
Originally Posted by
Sampan
Strange things are going on in Turkey these days and the current protests very much par the course.
What is clear is that Pro Secularists are very unhappy and it seems that the position of the Erdogan government over Syria could be the driver.
Whatever else many Secular Turks may think of the Assad Government in Damascus, they do indeed appreciate that it is a secular state and one that has previously maintained stability along the Souther Turkish border for decades. The sight of an "Islamist Government in Ankara, working to replace a Secular Government in Syria and replace with a Radical Islamist one, appears to be too much to bear and resentment which has been reported as simmering over the last couple of years seems to be boiling over at last. Add to this of course the concern that Erdogan may be planning to use the spread of Political Islam along the borders to justify ditching the last vestiges of secularism at home.
The final straws however may have been the bombings in Souther Turkey last week, which everybody realises where set off by Al-Qa'ida affiliates, plus the undoubted use of Chemical weapons by similar groups recently as well. The notion of the Erdogan government appearing unconcerned about the identity of the true perpetrators of the bombings, plus maybe even being complicit in them, has indeed crossed a very real red line in Turkish public opinion.
A few years ago, Turkeys "Zero problems with the neighbours" policy was largely lauded around the world. The collapse of that policy into chaos bordering on farce, could easily seal this administrations fate.