Earlier this summer, what began as a small occupation of a central Istanbul park became something no one had quite anticipated. Environmental protesters angry at plans to redevelop Gezi Park into a shopping mall and replica Ottoman-era barracks found themselves at the centre of a wave of nationwide unrest, challenging Prime Minister Erdoğan’s increasingly authoritarian grip on Turkish public life. The city centre turned into a battleground. Riot police responded with tear gas, water cannon and mass force against largely peaceful crowds.
The protests have now spread across almost every one of Turkey’s 81 provinces. By the time of writing, five people have lost their lives, with strong evidence linking at least three of those deaths directly to police violence. More than 8,000 people have been injured. Nearly 5,000 have been detained. Amnesty International has documented repeated and abusive use of force against overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrators, and has called on the Turkish authorities to end the violence. The protests continue.
Dancing Turtle’s Dominic Brown was in Istanbul in June, as the protests reached their peak. Filmed across four days on the ground in Istanbul, Baslangıç — which translates as The Beginning — is an unfiltered document of those extraordinary days: the crowds, the confrontations, the defiance, and the violence of the state’s response. Available to watch now on the Dancing Turtle website.
