The SP’s large rally to protest Israel’s deadly bombing of Gaza a year ago is believed to have contributed to AKP leader and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s increasingly strident tone against Israel.
The SP, which claims ownership of the pro-Islamic “National View” tradition, opened a large tent at the heart of the Eyüp district two weeks ago to raise awareness about the ongoing Palestinian conflict. The project is called “Watch for Jerusalem” and the tent will be open until the New Year, a period during which meetings, movie releases, exhibitions and conferences will be held.
The Eyüp municipality, which is led by a mayor who is a member of the AKP, a party rooted in the same political tradition, demanded the tent be removed after its opening week, SP officials said.
“We received permission from the governor’s office and to be courteous, we also informed the Eyüp Municipality,” said Erol Erdoğan, the head of the SP’s Istanbul branch. “But after the tent issue erupted and just before the events started, [the municipal patrol] came and said they wanted the tent removed.”
Tensions continued for a week, according to SP members, as patrols asking that the tent be removed came and went, forcing party members to stay on watch to protect it, a duty they also refer to as their “Jerusalem watch.”
The tent exhibits photography showing what is happening in Palestine; visitors can write about their feelings in a thick notebook, which is already two-thirds full.
The AKP’s Istanbul branch initially claimed to support the municipality’s demand to remove the tent. “I contacted the [AKP] Istanbul branch head already. But he said, ‘We will not remove the tent, but you remove it to prevent noise and visual pollution,’” said the SP’s Erdoğan. “But we told him that the [AKP’s] information stands are in every square.”
Neither Aziz Babuşçu, the head of the AKP’s Istanbul branch, nor Eyüp Mayor İsmail Kavuncu responded to requests for comment from the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review before the paper went to press.
Tensions have calmed, for now, as no recent visits from the municipality have occurred, the SP’s Erdoğan said. “They did not say anything about staying here, but they actually stood back,” he added, suggesting that media pressure had affected the situation.
According to the SP official, the mayor only reacted the way he did because he is new in the position and a beginner when it comes to democratic tolerance. The AKP’s provincial branch stood behind its mayor for protecting the municipality, and for preventing the perception that the municipality and party have different agendas, he said.
People visiting the tent said they appreciated seeing something that highlights the Palestinian struggle.
“I become happy when I see sensitivity [to the issue],” Bedia Kocakoç, a 31-year-old housewife, said as she looked at the photos in the tent. When asked about the tension between the SP and the AKP, she said the issue should not be a political one. “This is not important because we are Muslims, but because we are humans,” she said. “We should be grateful that [the SP] organized this.”
Mustafa Kutluk, a 30-year-old butcher, made similar comments, saying it was an issue regarding humanity and should not be politicized.
Tourists were also attracted to the tent, where they visited the exhibition and wrote in the visitors’ book.
“It is good to remind people what has happened,” said Roger, 42, a tourist passing through Turkey on his way to the United States who declined to give his surname.
hurriyet
