Turkey protests: Dangerous waters with no sign of compromise. 11 June 2013Last updated at 15:17 ET By Mark Lowen BBC News, Istanbul Police used tear gas to try to clear Taksim Square It began just after dawn on Tuesday: the thud of tear gas fired across Taksim Square in the biggest police operation here for over a week.
Arcs of water cannon were spewed towards protesters, some of whom responded with petrol bombs and bricks. For 12 days, the central square in Turkey's biggest city had been under the authority of a growing protest movement. All through the day, the game of cat and mouse continued. Once the police retreated, the protesters regrouped. I watched as telecoms trucks were set ablaze, black smoke fusing with the white plumes of tear gas into an acrid mix. Not listening What began as a demonstration by environmentalists has mushroomed into something far bigger: a fight by disparate groups for greater freedom in Turkey and a preservation of the country's secular order.
A protester tells Mark Lowen how tear gas felt like "a panic attack" “Start Quote.
Turkish Prime Minister’s Words Will Only Exacerbate Violence. Contact: Sharon Singh, ssingh@aiusa.org, 202-675-8579, @AIUSAmedia (WASHINGTON, D.C.) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced in a televised speech on Tuesday that he would no longer tolerate the protests that have shaken the country for nearly two weeks.
Andrew Gardner, Turkey researcher at Amnesty International who is currently in Istanbul, responded: "The Turkish Prime Minister has sought to declare the recent wave of protest over by personal diktat - this is not how the freedom of assembly works. Prime Minister Erdogan now bears personal responsibility for the violence that immediately followed his words. Peaceful protest must be respected and the international community must urge him to change tack to prevent further unnecessary bloodshed.
" Activists have now been protesting for nearly two weeks against the construction of a shopping center in Gezi Park adjacent to Istanbul’s Taksim Square, one of the last green spaces in the city. (3) Çağlayan Adliyesi'nde polis müdahalesi-Çağlayan police interve... Taksim'den 'olağandışı' bir direniş karesi. Radikal.com.tr - Gezi Parkı için başlayan eylemlerin 15. gününde, polisin sabah erken saatlerde başlayan müdahalesi, Taksim Meydanı ve çevresinde uzun aradan sonra yeniden çatışma görüntülerine yol açtı.
Pek çok noktada göstericilere gaz bombası atan ve tazyikli su sıkan polisin müdahaleleri saatler boyunca sürdü. Parkı korumak için çaba gösteren göstericiler ise gaz bombaları ve tazyikli suyla köşe kapmaca oynadılar. Bu esnada çok enteresan bir fotoğraf yansıdı kameralara. Doğan Haber Ajansı muhabiri Uğur Can'ın objektifine takılan görüntü de BDP bayrağı taşıyan bir genç, saçlarını, üzerinde Mustafa Kemal'in resmi olan bir Türk bayrağıyla örtmüş olan 70-80 yaşlarındaki bir kişinin elinden tutarak tazyikli sudan kaçmaya çalışıyor.
Tam o esnada bir başka gösterici ise, bu iki göstericiyi korumak istercesine, onların kaçmakta olduğu yöne doğru iki eliyle "Bozkurt" işareti yaparak protestosunu gerçekleştiriyor... The demands of the Committee of Taksim Gezi movement. Delivered to deputy of the PM on Wednesday, 5th June: the Committee of Taksim Solidarity announced the following demands on last Wednesday,5 June: 1) Taksim Gezi Park should be reserved as a park; so we demand authorities to declare that the existing project is cancelled and there will not be any further construction in Gezi Park, 2) The demolishing process of the cultural centre, Atatürk Kültür Merkezi, in Taksim square should be stopped, 3) The state’s officers who are responsible from police violence should resign, including the managers of the police forces and the governors in the cities of İstanbul, Ankara, and Hatay, 4) The tear gas and similar materials should be outlawed, 5) People who have been arrested during the resistance should be freed and the related governmental officers should declare that there will not be further investigations and penalties for those people, 6) All the restrictions about the freedom of speech should be removed.
More than 50 lawyers detained in Istanbul for supporting Gezi Park protests. ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News All 49 lawyers were subsequently released, Doğan news agency reported.
DHA photo Dozens of lawyers were detained for several hours by police at Istanbul’s Çağlayan Courthouse today for joining the Taksim Gezi protests, which have been raging across the country for 15 days now. A Special Forces Unit intervened in a protest being held inside the Çağlayan Courthouse, leading to a number of lawyers falling to the ground. This was the third such protest held by the lawyers to support the Gezi protesters in Taksim. Police Theatre crew badly plays in Taksim. Did you buy the open-air theatre in Taksim?
It was well played, but we didn’t buy it. It was a bit foggy, still we could see a few things. This morning (11/06/2013), police occupied Taksim Square on the excuse of “clearing out the area”. Suddenly, out of nowhere, some guys with professional gas masks appeared and started to throw stones and molotovs to the police. Ready… Begin. First things first: Government has no intention to step back. Seen that physical violence makes us more powerful, let alone dispersed, AKP has begun to organize a new plan. As for Gezi Park… Is it clear that the government had this brilliant idea and found the “marginals” inside us, based on the recent debates about organization flags in Gezi Park and the tension between TGB (a nationalist organization) and BDP (Kurdish party). 3- Why did the same announcer praise the “proportionate force of the police” while their cameraman was shooting as if they had no clue of what was coming?
Turkish police storm Taksim Square - Europe. Hundreds of Turkish police have stormed Istanbul's Taksim Square, the site of ongoing demostrations against the government.
Reuters news agency quoted witnesses as saying on Tuesday that police, backed by armoured vehicles, fired teargas to scatter small groups of protesters who have been occupying the square against plans to redevelop an adjoining park. O TOMA nasıl yandı? Turkey, Taksim, Occupygezi, Geziparki, Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Direngeziparkı, Geziparkı, Istiklal, Gezi, Tayyip, Taksim Square, Occupytaksim, Erdogan, Occupyturkey, Antalya, Direngeziparki, Direngezi, Wearegezi, Antakya, Adana, Gazi, Kizilay, Chapulling.
ChebilinkF24: Tear gas, fire, stun grenades, fireworks as police and protesters clash… Chaos in #Taksim square #Gezi #Turkey egemenmilli: RT @meachapulcu Police attacks in Taksim right now!
They r attacking children #anonymous #opturkey #direngeziparki … sirinest: Police used water tank even to a disabled citizen in Istanbul tonight! No humanity!! @CNN @BBCBreaking #direngeziparki otlukarinca: RT @YourAnonNews Before and after the police drowned central Istanbul in tear gas. Franklin Journal. Turkish police oust Taksim protesters with tear gas as Erdogan cheers removal of ‘rags’ Franklin Journal. The usage of Molotov Cocktails against cops when clearing Taksim Square on Tuesday in the morning has been reported everywhere in the world and gave Erdogan a new weapon.
Protesters consider a plot. Istanbul. NOTE: Here in Germany we have to look up for sources like Twitter, live-streams, YouTube and Facebook. We please you to write own articles about what is happening their in Istanbul. You are a witness and can describe on your own what you feel or what is happening. When police deployed special troops to clear Taksim Square in Istanbul, masked protesters have thrown Molotov Cocktails and stone on cops and burned down a police car. Protests on Taksim and in Gezi Park were peaceful last days. In Istanbul police arrested lawyers protesting in front of the palace of justice. The way how Erdogan is speaking about the protest now, the way how he is comparing the time ante clearing ("time of tolerance") and post clearing is a dangerous sign what may happen soon. #OpFax - Turkey.
Turkish police oust Taksim protesters with tear gas as Erdogan cheers removal of ‘rags’ Turkey protests: Riot police storm Taksim Square. 11 June 2013Last updated at 08:16 ET A protester in Taksim Square tells the BBC's Mark Lowen how tear gas felt like "a panic attack" Turkish riot police have cleared Istanbul's Taksim Square, which has been occupied by anti-government protesters for close to two weeks.
Police deployed water cannon and fired tear gas and rubber bullets, causing many protesters to flee the square into adjoining Gezi Park. Some activists hurled fireworks, fire bombs and stones at police. The unrest began after a crackdown on an environmental protest over Gezi Park's redevelopment. Continue reading the main story At the scene.