No Tayyip
‘There are people’, I read in the statement by the organizers of a Twitter protest, ‘who are not afraid to say they don’t approve of the way the country is being managed by the Prime Minister.’ An intriguing sentence.
Let me tell you first what the protest was about. Yesterday during the day and even more so from 9pm on, many Turks on twitter started posting tweets with the ‘hashtag’ #notayyip. A hashtag is a word added to a tweet following a # and it’s used to follow the tweets about a certain event or topic. Tayyip is the first name of Prime Minister Erdogan, so #notayyip means the Turks using this hashtag don’t like the way Erdogan runs the country, to say the least. The aim of using the hashtag by as many people as possible at the same time, was to get into the ‘world wide trending topics’: the ten most used hashtags in the world. That way they could draw attention both in Turkey and even world-wide to their anti-Tayyip opinion.
I immediately wondered why the organizers would want to point out that there are people in Turkey not afraid of criticizing the Prime Minister. So, are there people afraid of doing that, and why? I asked around on twitter using the #notayyip hashtag, but didn’t get too many responses. So I can’t say anything general about all these people that joined in, but it seems that people are not actually afraid, but they feel their voice is not really heard. Seems to me that’s one of the outcomes of Turkey getting more and more polarized these days.
I followed the #notayyip hashtag for about two hours yesterday night. Everybody added a reason why they want ‘no Tayyip’, and it made me frown and laugh. The way Tayyip tries to influence the media, his Islamic background, the way he reacted to the Flotilla being raided by Israel, and many funny reasons that I can’t explain here because you would need to know more details about the news in Turkey.
In the end, by the way, the hashtag #notayyip didn’t make it to the world-wide trending topics. The hashtags about the Paraguay-Japan World Cup match got in the way.
If anybody reading this joined the #notayyip protest, please don’t hesitate to tell me here why you did!
Several #notayyip tweeting people got threats yesterday. The stalker represented himself as an official from the turkish government working for the anti terror department. He used an image of a weapon for his avatar. He said he was not alone.
Meanwhile he got suspended by Twitter and is being investigated.
Hi,
Sorry to underline that this voice is not week at all. If you keep in mind that twitter is a new portal and that there are illiterate people in turkey, the #notayyip is doing very very good.
For our aim, the government is buying the media by using family relation, misinforming citizens about what is really happening in Turkey and threading any media company of saying otherwise. They even gave false news about the wife of a TV speaker to threat him. We are trying to say aloud that we know what is happening in our country. We are afraid, but we should stat from some were. Really strange things happening in this country, we are only trying to protect our rights.
Dear Geerding,
Just I want to gave you some number to compare Turkey how it was 8 years ago,when Mr.Erdogan did come to potency,with present days.
Turkish forgien and national dept was $ 212 miliard in 2002 and risa up $ 471 miliard at 2010.
Customizing are ca. $ 50 miliard in last 8 years at Turkey.
Uneployment was 1.450.000 at 2000th in Turkey.Its rise up to 2.600.000 at 2002,therefore changed the goverment also there was very big financial crisis in Turkey.And now unemploymet rise up to 3.470.000 at 2010.Those are offical number.Normaly you must make dbl.If you want to learn truth unemployment.
Turkish people now useing up the expensivste oil and gas,elektric,commication in the world.
Meat and Milk production praices are expensive than mostly EU countries.Pls compare the subsistence level between Turkey and EU.
Turkey is a touristic country but besaides alcholic beverage are expensive than EU contries without of Scandilavian contries.Till now more than 50 people were die from bootleg.
There are 116.000 prisioner in the jail at Turkey.60.000 of thems enquiry are still contuneu.It means 60.000 people now in the jail but there is no regular judgement of them.!!!
I m afraid of my children future.Because the goverment want to change my life style…
Kindly Regards,
Zekeriya
Dear Anonymous,
First of all what have you written is not worth to consider as a truth. and here are the reasons for it.
1. You are not using your NAME / Why???
2. You are talking about something not actually exiting at the moment? What is your proof for it?
those kind of things are just to manipulate the peace and those people are the ones who actually are not aware of many things around.
Some Journalists, Coloumnists, and Some Aristocracy class people are just have fear to lose their status. Because Turkey is now going through a balanced state.
Let me Share Some figures since the current government has started his works.
1. Growth : Turkey is growing more and more and recent growth figure for the first quarter of 2010 was higher than expectations with 11,7% which makes Turkey the highest growing Country withing OECD Countries and #2 in G-20.
2. Growth in Exports : Turkey’s Export has increased %22,3
3. Education : Students are given their books free of charge.
4. Health : Private and Governmental Health Institutions has been integrated and people can now get a better treatment than before.
5. Transportation : they have increased the works on the roads of Turkey and has accomplished twinning of roads in many places and still goes on which provides people a safer travel and which decreases the Traffic accidents. Development in railway is really worth to see. Trains are mostly renewed and became one of the major and preferable mean of transportation which was really like a scary movie scene before. People were suffering but now they are travelling cheaper and safer. Also development and Success of Turkish airlines can not be ignored. More people are now travelling with planes within the country and this is absolutely something great to see (NOT FOR ALL).
I would like to write more and more but I think those are some major things they have succeeded.
Besides those accomplishments Turkey has a growing reputation all around the world and it is considered as a MODEL State for many.
Please Think of those and Judge the government accordingly.
You and the people who thinks the way you are thinking have to be offering real and better things than they have already done for the people of Turkey not just words or comments on articles or having #notayyip protest over twitter which are mostly consisting of attacks to personality and most are not ethical.
Just be reasonable and nice to people and respect the decision of people of your country.
Blaming them as ILLITERATE or such way will not produce any solutions and do produce some real things.
Please Stop those kind of reactions and try to cooperate for building unity and a better future for your Country.
Regards
David
Though I am not myself really on the same political spectrum with them – and didn’t participate in the mentioned trending, I found #notayyip pretty intriguing too. I asked my friends, quite a few of whom tried to trend #notayyip or supported this little initiative during our daily conversations about twitter and technology; mainly the same question: why?
More or less I got the impressions you got: to show that there are people who are not “afraid” of him… there were especially a lot of concern about “the way he drifts country to the East, changing its direction from West to East” with specific emphasis on the Flotilla incident as an example; also about how he made the country a “police state” with all CCTV, illegal telephone tapping, and changes he wants to make in the constitution; and finally on how he had “crashed” the economy of Turkey, how unemployment was widespread, poor were poorer and more unhappier than ever, working class was in ruins…
What is funny is; the same people also constantly criticise the current government about its EU policy and mostly are EU-skeptic to the point that some believe EU is the end of Turkey as a “nation-state” – I would assume this is a more anti-Western attitude than say of AKP’s… They also fully support all the telephone tapping, illegal interventions, torture etc. done during the “postmodern coup” of 28 February and much of 90’s saying these were “necessary measures” of fighting with “jihadist terrorists”… I would assume these are greater intrusions of privacy and civil rights. Finally, what I believe is the most fascinating point: most are from middle to upper classes of the society with little contact with poorer classes, and they actually blame the poor for electing Tayyip and supporting him – we also know by the polls that Tayyip’s Party is more popular among lower classes… it is also a well known fact of economy that middle to upper classes were the most positively affected in the current trend of Turkish economy…
At the end as a social liberal myself, I think these are normal results of a highly polarised society; last decade saw the rise of religious lower-middle classes to “high society” without losing, at least superficially, their “religious, rural” identity, without conforming to every little aspect of the Kemalist establishment… Tayyip is the single most important embodiment of this shift and I guess it is normal that those from other socio-political backgrounds to see him as a big threat to their existence in Turkey as well as feeling motivated to “speak against” him for in their minds, though elected due to his and his supporters “usurp” of the “power” from “establishment” is some kind of a – if we use their preferred terminology – “civil coup”. Isn’t all this so ironic?
HKubra
I am really sick of this stupid explanations of liberals. Who do you think you are to judge people’s reason for joining this movement?
I know that I belong to the upper middle segment of this society as some people say and yes I am terribly afraid of being restricted by this governent in future.
Just yesterday a mayor of the AKP asked governent to support the second marriages so as to solve Kurdish issue. People are not feeling secure and as I previously said I am sick of this stupid excuse that most of the liberals in Turkey present, namely fear of losing social status.
To David, The Twitter Trust and Safety Team witnessed and reported the threats for investigation -Twitter support mails with support ticket numbers in my mailbox. I dont want to give names because these people are dangerous and armed, saying they work officially for Erdogan’s AKP government.
If u wanna know Why #notayyip cos Turkish are the children of Ataturk we follow his route, Turkey is not going to be IRAN not even in his wild DREAMS, he uses his position for his family for the people who carries his ideology, Since the day he is on top of Turkey terror did not stopped, and they are getting wilder.
Tell me what would your government do if terrorist attack to to your innocent citizens and soldiers.
Wearing head scarf’s in Govermental buildings, Hospitals, Schools, Universities are free now. Do you know how those girls women , in head scarfs and in Burkas look at us when we are walking in the street, that look is mean. That look is we are normal you are the one who is not normal clothing like a cheap btch….
I have no itensions of chango my dressing style.
If they are unhappy about they are free to go to any country that burka’s and headscarfs are allowed but not in my country.
Do you know he used most of the media is owned or let me tell you this way most of them are forced to bankruptcy and owned by people who carries his ideolgy.
media can not write about them, because they are scared of their and their family’s future. most of republican journalists, generals are in jail now? Have you ever asked why?
Because they follow the route of Ataturk?
What about youtube ban?
THE BIGGEST REASON IS THE VIDEOS SHOWING THE REAL FACE OF AKP
SECOND THEY COULD NOT GET TAX FROM GOOGLE AND YOUTUBE
what about the denizfeneri charity? that charity supposed to collect money and thing for the people who needs? but where did the money go ? No answer right? they closed the case?
I do not wanna write more, i do not want to go into prison..
no comment after seeing the one above except a word.
“INTOLERANT”
I have also been in Turkey for several years and I do not see any of those you mentioned. In contrary, people who are religious were really nice and tolerant where some Mustafa Kemal followers are not.
As I know Turkey has a major Muslim population and those people have the right to live as faith has taught to them and as I have witnessed Islam orders its followers to be nice and I am a close witness of that. For example I have been in Istanbul between the years of 2002- 2009 and I have seen many events going on.
Some people are treated like they are out of that state, just like they are from space or somewhere else by the PEOPLE who consider themselves seculars.
Here I feel that your fear and hatred is not For Tayyip but his faith.
I may say if you keep behaving like that you will be minority and probably you will need to go some place to go. Not because people will tell you go to blah blah place because as I say above those true religious people who follow their faith is quiet tolerant and they always seek for peace.
Last sentence for your comment
You are unfortunately INTOLERANT and this will not help you in anyway..
Regards
David.
Dear David
Are you the advocate of him and his followers?
Because you and others do not want TURKEY TO DEVELOP.
THATS WHY YOU AND PEOPLE LIKE YOU SUPPORT HIM…
TELL ME THAN WHY DOES FRANCE, SPAIN AND MANY OTHER COUNTRIES BAN BURKAS AND HEADSCARFS?
HEAD SCARFS AND BURKAS BANNED BY MUSTAFA KEMAL ATATURK BECAUSE HE WANTED US TO BE CIVILISED
HE WANTED US TO BE MODERN PEOPLE
I AM AGAINST THEIR IDEOLOGY! TURKEY IS A REPUBLIC AND WILL NOT BE AN ISLAMIC REBUPLIC LIKE IRAN,
I BELIEVE YOU DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TURKEY AND ATATURK..
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic and its first President, stands as a towering figure of the 20th Century. Among the great leaders of history, few have achieved so much in so short period, transformed the life of a nation as decisively, and given such profound inspiration to the world at large.
WOMEN HAS NO NAME IN ISLAMIC REPUBLIC….
Mustafa Kemal introduced the Turkish alphabet as a replacement for Arabic script
ATATURK’S WIFE “OUR FIRST LADY” LATIFE HANIM DRESSED UP LIKE MODERN WESTERN WOMAN!
SHE COULD SPEAK MANY LANGUAGES LIKE HER MOTHER TONGUE!
YOU HELP YOUR SELF DAVID, WE KEMALISTS WILL CONTINIUE TO SUPPORT ATATURK’S REFORMS…..
Dear Zondaras,
I am not here to claim advocacy of anyone, I am here to share what I have been witnessed and I know a lot about Turkey and Mustafa Kemal,
This is my last comment on this article because
Discussion is made in peace and you question things within the boundaries of respect. which most of your type of people do not actually have.
Go hide yourself under the veil of Mustafa Kemal’s reforms and let those Tayyip minded people go much more further.
Regards.
David
Dear Zonduras,
BTW You have mentioned
“Because you and others do not want TURKEY TO DEVELOP.”
can you please define Developement???
Regards,
David
Dear David
I can understand that you are only giving a perspective for the religious topics in Turkey. As a Muslim person, believe me, no body would attach a real Muslim easily today in Turkey. Real Muslims are kind, generous and cultured.
For Tay?p Erdoghan and AKP, I do believe in their ?Muslim? identity as much as I believe in the occurrence of 30 of February.
Now, fort he top cover, I studied in Bosporus University, an American college in Istanbul. Until AKP started giving the top covers a political name, all my female friends were free to go to classes with their covers. Only some teacher?s didn?t give them this permission. Taking another class could solve their problem easily. After the announced to be AKP reform fort he top covers, no one ever could enter the schools with top covers. A note, T. Erdoghans daughters studied freely in USA.
Now, T. Erdoghan is a very rich man today, one of his sons has a small Fleet of ships. But this man did not have any of these things before 10 years.
Almost in all the governmental offices, there are relatives of the AKP in positions they can never manage with their education or experiences.
Personally experienced, all the ?Islamic? companies ? of my friend worked in were far from the Islamic believes. They mistreat their workers, don?t pay enough of even don?t pay at all (one of the AKP related companies was on the news because they didn?t pay their workers in Russia, and left them in a very hard position). These companies have the best governmental tenders, even 3 day lows can be arranged for them, so they can earn more from our taxes.
These and other strange things are happening in turkey, and we are protesting them.
Now, I?m not top covered, but almost all the females in my family are. But this is not, and will never be solved by AKP. They can only solve their own daughters? problems.
I love Mustafa Kemal Ataturk because of what he gave my country, and I CURSE T. Erdoghan and all his followers because of the real damage they gave to our country.
You can be democratic, try to see the other point of view. But leave us protect our country from the pheasants and parasites. They are damaging our future and running out of this country.
Ask your self, Why are all the children of Tayip Erdoghan and Gul in USA???
Dear Commenters,
I am sorry to say that you just keep to go where you are headed. Open your hearts and look around you. You will see many more good things has happened, probably you do not like and you just be against the things as you have not produced a single thing in the name of your country. Anyway I do not care whatever is going on there. But just be aware you are really now a minority and most of the people are supporting them and apparently if they keep improving themselves and if they keep loyal to what they have already done to be accepted to E.U. and realize the criteria they will surely be unbeatable till there will be a strong opposition party. Sorry to say that today’s CHP or other Parties can not even come closer to them…
Those people that you blame as being illiterate and not mostly shown in cyber arena are supporters of that people and will be supporting again. What I suggest again and again do not consider yourself in a upper class and do not underestimate your people, embrace them and be innovative, provide solutions for the problems that they could not solve, this way you will be at the winning side and this way you may have a chance to stop those Tayyip people. but if you go on in your ignorance you will never ever be able to stop this wave that they have you will never be able to stop the supporting wind behind them.
P.S.
This was really my last comment and I do not care about whatever will be told from now on.
May you people have a nice day/night whatecer.
Regards
David.