[I]t was a big déjà vu with flashbacks of the Gezi days. Hundreds of thousands were out in the streets across the nation chanting “murderer Erdoğan!” Barricades were formed. Graffiti went up depicting police sketches of Erdoğan with the tag line “wanted”. Police violence was ever present, injuring dozens. Those who stayed at home banged pots and pans in solidarity. Vigils were held in New York, London, Athens, Stockholm and Paris — among many other cities. On Wednesday we went out again, this time for Berkin’s funeral. Thousands first went to Okmeydanı cemevi; a house of worship for the Alevi community. At 3 pm the biggest crowd I have ever seen in a funeral gathered at the Şişli Mosque. Then the crowd walked to the local cemetery where Berkin was put to his eternal rest. There were no clever or sarcastic slogans this time; instead hundreds of thousands shouted “murderer AKP!”. After a few minutes of silence somebody would shout “thief!” or “murderer!”, almost as if the murder was happening right at that moment and he or she was calling for help. The crowd would follow. The same slogans were shouted whenever the crowd saw a police station or officers lined up on the streets, right to their faces. The slogans were replaced by silence and a feeling of deep sorrow in the cemetery.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 04:18:39 +0000
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