Here's a thread dedicated to the greatest ever popular movement that has occured in the history of the Turkish Republic. I think it should be marked as a sticky thread. A brief summary: Since the AKP came to power in 2002, they did lots of controversial acts which had made a large segment of the society pile up rage inside. Amongst them were alcohol restrictions, cracking down on opposition, pressures based on their moral norms, as well as direct attacks to the founding principles that the Turkish Republic was founded upon, not to mention the involvement in the Syrian Civil War. The police raid on a bunch of peaceful protesters who wanted to defend a park called Gezi in Taksim Square which was to be demolished was the last straw that made millions of people, mainly youngsters, rush into the streets. Erdogan's unwillingness to reconcile and the harsh measures taken by the police gave a boost to the events. As a result; 22 people have lost their lives, many of whom were young. The mainstream media's lack of coverage for the events also revealed the oppression atmosphere the AKP government led to. It was a non-centralized movement, although some fanatic football hooligan groups like Besiktas Carsi or famous actors and actresses stood out.