Tag Archives: Taksim Square

The Guardian: Erdoğan’s reaction to Turkey protests reveals ominous Putin parallels – Luke Harding

Leader is used to having things his own way but, civil society movement can no longer be suppressed, says Luke Harding The assault was as brutal as it was predictable. On Friday and Saturday Erdoğan had hosted a European Union meeting in Istanbul. Rumour had it that Turkey‘s prime minister would send in riot police to clear the demonstrators from Taksim Square [...] → Read the full article…

Hürriyet Daily News: Many injured as police enter Taksim Square to ‘clear banners’

Riot police have taken partial control of Taksim Square after entering the site around 7.30 a.m. and surrounded the Atatürk Statue following use of tear gas and pressurized water on the protesters. As of 11:30, a human chain had been formed to prevent the police from intervening, but was immediately dispersed by the officers. Crowds at the park do not come down [...] → Read the full article…

The Telegraph: Turkish opposition accuses Erdogan of dragging country ‘into the fire’

Turkey’s opposition leader accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of dragging the country “into the fire”, as anti-government protests that have seen three deaths entered their 11th day. “We are witnessing a prime minister who is trying to hold on to power by creating tensions,” Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party was quoted as saying by national [...] → Read the full article…

The Guardian: Erdoğan’s party rules out early elections as thousands defy call to end protest

Tens of thousands of Turks mass again in Taksim Square, where activists have been sleeping in tents and buses Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s AK party has ruled out early elections as tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators defied his call for an immediate end to protests. Hüseyin Çelik, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development (AK) party founded by [...] → Read the full article…

CNN: Turkish authorities arrest social media users; calls for Erdogan to resign continue- Michael Pearson and Gul Tuysuz

  Istanbul (CNN) – Thousands of people of all ages gathered Wednesday evening in Ugur Mumcu square in Antakya, a picturesque town in the Hatay province of Turkey. They chanted “Tayyip istifa!” or “Tayyip resign,” demanding that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan leave office. On nearly every street, CNN journalists heard pots and pans banging and saw security forces. The authorities, [...] → Read the full article…

MailOnline: Horrifying image of ‘woman in red’ being doused with pepper spray becomes symbol of Turkish protests

Photograph of woman turning from the pepper spray has become defining image of Turkey’s days of violent protest Women feel threatened by official promotion of the Islamic headscarf and concerns about women’s rights  Many have joined in the street fighting raging in Turkey since Friday British student Melisa Kenber said she was sprayed in the face for filming police during [...] → Read the full article…

The New York Times: Turkish Official Apologizes for Force Used at Start of Riots- Sebnem Arsu

Turkey’s deputy prime minister apologized on Tuesday for the “excessive violence” used by the police last week against demonstrators opposing the razing of an Istanbul park, the start of what later became nationwide protests against the pro-Islamic government. The deputy, Bulent Arinc, speaking at a news conference broadcast live from Ankara, appeared to be trying to ease mounting criticism after [...] → Read the full article…

THE WEEK: Dispatch from Istanbul: Occupy Gezi Park digs in – Ben Pomeroy

ISTANBUL, TURKEY — The occupation of Taksim Square and Gezi Park have hit the one-week mark, and the anti-government movement has fully taken hold in other big cities around the the country, including the capital, Ankara, and the southern city of Antakya, where heavy violence broke out last night between police and protesters. Nobody knows where the movement goes from [...] → Read the full article…

Reuters : Thousands take to streets in Turkey, clash with police

(Reuters) – Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Turkey’s four biggest cities on Sunday and clashed with riot police firing tear gas on the third day of the fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years. The din of car horns and residents banging pots and pans from balconies in support of the protests resonated across neighbourhoods in Istanbul [...] → Read the full article…