Çarşı

Uluğ, Ö. M., & Acar, Y. (2015). We are more than alliances between groups': A social psychological perspective on the Gezi Park protesters and negotiating levels of identity. In Everywhere Taksim: sowing the seeds for a new Turkey at Gezi. Amsterdam University Press.

Çarşı (Istanbul): A fan group of Beşiktaş supporters, Çarşı is a group

highly involved with social issues. Participants made a point of stating

that Çarşı has a conscience; in their own words, ‘where there is injustice,

Çarşı is there, too.’ Çarşı members were active both in Gezi Park and

in their own district of Beşiktaş, where there were particularly harsh

clashes between protesters and police. One reason they cited for their

participation was the proximity of the protests to what they considered

their ‘home turf.’ With police encroachment in Beşiktaş, Çarşı members

felt an obligation to ‘protect’ their neighbourhood. According to Çarşı

members, the AKP has taken hold of all institutions (even the football

league) and blocked all other existing ways of seeking democracy.

Participants indicated that they attended the protests with their Çarşı

identity, with their personal identity and with their leftist identity

(though not all members of Çarşı are leftists). They also mentioned that

these identities intertwined during the protests. They felt close to other

fan groups such as Tek Yumruk (Galatasaray), Karakızıl (Gençlerbirliği),

Halkın Takımı, Beleştepe, Fenerbahçe Sol Açık, Vamos Bien and Öteki 1907.

They also felt close to Taksim Solidarity and the TKP. They said they did

not feel close to TGB, the CHP and the Kurdish movement. Ultimately,

all participants from Çarşı emphasised that being a part of the protests

was a privilege, irrespective of identity and ideology (p. 127- 128)