Turks march in Istanbul for Egyptian freedom

Sunday, February 6, 2011
İPEK EMEKSIZ
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Protesters acting in solidarity with ongoing demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square acted out the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, represented by a pharaoh-masked figure, in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on Sunday.

“Tahrir is not just a square for Cairo anymore. It is the voice of people longing for freedom and justice, who are angry at poverty and lawlessness. Therefore, we call to them from Taksim Square [representing freedom],” said Abdullah Demirhan, the Istanbul chair of the People’s Voice Party, or HSP, which organized the event.

Party members gathered in front of Galatasaray High School on İstiklal Avenue and walked toward Taksim Square alongside a live camel, chanting slogans such as “Mubarak, go away” and “The people of Egypt are not alone.”

“As Mubarak’s men used camels and horses this week to attack the Egyptian freedom fighters who have been struggling for 12 days, we decided to respond to him by preparing this demonstration. We invite him to hear the cry of his people,” said Yavuz Selim Kurt, the Istanbul deputy chair of the HSP, which refers to itself as the HAS Party.

Criticizing Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s stance toward the protests in Egypt, Demirhan said the prime minister used unclear sentences in his call to Mubarak. “When he had to talk, Prime Minister Erdoğan half-heartedly said, ‘Hear the cry of the people,’” Demirhan said. “But I wonder how much Erdoğan listens to the voice of his people? It’s Erdoğan himself who says [only] two parties should stay [in Parliament] in Turkey.”

The ongoing protests in Egypt are not a blast of anger, Demirhan said, adding that the outcry there and in Tunisia, Yemen and Jordan within the last month is the result of a wish for a world without dictators.

The dictatorship of the pharaoh should be brought down in Egypt in favor of a democratic, liberal and pluralist system, said Ahmet Yıldırım, a pharmacist supporting the protest in central Istanbul. “I think Mubarak will be overthrown in six months. There is no return from now on, until a democratic system supporting different thoughts is implemented,” said Yıldırım, walking with his wife and two children. “After Egypt, the protests will probably spread to Syria.”

The Egyptian people are not alone in being deprived of freedom, said Abdulkerim Buğra Şimşek, 21, who added that the group that had gathered in Taksim Square had done so to protest all dictators. “We’re here to give support to freedom fighters. Even though Mubarak appears to try to change the system by appointing new politicians, it will not work. These are political tricks and people are aware of that,” he said. “The important thing is not to change the names, but to alter the political system.”

Another supporter at the protest said it is time for Mubarak to leave, adding that his 30-year stint as president of the country is too long already.

“Egypt is just a symbol. There are so many dictators in the world that should leave. It’s always the people who are oppressed,” said Yakup Öztürk, 35.

Source: Hürriyet.
Link: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=a-camel-demonstration-from-taksim-to-tahrir-square-2011-02-06.