Category Archives: News

Amnesty International: Turkey – Fresh protests spark fears over pending tear gas shipments

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All countries should suspend shipments of tear gas, armoured vehicles and other riot control projectile equipment to Turkey until the Turkish authorities can guarantee protesters’ right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, Amnesty International said.  (c) Eren Aytuğ / Nar Photos The call comes as police have again abusively used large amounts of tear gas and water cannon to [...] → Read the full article…

Bianet: A Least 8 Journalists Injured in Ahmet Atakan Protests

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Several journalists were subjected to police violence in Ahmet Atakan protests across Turkey last night. At least 8 journalist were reportedly injured. Various journalist associations in Turkey protested. A policeman pointing his gas bomb launcher at journalist Ahmet Şık at close distance on Tuesday in Taksim. Several journalists were subjected to police violence in Ahmet Atakan protests across Turkey last [...] → Read the full article…

The New York Times: Let the Blames Begin – Andrew Finkel

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The promotional video the Turkish government showed the I.O.C. for Istanbul’s Olympic bid depicted cappuccino-drinking young executives, out jogging, flirting and having fun – exactly those Turks who had rallied to save Gezi Park and were pleased to see Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Olympics pitch turned down. The government seems unable to deal with dissent from this freer-thinking urban professional class other [...] → Read the full article…

Al Jazeera: Demonstrator’s death stirs protests in Turkey

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Dissident groups stage demonstrations after death of 22-year-old man during clashes with police in country’s southeast. Anti-government protesters have gathered in Turkey after a demonstrator died during a protest in the southeastern province of Hatay. Hundreds of demonstrators marched to Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Tuesday after Taksim Solidarity Platform, an umbrella group of Turkish dissidents, called for a gathering to mark the death [...] → Read the full article…

BirGün: My son resisted for his people

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Ahmet Atakan, using his constitutional right to protest in Hatay Armutlu, was killed after being hit on the head by a tear gas canister fired by the police at short range. His family talked to BirGün. The father Ali Atakan asks the authorities to punish the murderers of his son: “We didn’t raise these children so that the state could [...] → Read the full article…

Bianet: Ahmet Atakan’s Preliminary Autopsy

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“There is no evidence that supports Ahmet Atakan’s death with fall. How does the governor know his cause of death?” said Hatay Chamber of Medicines Chairman Selim Matkap after attending METU Resistance protestor Ahmet Atakan’s autopsy early this morning. Early this morning, an autopsy has been made on Ahmet Atakan (23), a METU Resistance protestor who died due to a [...] → Read the full article…

Joint Declaration by Alevi organizations

Joint Declaration by Alevi organizations in Turkey, Europe, North America and Australia to the world and Turkish public  The Turkish media are reporting the presence of proposals relating to the Alevi community in the so-called “democratization package” that is currently being prepared by the AKP government. As much as we can gather from the media, these proposals – presented as [...] → Read the full article…

Firat News: Protesters in Tuzluçayır terrorized by police

Clashes between demonstrators and police are continuing since yesterday in the neighborhood of Tuzluçayır in Ankara’s Mamak district. People are protesting against a government project, a mosque-djemevi combination, which locals see as an assimilation project against Alawi minorities, a joint organization by Fethullah Gülen and Cem Association. Thousands of people gathered in the neighborhood to protest the construction after its [...] → Read the full article…

Bianet: Police Attacks “Justice” Demonstration

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Police broke up protestors in Istanbul’s Okmeydani district who gathered to demand justice for B.E. (14), a Gezi Resistance demonstrator in coma for 86 days. While 10 demonstrators and 1 policeman were injured, 5 were detained including 3 children. Among injured protestors included Mete Diş, a cancer patient. Police broke up protestors in Istanbul’s Okmeydani district who started a “justice [...] → Read the full article…

The New York Times: Madrid and Istanbul Respond Differently to Rejection by Olympics

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Madrid, whose population, hit hard by record unemployment and a long recession, had rallied around the idea that the Games could help create jobs and revive the image and economy of Spain. In contrast, large groups of people in the central Taksim district in Istanbul celebrated their city’s Olympic defeat on Saturday night. They argued that the Turkish government had tried [...] → Read the full article…