Turkey's Moda ignites the fire against restriction of freedoms

The sale of alcohol at the restaurant on Moda Quay has been banned by a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) municipality-owned company, Beltur, after it took over management of the restaurant.�

Beltur’s move, which has ended a long-running service, drew fierce reaction from Moda residents, and led weekly protests at the entrance of the quay.

Moda residents, who gather to protest the ban every Friday, say the municipality’s move is an act of discrimination and restriction of freedom.

“We are standing against the ban, imposition and restriction of our choices in our district,” spokesman Ali Karli, read a statement on behalf of the residents at the latest protest meeting on Sept. 12.

“We are raising our voice against the separation of our society’s living space; as equal, free and independent citizens of a secular republic without obedience and kowtowing,” he added.

The protestors also blamed Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of implementing discrimination politics by lending his support to the alcohol ban application. “He is making discrimination by himself. It is one of the most basic rights of the society to sit and drink by the sea,” another resident said, adding that Erdogan would be a real prime minister when he also becomes the prime minister of Moda.

MODA BECOMES REFERENCE POINT

Moda is also seen as reference point for expressing the rising discomfort against the restriction of freedoms implemented by the government.

“Alcohol was prohibited in many other places of Turkey, but only Moda residents resisted this, and raised their voices,” Huseyin Aksen, a theater actor, who also attended the protests, said. Aksen added he expected this flare to spark similar action across the country.

The Turkish government, claiming to be the strong defender of personal rights and freedoms in society, has been long criticized by secularist circles within the society due to its de facto implementations aiming to limit social life.

The ruling AKP, also accused of executing such practices in the case filed for the closure of the party in March, deny the accusations and say there has been no such effort nor legislations aimed at achieving this end. But, some acts and incidents, including alcohol bans at municipality facilities in several regions in Turkey, signals that the party seems to fail at leaving aside its Islamic credentials.

GOV’T PRACTICES

The ban in Moda is not the AKP’s first attempt targeting alcohol sales in the country. In a similar ban to Moda’s, Beltur discontinued the sale of alcohol at a coastal restaurant in Istanbul's conservative Uskudar district. The Uskudar municipality also determined a number of locations where it is prohibited to drink alcohol.

Municipalities of Turkey's Bursa and Denizli provinces, ruled by the AKP, have also created “red streets” in a bid to determine the places where people can drink alcohol.

In another example of the far reaching effects of the AKP’s views on alcohol, the owner of a street buffet was recently beaten by municipal police in the Kecioren district of Turkish capital of Ankara, for refusing to discontinue the sale of alcohol despite threats from officials.

The alcohol sale ban is currently being implemented at several public institutions at 62 provinces out of Turkey's total 81 provinces. According to a research study conducted in September by Nielsen, the number places selling alcohol sell fell 12.3 percent since 2005.

The AKP government has also increased taxes on alcohol.