The Oyak-Renault factory in Bursa, partially captured in this picture, was shut down for 12 consecutive days by automotive workers. The tents where some of the workers resided for these 12 days can be spotted next to the yellow/silver Renault symbol.
“Tayyip will f— them up soon, don’t you think so?” the street vendor asked me while pointing out the workers on strike at the Oyak-Renault factory in Bursa. The fear of the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan remains strong even in his absence. That Erdogan, the all seeing and almighty would unleash his wrath sooner or later is taken for granted by many in Turkey today. Where there is unrest, there is “Tayyip” and the police to deal with it by hook or by crook.
This time, however, the scene is a bit different. The Oyak-Renault automotive workers’ strike, which began on May 15, 2015 and lasted for 12 consecutive days, took place without any police intervention whatsoever. When it comes to protests in Turkey, the idea of a peaceful protest sounds somewhat surreal. With no stones or Molotov cocktails thrown, and no rubber bullets or gas canisters fired, it is hard to believe that at the Oyak-Renault factory, alongside almost a dozen other factories in Turkey, a collective form of demonstration ever took place. For some in Turkey today, the end of May and the first weeks of June serve as a reminder of the 2013 Gezi Park Protests. The protests in Gezi also started in a peaceful manner, yet soon turned violent—taking many young lives. How is it then that the automotive strike in Turkey has remained peaceful? This question requires a closer look.
