Sometimes journalists report. Sometimes we analyze and comment. Sometimes we investigate. But sometimes we just provide context.
As the author of one of the first English-language articles providing in-depth background on the Gezi Resistance movement, I have had a lot of friends and colleagues ask me what I will be writing for the one-year anniversary of Gezi Park’s occupation. It is tempting to write a grand sweeping analysis about what happened to the movement, where it went wrong, how it still exists today, what strategic gains it made, and so on. In fact there is a whole genre of such reflections. But I don’t think that is actually the most useful thing I can do right now.
My complaint when I was working as a foreign correspondent in Turkey was always that no one really cared what was going on internally in Turkey, despite how important it was. (This can be said of virtually any country that is under-reported on.) Suddenly, with the Gezi uprising, journalists who had been writing about these developments and nascent grievances for years were thrust into the position of catching up the general public outside of Turkey with at most a few thousand words. But at least, finally, there was interest in Turkey.
Given the capricious whims of the news cycle, the interest did not stay in place for long. So rather than contribute to the “one year since” analytical genre, I have decided that the most useful thing I can do for an English-speaking audience is put together a timeline of major developments since the Gezi Uprising, which is embedded below. I hope people find it useful.
A few caveats: This is obviously not a comprehensive timeline. I have tried to pick events that I think are most important for an international audience that does not regularly follow Turkish news to know about. The omission of a particular event is not a value judgment on my part, but rather a reflection of trying to keep the timeline to the bare essentials so that anyone who wants to can gain an understanding of where things stand in Turkey today.
To use the timeline: Click on specific items on the timeline to jump to a specific event. Click on the right or left edge of an event’s description to browse chronologically. You can also use the left and right arrow keys to navigate, after you’ve clicked on the timeline once. You can click and drag on the timeline itself.
[This timeline was originally posted here. A larger version of the timeline can be viewed here. Anyone is free to re-post this timeline using the embed code, provided you notify me and give proper credit, including a link back to my website.]