This weekend protesters clashed with police forces in Istanbul. Al Jazeera reported “The unrest erupted on Friday when trees were torn down at a park in Istanbul’s main Taksim Square under government plans to redevelop the area, but widened into a broad show of defiance against the governing, Islamist-rooted AK Party.”
In response, hacktivists identifying themselves as members of Anonymous released a video stating “turkey is suppose to be a so called modern democracy, but the Turkish Government behaves like the petty dictators of China or Iran. Anonymous is outraged by this behavior and we will unite across the globe and bring the Turkish Government to its knees. We will attack every Internet and communication asset of the Turkish Government.” The cyber-attacks have been code named #opTurkey
Early Monday Morning, they were successful in the take down of a government website, which they reported on Twitter.
The Prime Minister criticized social media and called it a dangerous threat. CNN-Turk is drawing criticism from Bloomberg’s Bureau Chief Benjamin Harvey for intentionally blacking out media stories about the protest. This is fueling support and sympathy for the hacktivists, who are argue that Turkey has a big censorship problem.
Protesters and hacktivists are gaining support. For example, truck drivers are blocking roads, so police can’t reach occupied regions of the city.
As of now, this appears to be a more potent reboot of the Occupy WallStreet movement that took place in NYC in 2011. Websites and hashtags are appearing on social media sites with terms such as “Occupy Gezi,” in reference to the park that is currently the battleground.
Istanbul has been a major target of conquests and war for centuries. It was once controlled by the Roman Empire. When the Romans lost their capital in Italy, the capital of Rome was then moved to Istanbul (Constantinople), until the 15th Century, when the Ottoman Turks took the city. The city was then controlled by the Ottoman Empire until WWI, when the Ottoman Empire was defeated by internal insurgents and Western European Forces.
Resources:
Thousands Take Part In Protests – Al Jazeera
Prime Minister Of Turkey Criticizes Social Media and Opposition
