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The Roots of the Turkish Uprising

(Wall Street Journal) Michael Rubin - When a small group of environmentalists banded together on May 28 to save an Istanbul park from being turned into a shopping mall, their sit-in hardly seemed likely to spark what is already being called the Turkish Spring. The government's harsh response spurred popular outrage that quickly spread to Ankara, Izmir and more than a dozen other cities across the country. The unrest has been long brewing. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party had won three straight general elections since 2002, increasing its popular vote to 50% in 2011. Dominating all branches of government, Erdogan dispensed with political compromise and doubled down on Islamism and old vendettas. He antagonized Turkey's minority Alevi population - one-quarter of Turkey's 75 million citizens - by naming a new Istanbul bridge to span the Bosporus after Selim I, a 16th-century sultan who massacred 40,000 Alevis. Erdogan has accumulated more foreign debt in his rule than all of Turkey's previous prime ministers combined. Last year's drop in growth to 2.2% from 8.8% in 2011 was a wake-up call that Turkey might not always be able to make its payments. Against this backdrop, many Turks are enraged by signs that Erdogan and his aides have enriched themselves while in power. The past week's protests have highlighted the lack of press freedom in Turkey. As police attacked the protesters, CNN Turk broadcast a cooking show. Turkey imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world, according to Reporters Without Borders. As Istanbul's mayor, Erdogan once said: "Democracy is like a streetcar. When you come to your stop, you get off." The West has refused to believe what Turks know: Erdogan arrived at his stop years ago.
2013-06-04 00:00:00
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