Yesterday we received news from the court, which was suing Ethem Sarısülük's murderer policeman. The news was no good. The police was set free by the court. The reason was self-defence, thus he shot Ethem. However, there is one point: He was almost 5m (app. 17ft.) away from Ethem, when he shot his gun and then ran away. None of the protesters had any sort of gun or similar weapon. How can you explain this? You cannot, if you're not in Turkey.
In Turkey, unfortunately, such things are quite common. When you work for the government, either officially or unofficially, you are always protected. Sometimes by the public prosecutor, sometimes by the judge, sometimes by members of parliament or even the head of state. This was confessed by the first and only female prime minister of Turkey, Tansu Çiller. She said 'The one who shoots and who is shot for the government is from us!' The time was 90s and the government had many squads in eastern and especially south eastern Turkey, to murder local Kurdish politicians. They murdered so many that no one knows the exact number of people assassinated.
It was 90s and now we're in 2013. What has changed? Almost nothing. Except, back then, the state was governed by a right wing political coalition, helped and supported by the army. And now an Islamist government is in power for the last 10 years and there is no military force behind them.
Some of us are really sorry that words fail to express our feelings. And some thinks it was self-defence and even thinks that the person killed deserved to be killed. The worst thing is that we're becoming used to it. Being used to what the state do to us. When violence is in the monopoly of the state, you have nothing to say and nothing to do.
In Turkey, unfortunately, such things are quite common. When you work for the government, either officially or unofficially, you are always protected. Sometimes by the public prosecutor, sometimes by the judge, sometimes by members of parliament or even the head of state. This was confessed by the first and only female prime minister of Turkey, Tansu Çiller. She said 'The one who shoots and who is shot for the government is from us!' The time was 90s and the government had many squads in eastern and especially south eastern Turkey, to murder local Kurdish politicians. They murdered so many that no one knows the exact number of people assassinated.
It was 90s and now we're in 2013. What has changed? Almost nothing. Except, back then, the state was governed by a right wing political coalition, helped and supported by the army. And now an Islamist government is in power for the last 10 years and there is no military force behind them.
Some of us are really sorry that words fail to express our feelings. And some thinks it was self-defence and even thinks that the person killed deserved to be killed. The worst thing is that we're becoming used to it. Being used to what the state do to us. When violence is in the monopoly of the state, you have nothing to say and nothing to do.
