We need a new word for ‘justice’
Gezi protestor Ethem Sarısülük lost his life because of a bullet that came from a policeman’s gun in Ankara.
Another Gezi protestor Dilan Dursun participated in the ceremony that was supposed to be held at the spot where Sarısülük was killed. Police staged a severe intervention; university student Dursun was injured because of a gas capsule hitting her head. Dursun filed a complaint; an investigation was launched.
The office of the prosecutor asked for city surveillance camera (MOBESE) records from the security directorate.
While the police sent to the office of the prosecutor those video records that it “found suitable,” the images provided by the camera’s recording the street where Dilan was shot were not shared.
Up until this stage, it is adequately - well, it is extremely – abnormal, but let’s say according to the “epic performance criteria” of this land, it is normal.
The counter attack did not take long. The Office of the Prosecutor opened a case against 35 people who participated at the commemoration ceremony of Sarısülük.
And through Mesut Hasan Benli’s story at daily Hürriyet, we are able to learn the images of “that camera,” which were denied while the shooting of Dursun was investigated, were served immediately in the case opened “against the demonstrators.”
Wow and another wow. Come running to this justice. Run, but keep your posture while running. Come without elaborating too much. Do not make the master angry. Come, but do not touch the epic heroes.
Let us go back to the news story one day before this. We are, supposedly, trying to find “Who shot Dilan?”
Our police were following the young people in Istanbul during the Gezi days who were running away from the tear gas and took shelter in an apartment building. Obviously, the police were not going to say, “Oh, my dears. Did your eyes burn? Poor you.” In the apartment building they took shelter in, a demonstrator Koray Kırcaoğlu fell down because a police hit him with the handle of his gun. While he was down, beating continued with kicks and batons.
His friend İpek Şenol lied on top of Kırcaoğlu to protect him. They were both kicked. Both of them obtained doctor’s reports.
Kırcaoğlu handed in the video recordings of a camera in the building where the “helmet number” of one of the policemen who was beating him is clearly visible and a piece of the pistol grip he found at the crime scene.
Guess what has happened?
The police whose cask number – they are like license plates of a vehicle – is known cannot be determined.
While we were looking for who had shot Dilan, we have come to the stage where we cannot find the person who is wearing the cask.
But let us not stop here. Well, where do we go? Let’s go back to square one.
There are images of the moment when Sarısülük was shot. The name, fame, the cask of the shooting police are known. He is tried in a case where members of the court have been photographed to have fallen asleep.
Instead of searching for the Turkish equivalent of “selfie,” we need to find an equivalent to “justice.”
I propose “inertia.”
