Turkish Protesters Clash With Riot Police After Erdogan Warns 'Tolerance' Has Ended (PICTURES)

[Valin]

HuffPo: 6/11/13

 

Turkish riot police have fired tears gas upon protesters in Taksim Square on Tuesday evening following a day of clashes between demonstrators and the authorities.

 

Protesters set fires in the square following the latest police advance, with Reuters reporting that many were forced into side streets to escape the choking gas. Running battles between hundreds of protesters and riot police are likely to continue into the night.

 

On Tuesday evening, Istanbul's governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said that police operations to clear the square would carry on. He warned: "We will continue our measures in an unremitting manner, whether day or night, until marginal elements are cleared and the square is open to the people."

 

 

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[Valin]

Latest from BBC

[Valin]

http://youtu.be/7EpM_ikrISY

[Valin]

Turkish protesters question Erdogan offer

6/12/13

 

ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

ISTANBUL — Turkey's government on Wednesday offered a first concrete gesture aimed at ending nearly two weeks of street protests, proposing a referendum on a development project in Istanbul that triggered demonstrations that have become the biggest challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 10-year tenure.

 

Protesters expressed doubts about the offer, however, and continued to converge in Taksim Square's Gezi Park, epicenter of the anti-government protests that began in Istanbul 13 days ago and spread across the country. At times, police have broken up demonstrations using tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets.

 

(Snip)

 

The referendum proposal came after Erdogan, who had been defiant and uncompromising in recent days, met with a group of 11 activists, including academics, students and artists, in Ankara. However, groups involved in the protests in Taksim and the park boycotted the meeting, saying they weren't invited and the attendees didn't represent them.

 

(Snip)

[Valin]

http://youtu.be/XIjWftzlnvs

[Valin]

Yesterday

 

 

BBC Video: Lawyers march on Taksim Square

6/12/13

 

Several hundred lawyers marched on Taksim Square to object to the brief detention of over 70 colleagues a day earlier.

[Valin]

Censorship and Police Brutality Mark Three Weeks of Turkish Protests

22 June 2013

 

This post originally appeared on the author's own blog, Azadolu.

 

It's been three weeks since massive protests started across Turkey. Since their start on May 31, the country has witnessed media censorship, police brutality, protests by the thousands and the deaths and injury of protestors. Here is the summary of past three weeks:

 

In the early stages of the demonstrations, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan defined protesters as Capulcu, which translates to looters from Turkish. This action backfired when protesters embraced the label. Protesters even made a music video by changing the lyrics of the song Everyday I am Shuffling to sound Everyday I am Capulcuing:

 

http://youtu.be/64q2GIqH7S8

 

Even though Turkish mainstream media self-censored the protests, social media was active and is still active in covering the protests. CNNTurk, NTV and Haberturk (the main news channels of Turkey) were all involved in self-censorship. After CNNTurk published a documentary about penguins instead of covering the protests, Twitter user emre erdem tweeted [tr] with sarcasm:

 

 

@emreerdem Memlekwt yerinden oynuyor CNNTURK'te penguen belgeseli var, medyamizi seveyim

 

The whole country is shaking, but there is a documentary about penguins on CNNTurk. Love our media

(Snip)