Former Greek PM urges Turkish students ‘not to give in,’ recalling Gezi Park protests

Former Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras spoke at Koc University’s graduation ceremony on June 29, concluding his speech with the slogan “Don’t give in,” which was famously used during Türkiye’s Gezi Park incident in 2013.

The protests began on May 27, 2013, when demonstrators gathered in Gezi Park to oppose plans to relocate trees for the Taksim Pedestrianization Project. By June, these demonstrations had spread nationwide and escalated into violent incidents aimed at toppling President Erdogan, who was Prime Minister at the time, and his government.

Tsipras’ remarks were also interpreted as a call for socialist groups in Türkiye to rise.

Referring to the Eastern Mediterranean, where there are significant tensions in Turkish-Greek relations, the former Greek Prime Minister recited lines from a poem by the socialist Turkish poet Nazim Hikmet and delivered a poignant message by saying: “The most beautiful sea is the one that has not yet been visited.”

Before coming to Türkiye, Tsipras attended a meeting of the Council of Europe, where they voted to transfer Varosha, a territory belonging to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, to the Greek Cypriot Administration of Southern Cyprus.

Tsipras also met with Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu before the ceremony at Koc University.