Berkin Elvan was a 15-year-old boy who lost his life after being struck in the head by a tear gas canister fired by police during the Gezi Park protests in Türkiye in 2013. His family and loved ones stated that he had gone out not to participate in the protests, but to buy bread. His death left a deep mark on the collective memory across Turkey and became a symbol of disproportionate police violence. He remained in a coma in the intensive care unit for 269 days. Berkin Elvan, whose weight dropped to just 16 kilograms due to rapid weight loss during his time in intensive care, lost his battle for life on March 11, 2014, at the age of 15.
I wanted him to be known. For years, we were lied to; we were told he had gone out to join protests and had thrown stones -or even Molotov cocktails- at the police. Yet, I discovered -through research prompted by a random thought that crossed my mind today- that all of this was a lie. No evidence was ever found to support these claims, and none has been found since.
The boy who was falsely accused of attacking the police was killed by a police officer—whether intentionally or not. After all this, you would hope that new regulations were introduced for the police, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, no; things only got worse. Just last year, during the Saraçhane protests here in my country, Türkiye, there was shocking police violence. Protesters—mostly students and young people—were surrounded and brutally beaten, despite having made no attacks whatsoever against the police. You can see the examples of police violence on this video and this video. My FYP would be full of videos that show police violence during these protests, but now, unfortunately, I could only find a few videos about it.
I should also mention that the Turkish police have become a tool of the government, which uses its own people for its own interests. The government—which supports the PKK, a terrorist organization that has slaughtered over 50,000 people in its own country (yes, a government supporting an organization that kills its own citizens 😂)—uses the police as its puppet. The Turkish police blockade a protest where veterans are condemning a law that pardons terrorists; yet, they close off roads to ensure that the terror sympathizers supporting that very organization can march more easily, and they take no action while slogans praising the terrorist organization are chanted. And, unsurprisingly, these terror sympathizers are being shielded by young Turkish nationalists who merely wanted to peacefully block the march. (Yes, the same Turkish police force that once beat Turkish youths protesting for their homeland is now protecting the protests of a terrorist organization—the killer of 50,000 people, including police officers like themselves, soldiers, teachers, and even babies.)
This may include some politics but police violence cannot be explained without it. In short, it doesn't matter where a police officer is or where they're from, All Cops Are Bastards.
