Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

Yet another cloud of cs gas approaches and unlike those reporters I don't have a mask. That was the fourth time, and my lips and skin were starting to feel like they were burning and had no water left to wash it off with. It was time to leave.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

PS - the photos I've just posted are copyright and they should not be posted elsewhere.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

Do you live in Turkey Mr Cat?

No I don't.

[TomServo]

Re: Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

bell, have you been interacting with the protesters at all? Have you located any of the Armenian protesters?

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

bell, have you been interacting with the protesters at all? Have you located any of the Armenian protesters?

I briefly talked with some of the people at the Nor Zartonk group who had a tent (or rather a canopy) at the park. Will say more later. BTW, the tented settlement had street names - one was Hrant Dink Caddisi.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

America exporting its weapons for freedom.



Use it once in Syria against armed insurgents and it's a war crime, use it repeatedly, day after day, on civilians in a NATO country and its a case of "you'll be needing to buy a few thousand more cans of it to replenish your stocks".

[Haykakan]

Re: Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

'HATEFUL' SPEECH IN ISTANBUL: ERDOGAN THROWS FUEL ON FLAMES

By Maximilian Popp and Mirjam Schmitt

He cleared out Gezi Park with brutal violence, disparaged the
protesters as terrorists and railed against the foreign media. After
a brief conciliatory respite, Prime Minster Erdogan is inflaming the
conflict in Turkey once more. But the protest movement shows no signs
of backing down.

For a short time it looked as if Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan would relent, as if he had learned something from the revolt
against his government that has taken place over the past weeks.

In the middle of the week, he met with demonstrators who are commited
to the preservation of Istanbul's Gezi Park. He said that judges would
deliberate on the future of the controversial park and held out the
prospect of a referendum. Would Erdogan, the despot of the past two
weeks, transform himself into a mediator? Since Sunday night at the
latest, the answer has been a resounding no.

At a rally in Ankara on Saturday, Erdogan reiterated that he was
reaching the limits of his patience. After night fell, his security
forces put these words into force. They used bulldozers to clear out
Gezi Park, which had become a symbol of the resistance in recent days.

They chased protesters and beat them down with clubs, and they shot
tear gas into cafes and hotels as the people fled. Doctors who treated
the wounded were arrested.

But on Sunday, demonstrators in Turkey returned to the streets to
protest the government. At the same time Erdogan gave a memorable
speech in Istanbul. Liberal commentators described it as "frightening"
and "hateful."

Hundreds of thousands of Erdogan supporters who had been bussed in
from throughout the region gathered in a field along the coast. They
carried Turkish flags and portraits of the prime minister. Officials
with Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), including European
Union Affairs Minister Egemin Bagis, spurred on the crowd.

Erdogan Agitates Conflict

Then Erdogan took to the stage. His supporters chanted "Turkey!

Turkey!" as he raised his arms triumphantly. Of one thing there is no
doubt: The Turkish premier did not come to Istanbul as a mediator. And
it was conflict he was looking for -- not reconciliation.

Erdogan evoked a Turkish Empire, greeting his supporters in the
Balkans, in Angola and in Iraq. "Where is Sarajevo? Where is Gaza
tonight?" he called out. His voice cracked, and, at that moment, he
no longer seemed like the democratically elected prime minister of
one of the world's largest economies. Instead he struck the figure
of a crazed despot.

Erdogan then addressed the foreign media: "CNN, Reuters, leave us
alone with your lies!" he exclaimed. For days now, Erdogan has sought
to discredit the protests -- which began as a campaign against the
demolition of a park in Istanbul and expanded into a nationwide revolt
against the AKP-led government -- as a conspiracy conducted by foreign
powers. "These forces want to harm Turkey," he said.

Finally, he addressed the protesters directly, once again calling
them terrorists and plunderers. They aren't real Turks, Erdogan
said, adding that they should be handled with caution. "Those who
work against Turkey will tremble with fear," he warns, adding that
he will hold accountable any hotelier who hides these "terrorists."

Erdogan's speech may yet prove to be fateful for the leader. The
atmosphere is already charged, and now Erdogan is throwing more fuel
on the fire. Rather than reach out to the protesters, he disparages
them. But with each attack he is only driving more people out onto the
street. Early on, the protest proved effective at bringing together
citizens from various social backgrounds.

As Erdogan spoke on Sunday, young demonstrators in Istanbul watched
the speech on television -- students, artists, lawyers. They were
stunned and unable to believe their prime minister has denounced them
as enemies of the state.

"Istanbul, are we one? Istanbul, are we united? Istanbul, are we
brothers?" Erdogan shouted after nearly two hours. By this point,
a few kilometers away, tens of thousands of demonstrators had once
more gathered at Taksim Square. Despite the police and their clouds
of tear gas, the protesters continued to march and demand Erdogan's
resignation.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/turkey-protests-erdogan-agitates-conflict-in-istanbul-a-906118.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Turkish police tear gas anti-government protesters

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN TURKEY?

Interview with Turkish journalist Ozgun Ozcer

The riots between the demonstrators and the polece are still going on
in Istanbul and 350 people have been arrested so far. The society is
actually divided into two parts, those of the sympathizers of Erdoghan
and the protestors for the Gezi Park.

That's the unfortunate result, I'm afraid. Let's not forget that
the starting point was the preservation of Gezi Park, a little
patch of green in Taksim at the center of Istanbul, surrounded
by hotels and consulates. The location is important because it's
really where Istanbul's - hence Turkey's - heart beats and whatever
happens there happens in front of foreigners (tourists, journalist,
diplomats and so forth). It's impossible to hide anything. So at
first, those brutal, really ruthless police assaults had bridged
the social divide. There were lot of Justice and Development (AKP)
voters that showed sympathy on protesters' demands (basically to
preserve the park, to assure the freedom of assembly and investigate
those responsible for the violence). However, the violence and Prime
Minister Erdogan's harsh rhetoric sparked an understandable outcry and
triggered more polarization: Those who wanted to show their opposition
to the government took the streets asking the resignation of the
government, which I think led the AKP's own electorate to embrace more
their party. The Taksim Solidarity Platform, a local association that
launched the sit-in, lost the control of the situation because it is
itself composed of 116 small organizations. They did not have enough
weight to guide the future of the protests. So the result became as
you say, with pro-AKP that believe the police raids are legitimate
and that a conspiracy was cooking. Yet, in the beginning, the protest
by its nature was way open for the participation of AKP's electorate.

Can we say that everything going on in Turkey is a result of the
changes in the consciousness of the society and it confirms that
civil society is already formed in Turkey.

I hope so but let's not put the cart before the horse. Let's say
that a certain legitimacy for demonstrating for rights and freedoms
is appearing. I was at the park during the infamous dawn raid that
triggered the first big riots, the thing is those who came after are
also guilty of supporting those who have denied rights and freedoms
for decades - For example part of them would be against the Kurds
taking the streets and fighting for their rights. And will they stop
accusing us of treason when next year we will commemorate the 99th
year of Armenian Genocide? Let's cross our fingers they will.

Can the breaking up the demonstrators from the Tkasim Square have its
consequences? Can it become the beginning of general anger in Turkey?

Yes it can. There is a lot of "anger" as you say. But anger will only
lead to more polarization. The protesters need tolerance, which is not
"good friends" with anger. Hence tolerance with Kurds who were there
is not an easy task - the first politician to support the sit-in and
even come to the park and stop dozers demolishing trees was Sırrı
Sureyya Onder, from the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP). BDP
is the real political hero of the movement for instance, because they
took a big risk as they are at the same time assisting the government
to carry out the Kurdish peace process. This is something that many
well-educated but very nationalist protesters that took the streets
hardly swallow because for them BDP=PKK. So either they do swallow and
show tolerance for once to minorities or there would be polarization.

And by tolerance I mean gestures such as when the protesters that
formed a human chain to protect those who were performing their Friday
prayers at the park. This one was amazing.

Is it possible to stop this movement or is the society firm in its
actions?

The thing is: It's not a movement, at least not yet. It's a spontaneous
cry that says "it's enough" about the government intruding the private
life of individuals (on issues like abortion, caesarean, Erdogan's
insistence on having three kids, reforms on education, the latest
bill restricting alcohol sale to which you can add the crackdown of
May Day demos). If it wants to become a movement, well, first it has
to save the park from demolition because that's the starting point of
the protest - it almost succeeded as the government did step back in
the end. Second ensure freedom of assembly - for everyone, including
Kurds, and for every cause. You can then start to build on that.

Don't you think that it's a way to democracy, freedom? Will the public
be firm and struggle till the end?

Absolutely, the more streets are creative, the more politics will be
innovative and open-minded. People now know that protesting is fun
and demanding one's right is necessary. We already talk that a new
"generation 13" is born, like the generation 68 across Europe. And
yes there is a "but": They have to withhold themselves of being
judgmental. Because there are plural and any attempt to pulling it in
a certain side will create alienation and break the momentum. There
still were beautiful acts of solidarity that tells me there is
still enough material to create a more tolerant, more proactive,
more broad-minded society. Isn't that the purpose, after all?

Siranuysh Papyan 10:21 19/06/2013 Story from Lragir.am News:

http://www.lragir.am/index/eng/0/interview/view/30209