Andrea Virga: As it often happens, riots in Turkey have grown from a small environmental protest in Istanbul to a national revolt featuring hundreds of thousands of people. Violent reactions on the part of the authorities have only given birth a spontaneous coalition of anti-governative forces, marching in the streets. Motivations behind the revolt lie mainly in the growing dissatisfaction with Erdogan’s islamization of Turkish society, as well as its foreign policy of supporting Islamist rebels in Syria. Opposition parties, from the Kemalist CHP, to the Nationalist and Communist formations, have joined the protests, without apparent infighting. Banks and foreign corporations stores have been vandalized, suggesting the presence of anti-capitalist and anti-globalist forces. On the opposite, civilian and military police forces have been openly helped by AKP militants and voters, with the effect of reinforcing rioters in their anti-governative stance. However, even in the government party, doubts have been raised about the harsh conduct of the security forces and Erdogan’s response to the crisis.
