiralled into an outpouring of anger that threatens to tarnish Turkey's reputation as a model for the Muslim region. "This is a movement which is a result of growing frustration and disappointment among secular segments of society who could not influence politics over the last decade," said Sinan Ulgen, a scholar at the think tank Carnegie Europe. "This is an unprecedented, abrupt and unplanned public movement that has not been manipulated by any political party. It is a big surprise," he told AFP." 'Turkey Spring'? 'Arab Spring'? Whatever spring it may be, the end results have not been pretty and I do not see improvement in the life of the citizens of those countries involved at all. In fact, to the contrary, their societies broke down more than before the Spring came and gone!! Lessons for me are: 1. Turkey is a beautiful Muslim country with a very open culture. At least in the big cities that I had a chance to visit as a tourist. Bars, entertainment complexes, etc are a plenty. None of the women are full covered up and cosmetic products sell well too; 2. This PM is supposed to be very popular and well regarded by the international community. However, if the view of the young man quoted in the news is held by most of the younger people, then perhaps the international image counts for nothing domestically! What are the alternatives? Can the young man articulate them? Can the people who embrace his view be able to govern? These are things that 'Spring' campaigners may want to seriously think about before lighting the fire. When the fire gets bigger, it can be out of control and takes a whole new life of its own!; 3. Interesting vent on the evil Twitter. Indeed, who is telling the truth when things are developing rapidly and randomly on the ground when clashes take place? Shutting down all social media like Twitter, Facebook, etc is one sure way of cutting easy and direct access to information, ANY information - true or false or malicious or whatever - that may or may not direct 'people to do stupid things on the heat of the moment'! The other way is for the government to go on the offensive in the SAME social media space to disseminate the 'truth'. The trouble is, if the people started with not trusting the government, no amount of investment in social media will help its cause. May be it is better to shut them down during chaos and unrest. May 'Turkey Spring' be a non-event for the sake of the Turkish people. They deserve a good life and continue to be a model Muslim country that shows great tolerance to secular views and way of life.