History is written at Gezi Park in İstanbul, in an unexpected way, at an unexpected moment and by unexpected people. And after the use of disproportionate force, the violence snowballed and spread to many cities and neighborhoods. Unbelievable things have happened. Unbelievable cases of violence took place. But what for? Wouldn’t it be nice if everything went as smooth as [...] → Read the full article…
We continue the testimonies of the youths: Today we talk with a daring young lawyer, a graduate of the Istanbul University, Faculty of Law. She has been part of the Gezi movement from the start both as a protester and as a lawyer. She tells us about her first-hand experience. Let’s listen to her What is your name? – Rozerin [...] → Read the full article…
GENEVA (18 June 2013) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Tuesday welcomed last week’s decision by the Turkish Government to put on hold further action on the Gezi Park development in Istanbul until there is a court decision, and then to submit the issue to a local referendum. She urged Turkey’s government and civil society to [...] → Read the full article…
You are never quite able to forget the first time you are teargassed. If you’re fortunate, you see the tear gas first being deployed and have enough time to make sure you avoid the canisters’ ballistic paths (police often aim for your head when firing them). Immediately after, the loud hiss of the gas pouring out of the cans drowns out every other [...] → Read the full article…
ÇGD, TGC, TGC (Journalist Unions and Associations) protested the police as they were detained, exposed to violence and prevented from doing their jobs. The protest of Journalism Associations took place as a reaction against the statements of the government targeting journalists, prevention of making news related to Gezi Parkı protest and the violent attacks of the police. Protesting the blocking [...] → Read the full article…
We deplore the recent crackdown of the Turkish government on its own citizens, the clearly unjustified use of tear gas, acts of force, gas canisters and smoke bombs that have resulted in a vast number of injuries, imperiling the lives of those who seek to exercise their basic freedoms of assembly and protest. This assault of the Turkish government on [...] → Read the full article…
Thousands of protesters gathered on the streets of the Turkish capital of Ankara yesterday in the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Clashes between security forces and demonstrators continued into this morning, as police fired tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. 16 June 2013 Source: http://www.itv.com
For the records: On Saturday 15 June, police who fired water cannons, sound bombs and tear gas was aware that there were many children and elderly people on site at Taksim. Unfortunately. I happen to sense some events in advance. It happened again. It was around 8:00 pm. I stayed at Gezi Park for about an hour and listened to [...] → Read the full article…
The course of the protests that started as a demonstration against the construction of a shopping mall in place of Gezi Park under the guise of building a replica of former Ottoman military barracks influenced people in different ways. As a Kaldıraç (a monthly revolutionary socialist magazine) poster hanging in Taksim says, “Now everyone has a resistance, solidarity and violence [...] → Read the full article…