Turkish government won’t condemn ‘standing man:’ Deputy PM

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

The government doesn’t intend to condemn the 'standing people' and such peaceful protests should actually be supported, says Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç. DAILY NEWS photo

The government doesn’t intend to condemn the "standing people" and such peaceful protests should actually be supported, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç has said.

“This is not a violent process, it is a peaceful one. We are not in a position to condemn this,” Arınç said, while speaking to reporters on June 19.

He was referring to the fact that, in response to the ongoing confrontations related to the Gezi Park unrest, some protesters have adopted a new method to get their point across: standing still in silence.

“Standing up for so long, without using the bathroom for eight hours … This is not a violent protest; this is a protest appealing to the eye as well. It’s a peaceful protest,” Arınç said, underlining that peaceful demonstrations within the legal principles should be encouraged.

“I had earlier stated that I was perceptive about the Gezi Park demonstrations which started against cutting the trees. But then those demonstrations changed their form. Now if they have been giving up the violent protests and sending messages by ‘standing,’ we have to make allowances for it. But for those who are performing these protests, they shouldn’t block daily traffic and - most importantly - they should not endanger their own health,” he said. “They shouldn’t stand for eight hours; they should stand for eight minutes and then get on with their business.”

The trend was launched by performance artist Erdem Gündüz, who stood silently for hours in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on the night of June 17 as others joined him and replicated the protest in other cities.