The Gezi Park occupation has been presented as little more than an environmental dispute over an urban green space. But it goes to the heart of the identity of modern Turkey and the character of the Turkish republic.
What unites the most heterogeneous opposition bloc Turkey has seen in the last two decades is a common protest against a government which interprets majoritarian democracy as 'the tyranny of the majority' and ignores criticism from opposition groups, says Gulay Turkmen-Dervisoglu
The eruption of protest in Istanbul and other Turkish cities expresses vigorous opposition to the political direction of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, says Dimitar Bechev.
Gas, gas, gas, it is the only way they deal with problems that come under one heading.
