Turkish police seal square from protesters
Source: Agencies |
June 17, 2013, Monday
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POLICE fired tear gas on thousands of defiant protesters attempting to converge on central Istanbul's Taksim Square yesterday, as the government maintained a hard line against rekindled demonstrations.
Across the city, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's supporters gathered in their thousands for a campaign-style rally as he sought to galvanize his base following weeks of anti-government protests.
Police sealed off Taksim Square and adjacent Gezi Park, which riot police cleared of thousands of protesters in a swift but muscular operation on Saturday evening. Crews worked through the night to remove all traces of a sit-in that started more than two weeks ago and became the focus of the strongest challenge to Erdogan in his 10 years in office.
Istanbul's governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said the square was off-limits to the public for the time being, and nobody would be allowed to gather.
Huseyin Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, told NTV that the sit-in had to end.
"They had made their voice heard ... Our government could not have allowed such an occupation to go on until the end," he said.
Alican Elagoz, a spokesman for the protesters, said: "We will win Taksim Square again and we will win Gezi Park again."
A call went out for another demonstration in the square for yesterday afternoon, but the area was surrounded by a tight police cordon and passers-by were subjected to identity checks and bag searches.
Protesters trying to reach the area were stuck on side streets and in nearby neighborhoods in a blanket of tear gas. They piled into cafes and restaurants, where waiters clutched napkins to their faces.
Stone-throwing youths and riot police clashed in a neighborhood next to the Taksim area. Television footage showed police deploying two water cannon trucks against the youths, standing near a flaming barricade blocking the street. Rocks littered the roadway.
In a district about 10 kilometers from Taksim, Erdogan, who has repeatedly insisted the protests are part of a plot by bankers and foreign media to destabilize Turkey, was preparing to deliver a speech at a political rally.
A similar speech in Ankara before Saturday's raid was attended by tens of thousands of supporters who cheered him as he warned protesters that security forces "know how to clear" the area.
The protests in Istanbul began as an environmental sit-in to prevent a development project at Gezi Park, but anger over a violent crackdown there on May 31 quickly spread to dozens of cities and spiraled into a broader expression of discontent with what many say is Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian decision-making.
He vehemently denies the charge, pointing to the support that helped him win a third consecutive term with 50 percent of the vote in 2011. The protests have left at least five people dead, including a police officer, according to a Turkish rights group, and more than 5,000 injured.
In clashes that lasted through Saturday night and into yesterday morning in Istanbul, protesters set up barricades and plumes of tear gas rose in the streets. Television footage showed police detaining medical personnel who had been helping treat injured protesters, leading them away with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
In Ankara, the capital, police ratcheted up the pressure in the early afternoon, firing water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas at central Kizilay Square. At least four people were injured.
Across the city, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's supporters gathered in their thousands for a campaign-style rally as he sought to galvanize his base following weeks of anti-government protests.
Police sealed off Taksim Square and adjacent Gezi Park, which riot police cleared of thousands of protesters in a swift but muscular operation on Saturday evening. Crews worked through the night to remove all traces of a sit-in that started more than two weeks ago and became the focus of the strongest challenge to Erdogan in his 10 years in office.
Istanbul's governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said the square was off-limits to the public for the time being, and nobody would be allowed to gather.
Huseyin Celik, a spokesman for Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, told NTV that the sit-in had to end.
"They had made their voice heard ... Our government could not have allowed such an occupation to go on until the end," he said.
Alican Elagoz, a spokesman for the protesters, said: "We will win Taksim Square again and we will win Gezi Park again."
A call went out for another demonstration in the square for yesterday afternoon, but the area was surrounded by a tight police cordon and passers-by were subjected to identity checks and bag searches.
Protesters trying to reach the area were stuck on side streets and in nearby neighborhoods in a blanket of tear gas. They piled into cafes and restaurants, where waiters clutched napkins to their faces.
Stone-throwing youths and riot police clashed in a neighborhood next to the Taksim area. Television footage showed police deploying two water cannon trucks against the youths, standing near a flaming barricade blocking the street. Rocks littered the roadway.
In a district about 10 kilometers from Taksim, Erdogan, who has repeatedly insisted the protests are part of a plot by bankers and foreign media to destabilize Turkey, was preparing to deliver a speech at a political rally.
A similar speech in Ankara before Saturday's raid was attended by tens of thousands of supporters who cheered him as he warned protesters that security forces "know how to clear" the area.
The protests in Istanbul began as an environmental sit-in to prevent a development project at Gezi Park, but anger over a violent crackdown there on May 31 quickly spread to dozens of cities and spiraled into a broader expression of discontent with what many say is Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian decision-making.
He vehemently denies the charge, pointing to the support that helped him win a third consecutive term with 50 percent of the vote in 2011. The protests have left at least five people dead, including a police officer, according to a Turkish rights group, and more than 5,000 injured.
In clashes that lasted through Saturday night and into yesterday morning in Istanbul, protesters set up barricades and plumes of tear gas rose in the streets. Television footage showed police detaining medical personnel who had been helping treat injured protesters, leading them away with their hands cuffed behind their backs.
In Ankara, the capital, police ratcheted up the pressure in the early afternoon, firing water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas at central Kizilay Square. At least four people were injured.
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