Urgent steps must be taken by the Turkish authorities to prevent further deaths and injuries and allow protesters access to their fundamental rights, as well as ensuring the security of all members of the public, Amnesty International said following reports of more than 1,000 injuries and at least two deaths of protesters in Istanbul. Amnesty International kept its office, which [...] → Read the full article…
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) emerged as a source of hope in 2001 amidst an atmosphere of chaos and instability in Turkey. The Turkish public was so fed up with long years of coalition governments, deteriorating economy and anti-democratic interventions in politics by non-civilian forces that within a short period of time, the AK Party garnered the [...] → Read the full article…
Istanbul 6th Administration Court suspended the Topçu Barracks Project – publicly known as the planned construction of a shopping mall at Taksim Gezi Park in downtown Istanbul. Istanbul 6th Administration Court suspended the Topçu Barracks Project – publicly known as the planned construction of a shopping mall at Taksim Gezi Park in downtown Istanbul. Acting upon a motion from Taksim [...] → Read the full article…
Locals of many Turkish cities came out to show their solidarity to Taksim Gezi Park protesters and express their outrage at the police’s brutal raids May 31, organizing several protests across the country. Most notably, Ankara locals gathered in Kuğulu Park, their own little patch of green in the center of the city. Another group of 2,000 people that gathered at the [...] → Read the full article…
On Wednesday, the 560th anniversary of İstanbul’s conquest by the Ottomans, actor Devrim Evin, who starred as Mehmet the Conqueror (Fatih) in the 2012 movie “Fetih 1453,” turned down an invitation by the city of İstanbul to join the traditional ceremonies. Evin’s decision was surely a surprise to local authorities. I don’t know what else we could expect him to [...] → Read the full article…
Taksim Dayanışması, a solidarity group, reiterated its position against the construction in Taksim Gezi Park, claiming that the City Preservation Council requested stakeholder municipalities to investigate the legal grounds of the ongoing construction. Starting from the night of May 27, dozens of volunteers resumed their patrols around Taksim Gezi Park – one of the few remaining green spots in downtown [...] → Read the full article…
Police and dozers have left Taksim Gezi Park, as BDP deputy Sırrı Sureyya Önder and CHP Party Assembly member Gülseren Onanç arrived to the construction area demanding proper deconstruction licenses. Police and dozers have left Taksim Gezi Park – one of the only remaining green spots in downtown Istanbul that is reportedly under the risk of a mall construction – [...] → Read the full article…
As Taksim Gezi Park, the last remaining green spot in Istanbul’s busy downtown, faced threats by urban renewal projects, locals have taken action to turn the park into city’s new alternative culture hub. Predominantly male-populated regulars in Taksim Gezi Park – the last remaining green spot in Istanbul’s busy downtown – were unable to hide their astonishment, as a group [...] → Read the full article…