Turkish police retreat from Istanbul square
Source: Agencies |
June 2, 2013, Sunday
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TURKISH police began to retreat from a main Istanbul square yesterday, taking away barricades and allowing in tens of thousands of protesters in an apparent move to end tensions from two days of anti-government protests.
Some protesters hurled objects at withdrawing officers and police vehicles, prompting officers to fire several rounds of tear gas to push back the crowds and resumed pulling out of Taksim Square, the private Dogan news agency reported.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said the protesters threw fireworks at police.
Earlier, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on demonstrators to end their protest, but remained defiant.
He said the government would press ahead with the redevelopment plans at Taksim that sparked the demonstrations.
In a televised speech, Erdogan said police may have used tear gas excessively while confronting protesters and said this would be investigated. But he said the protesters didn't represent the majority and accused them of raising tensions.
The protests grew out of anger at heavy-handed police tactics on Friday to break up a peaceful sit-in by people trying to protect a park in Taksim Square from government plans to revamp the area. Officials say the plans include building a shopping mall and the reconstruction of a former Ottoman army barracks.
The park demonstration turned into a wider protest against Erdogan and spread to other Turkish cities despite the court decision to temporarily halt the demolition of the park.
At Taksim, protesters chanted slogans against Erdogan's government and called on him to resign.
In the capital, Ankara, police clashed with protesters who gathered at a park close to Erdogan's office.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the protests had reached a "worrisome level" and called on authorities and the demonstrators to act with restraint.
"We have become one fist," 33-year-old Ataman Bet said as he swept up shattered glass outside his small coffee shop near Taksim.
He noted that the protesters stemmed from across the political spectrum, and even included Erdogan's supporters.
"People are angry, I am so proud of them," he said, calling the damage to his shop a "necessary sacrifice."
The Istanbul protest began as a peaceful sit-in at Excursion Park across the iconic square. The demonstrators had been preventing workers from razing the last patch of trees in the commercial area to make way for the restoration of Ottoman era military barracks. Residents fear that the barracks would be turned into a shopping mall.
But it soon took a violent turn, with police firing rounds of tear gas to disperse the protesters.
"We were sitting there around the square and reading a press statement when the police came toward us with riot vehicles, spraying gas," said one of the protesters, 34-year-old Burak Ozbey.
He said his friend had undergone brain surgery after she was hit in the head on Friday by a gas canister and remains in critical condition.
Local media reported that Istanbul police were running short of tear gas supplies, and that the units had been warned to use the gas sparingly.
Some protesters hurled objects at withdrawing officers and police vehicles, prompting officers to fire several rounds of tear gas to push back the crowds and resumed pulling out of Taksim Square, the private Dogan news agency reported.
The state-run Anadolu Agency said the protesters threw fireworks at police.
Earlier, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on demonstrators to end their protest, but remained defiant.
He said the government would press ahead with the redevelopment plans at Taksim that sparked the demonstrations.
In a televised speech, Erdogan said police may have used tear gas excessively while confronting protesters and said this would be investigated. But he said the protesters didn't represent the majority and accused them of raising tensions.
The protests grew out of anger at heavy-handed police tactics on Friday to break up a peaceful sit-in by people trying to protect a park in Taksim Square from government plans to revamp the area. Officials say the plans include building a shopping mall and the reconstruction of a former Ottoman army barracks.
The park demonstration turned into a wider protest against Erdogan and spread to other Turkish cities despite the court decision to temporarily halt the demolition of the park.
At Taksim, protesters chanted slogans against Erdogan's government and called on him to resign.
In the capital, Ankara, police clashed with protesters who gathered at a park close to Erdogan's office.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said the protests had reached a "worrisome level" and called on authorities and the demonstrators to act with restraint.
"We have become one fist," 33-year-old Ataman Bet said as he swept up shattered glass outside his small coffee shop near Taksim.
He noted that the protesters stemmed from across the political spectrum, and even included Erdogan's supporters.
"People are angry, I am so proud of them," he said, calling the damage to his shop a "necessary sacrifice."
The Istanbul protest began as a peaceful sit-in at Excursion Park across the iconic square. The demonstrators had been preventing workers from razing the last patch of trees in the commercial area to make way for the restoration of Ottoman era military barracks. Residents fear that the barracks would be turned into a shopping mall.
But it soon took a violent turn, with police firing rounds of tear gas to disperse the protesters.
"We were sitting there around the square and reading a press statement when the police came toward us with riot vehicles, spraying gas," said one of the protesters, 34-year-old Burak Ozbey.
He said his friend had undergone brain surgery after she was hit in the head on Friday by a gas canister and remains in critical condition.
Local media reported that Istanbul police were running short of tear gas supplies, and that the units had been warned to use the gas sparingly.
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