Media ignore ‘Gandhi’ Kemal’s million plus rally in Istanbul

Estimates varied. Some felt there were a million people who had assembled in Istanbul on Sunday at the rally addressed by Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party at the end of the 450 kilometre march for ‘Justice’ and an end to oppression.

Others put the figure at two million. The cautious reported that ‘hundreds of thousands’ Turks had gathered at the Maltepe parade ground for the rally. But there was scant coverage in the Turkish or even foreign mainstream media, forcing people to take to Twitter and post photographs and video of the huge rally, the first since 2013 against the authoritarian ‘one-man rule’ of Turkish president Recep Erdogan.

Kilicdaroglu, who began the march in the middle of June from Ankara with a handful of followers, was joined by Turks on the 25-day march to protest against arbitrary arrests and dismissals. The prison in the Turkish capital of Ankara is said to hold the largest number of journalists in jail. Over 55,000 Turks are said to have been arrested, among them judges, teachers and opposition politicians as well as human rights activists including some from Amnesty International ever since Erdogan clamped a state of Emergency following the aborted coup in July last year.

Erdogan took advantage of the failed coup to crack down on all dissent. He has taken over enormous power to appoint judges of his choice. His Government is pulling out all the stops in observing (celebrating some say is the more appropriate word) the first anniversary of the failed coup later this week.

Kilicdaroglu assured the massive crowd that the march was just the beginning of a new phase. They would work together, he said, to bring down the “wall of fear” and ensure justice for the arrested and those who were unfairly dismissed from service.

Significantly, the authoritarian regime of Erdogan did not try to stop the march. Instead policemen were deployed to protect the leader of the opposition from possible attacks by Erdogan supporters. On Sunday, the Government deployed 15,000 policemen in Istanbul to ensure law and order—a tacit admission of the size of the protest.

The abortive coup last year in July had left 249 people dead and over 1,400 Turks wounded.