TURKEY: “Everywhere Armutlu”

July 18, 2013 by: postvirtual

[German translation here]

Istanbul, July 18

Dear people,

The resistance in Armutlu is becoming an inspiration for citizens all over Turkey. At the moment, the neighbourhood is firmly controlled by the people. Police don’t even try to conquer it any more. They have lifted the siege. A few days ago, they made a final attempt to enter. We saw footage of that, it was epic. People threw down burning sofa’s from the roofs. Police employed armoured vehicles to break through the barricades, and didn’t succeed.

TURKEY: The Unspeakable

July 1, 2013 by Postvirtual

Shoes at the resistance monument in Besiktas

Istanbul, July 1

Dear people,

As millions of people took the streets in Egypt and millions of Spaniards finished to vote on popular democracy in a nationwide plebiscite, Istanbul celebrated the biggest Gay Pride parade in its history. It was the grand finale of LGBT week. As expected, the people of Gezi Park joined them in an extravaganza of colours, joy and rhythm, a celebration of diversity and resistance. It was a styleful conclusion of a month that people in Turkey will not lightly forget.

The Kurdish Question: Through the lens of Anarchist Resistance in the Heart of the Ottoman Empire 1880–1923

Michael Schmidt & Lucien van der Walt

This study of recent anti-imperialist resistance in Kurdistan, looking back to the anarchist resistance in the Ottoman heartland in the period before the formation of the Turkish state, consists of extracts — kindly proof-read in part by Will Firth — from the forthcoming book by Schmidt & van der Walt, Global Fire: 150 Fighting Years of International Anarchism & Syndicalism, Counter-power Vol.2, AK Press, USA, scheduled for release in about 2011.

 

Interview with the Kurdistan Anarchist Forum (KAF) ‎

An informative interview with Kurdish anarchists from 2010.