Harvey: Gezi Park Resistance Still Continues Despite Leaving Park

On the 2^nd anniversary of Gezi Park Resistance, social scientist Prof. Dr. David Harvey attended the press conference, located in the building of Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects in İstanbul.

David Harvey said he was glad with being in İstanbul on the 2^nd anniversary of Gezi Park Resistance.

About Gezi Park Resistance and the city life in İstanbul, Professor Harvey said:

"It’s very interesting about Gezi Park Resistance that the protests once started locally but then it turned a rebellion all around the country. It was not limited to İstanbul. As a traveler and an urbanologist I think Gezi is unique globally. I suppose these kinds of protests are contagious. There was a protest in Brazil, Sao Paulo and then it spread other cities.

“Even though these two protests had different factors, they had a mutual point: a demand for democracy. The second mutual point was police violence and the intensity of it. We understand that for people living in the cities life gets harder and harder day by day with deficiency of democracy and police violence.

“In the U.S.A. we faced police violence again in Ferguson protests.

“There is a question in our minds: Why don’t political parties want democratic protests and why do they use police violence against the protesters? If we are looking for the answer, we should look at the reflection of the capital on the cities. The capital functions in cities for dispossession. Cities are places for rich men to invest not for common folks to live in anymore.

"The capital loves mega projects. For instance, urban protests in Brazil started before the world cup against the mega projects and it kept going against the Olympic Games.

"These mega projects have social effects such as ecological, urban, displacement and evacuation. On demand of the capital, cities become an instrument for investment. Ecology and sustainability are ignored and cities become unlivable.

“In the last decade, protests against the low life quality in cities increased and even against the alienation among the society. As a result of that, people use violence against each other with this intolerant environment. This is a great mistake.

“Within this context, we should provide living space for humans to live side by side and without feeling alienated. In my opinion, Gezi was a struggle to create an objective unalienated alternative in an alienated environment. Instead of defending ourselves, we need to create a new life style.

“We should create new public places to make ourselves understood and we should protect them.  Gezi Park Resistance still continues despite leaving the park. It’s only the beginning, keep struggling.” (EA/NV/BD)

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