Turkish choreographer Erdem Gunduz (centre) stands on Taksim Square during a duranadam or standing man protest in Istanbul, yesterday.
ISTANBUL: Performance artist Erdem Gunduz became the new symbol of anti-government protests in Turkey yesterday after his eight-hour vigil on Taksim Square earned him the nickname “the Standing Man”.
Images of Gunduz standing quietly in the large, open square, the cradle of three weeks of often violent unrest, have struck a chord with sympathisers more used to witnessing stone-throwing youths battling police tear gas and water cannon.
Twitter lit up with messages of support, although Gunduz sought to play down his importance in demonstrations that have shaken Turkey’s image of stability in the volatile Middle East. “Maybe the media and people will learn something from this silent standing, this resistance,” Gunduz said in an interview with Hurriyet TV.
“Maybe they will feel some empathy. I am just an ordinary citizen of this country. We want our voices to be heard.”
Gunduz said he was protesting in solidarity with demonstrators who were evicted at the weekend from Gezi Park adjoining Taksim, an intervention by police that triggered some of the most violent clashes to date.
From the early evening on Monday, Gunduz stood silently, facing the Ataturk Cultural Centre which was draped in Turkish flags and a portrait of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
While Gunduz’s intentions were not clear, some protesters have accused Erdogan of pursuing a new order based on religious principles - something he denies. By 2am yesterday, when the police moved in, about 300 people had joined Gunduz. Ten people, who refused to be moved on by police, were detained.
Hundreds more men and women staged copycat protests in Istanbul, the capital Ankara and the city of Izmir on the Aegean coast. Interior Minister Muammer Guler indicated that there would be no police swoop against similar “standing man” protests. “If this protest does not harm public order or influence life generally, we will not intervene in such protests,” he told reporters in parliament.
Reuters
