Young Turkish Activist: “I will probably continue to struggle until
they come and put me in prison.”
Ani Hovhannisyan
13:23, October 7, 2013
27 year-old Samet Fırat Soydemir has difficulty speaking about the
death of his friend during the recent protest in the Turkish town of
Haytay.
According to video clips, the 19 year-old was severely beaten by
police and government supporters and later died from a head
concussion.
Soydemir is one of the founders of the youth movement in Haytay. The
movement is not only engaged in civil society development and raising
youth issues in his home town of Haytay but throughout Turkey. As a
programs specialist with Mustafa Kemal University who also directs a
local career center, Soydemir often organizes Turkish students with
the aim of forging a stronger civil society.
Below, Soydemir describes how his friend’s death affected him:
“Turkey is in need of major changes that must be carried out by young
people and students. But when a 19 year-old boy participates in a
protest due to my encouragement and is killed, I feel responsible. I
can’t look into the eyes of his parents since I was the one who
planted the seeds of free thought in him. He gave his life in the name
of ideas that perhaps weren’t worth his life. Three of the six Gezi
protest victims died in Haytay. This says a lot about how the protest
movement was widely received here in Haytay.
One of those killed was the most active member of our group. The press
attempted to prescribe him as an average citizen, but he was a
conscious citizen; someone with international experience who was
devoted to this country. He was incapable of committing acts of
violence. He studied at the college and wanted to become a teacher.
Nine policemen brutally beat him but none have yet to be arrested and
criminal charges haven’t been filed.”
What are your priorities in terms of changes that must be made in
Turkey? Where will the change come from?
Turkey is your typical Eurasian country, a mixture of various cultures
and traditions. From history we know that this area was a crossroads
for different cultures and civilizations. I do not believe that what
exists in Turkey today only belongs to the Turkish people. It is an
expanse of land that bears the inheritance of a large part of
humanity. No one can deny this. We have a patriarchal society here and
it is very difficult to break down the walls and stereotypes. I
believe that Turkish students and the youth must take the intuitive
and responsibility to a greater degree. But we must not politicize
them for it only leads to a conflict of interest. They can also have
problems with their families.
Our aim is to assemble young people from different backgrounds and
interests and to unite them in the name of one ideal. In this way, we
are trying to build a conscious society whose every member can be part
of the other. We believe that one day the youth will understand that
they are responsible for very many decisions and they can bring about
change.
During the latest Gezi Park events we saw that thousands of youth were
ready to come out onto the streets in a day. What do you think was
their main motivation?
I actively participated in the protests for the first three days. And
Haytay was one of the most intense sites for this movement in all
Turkey. It isn’t surprising that the protest movement sparked do
quickly in Haytay. This city is a melting pot of different cultures
and peoples. But if I am to be sincere, after a few days the protest
completely veered from its true objective and began to serve other
aims.
It transformed into a chaotic situation that continues until today.
The Gezi Park protests began due to environmental issues, but
degenerated into ethnic conflict, especially in Haytay, given that
there are large camps here for Syrian refugees. There are more than
150,000 refugees now in Haytay. There is also a much smaller minority
of Bashar Assad supporters living here.
Conflicts between the refugees and Alawites often break out and the
city suffers. Explosions and bands of armed individuals in civilian
clothes have made us paranoid. This also played a role in getting the
people to protest. At the same time, we don’t want to be the victim of
foreign secret services and programs. What, for example, was the
German Greens Party member Claudia Roth doing at the protests in Gezi
Park? It was problematic for me and that’s why I stopped going. Our
protest has nothing to do with European diplomats. Our protest is a
domestic matter.
As a young activist and citizen, what are your primary goals and how
to you plan to achieve them?
It is quite difficult to have goals in Turkey today, because all the
funds and resources are in the hands of the conservatives. I don’t
feel like an equal citizen in my country and do not receive any
assistance from my government, other than the persecution. But I also
know the hardships faced by those who leave. I had the opportunity to
travel to several countries but never felt as complete as I do here in
my country.
I want to live in my country and perhaps become a political figure in
the future. Right now, I’m not ready for it, but later on I would like
to introduce reforms in this country that I love so much. Sure, I
would also like the option of living comfortably; of doing scientific
work¦I don’t know. It’s tough making plans for the future in Turkey
today; everything is unstable.
I will probably continue to struggle until they come and put me in prison.
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