Demonstrator’s death stirs protests in Turkey

Dissident groups call for demonstrations after death of 22-year-old man in clashes with police in country’s southeast.

Tensions remain high in Hatay, a province of mixed ethnicities and religions that borders Syria [EPA]

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Anti-government protesters in Turkey have called for mass demonstrations after a Turkish protester died in a protest in the southeastern province of Hatay.

Ahmet Atakan, 22, died on Tuesday in a protest organised to show solidarity with students opposed to the construction of a road through a university in Ankara, the capital, but the cause of his death was in dispute.

Taksim Solidarity Platform, an umbrella group of Turkish dissidents, called for a gathering in Istanbul’s Taksim Square to mark the death of Atakan.

Several anti-government platforms also called for nationwide demonstrations in various cities including Ankara and Antakya.

Turkish police fire teargas to disperse hundreds in Istanbul

(Reuters) – Turkish police fired teargas in Istanbul on Wednesday to disperse several hundred people protesting against the police crackdown on last month’s anti-government demonstrations, local media reported.

Police blocked several hundred protesters in a busy street near Istanbul’s Taksim Square from marching in support of a teenage boy who is said to be in a coma after being hit in the head by a teargas canister during the unrest.

TV footage showed police vehicles firing water cannons and protesters running into side streets.

What started as a small protest against the planned redevelopment of the city’s Gezi Park triggered nationwide protests last month against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, accused by his critics of becoming increasingly authoritarian.

Five people died and thousands were injured in the anti-government unrest, which posed the biggest challenge to Erdogan’s decade-old rule.

While the protests have largely died down across the country, some isolated demonstrations have persisted in Istanbul and the capital, Ankara.

(Writing by Humeyra Pamuk; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)

 

Dozens held in Turkey, silent protester goes viral

(Reuters) – A lone, silent vigil by a man in Istanbul inspired copycat protests on Tuesday, as police detained dozens of people across Turkey in an operation linked to three weeks of often violent demonstrations against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan.

Overnight in Ankara, riot police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse hundreds of protesters who had gathered in and around the government quarter of Kizilay.

But in stark contrast to the recent fierce clashes in several cities, dozens of protesters merely stood in silence in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, inspired by a man who lit up social media by doing just that for eight hours in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Monday.

Erdogan in ‘final’ protest warning

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued a “final warning” to protesters to leave Gezi Park in central Istanbul.

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“Our patience is at an end. I am making my warning for the last time,” he said.

 

Clashes between police and protesters in the park and adjoining Taksim Square have continued for nearly two weeks.

 

Activists have said they will not leave until the government abandons plans to redevelop the park. Mr Erdogan’s party has proposed a referendum on the issue.

Turkey Protests: Police Use Teargas and Water Cannon to Clear Taksim Square

Dozens of lawyers dragged from peaceful protest at Istanbul’s main courthouse as riot police attempt to quash demonstrations

A protester throws a teargas canister back at riot police amid a violent struggle for control of Taksim Square in central Istanbul. Photograph: Murad Sezer/Reuters

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Riot police in Turkey deployed teargas and water cannon in Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on Tuesday in a swoop aimed at quashing two-week-old mass street protests against the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

As the police moved in on the nerve centre of the nationwide uprising, dozens of lawyers were dragged away from the city’s central courthouse in what appeared to be a flagrant abuse of human rights.

Istanbul residents accuse police of ‘massacre’ at protest against park demolition

Peaceful sit-in turns into furious anti-government rally after security forces crack down heavily on ‘Turkish Spring’ demonstrators hoping to save Gezi Park

A man runs as riot police use tear gas and pressurized water to quash a sit-in protest to try and prevent the demolition of trees at an Istanbul park, Turkey, Friday, May 31, 2013. Police moved in at dawn Friday to disperse the crowd on the fourth day of the protest against a contentious government plan to revamp Istanbul’s main square, Taksim. (AP Photo)

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ISTANBUL — Turkish riot police used tear gas and water cannons Friday to end a peaceful sit-in by hundreds of people trying to prevent trees from being uprooted in an Istanbul park. The dawn raid ignited a furious anti-government protest that took over the city’s main square and spread to other cities, culminating in what Turkish Facebook users described as a “massacre” which unfolded amid clouds of tear gas.

Police clash with demonstrators trying to mark May Day at Istanbul’s main square despite ban

Clashes erupt between police and protesters during May Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday May 1, 2013. The government, citing security reasons, banned a rally on Istanbul’s Taksim Square, which is undergoing major renovations. Police fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of demonstrators trying to break through barricades to access the square. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

Associated Press

ISTANBUL –  Violent clashes erupted between police and protesters in Istanbul on Wednesday, when hundreds tried to breach barricades and reach the city’s main square to mark May Day in defiance of a government ban.

Some demonstrators hurled stones, gasoline bombs and fireworks at riot police, who responded with tear gas as clashes broke out on side streets leading to Taksim Square.

The square is the city’s main hub and is currently undergoing a major facelift. The Turkish government banned celebrations at Taksim this year, citing construction safety risks.

Trade union groups, however, have vowed to mark May Day in Taksim, which is of symbolic importance to workers and left-wing groups. Dozens of protesters were killed there in 1977 when unidentified gunmen opened fire on May Day celebrators.

On Wednesday, subway, bus and ferry services across the Bosporus were partially suspended and bridges were closed down to prevent large groups from gathering in Taksim. Some 22,000 officers were deployed to police the city, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Throngs of demonstrators, waving flags and shouting anti-government slogans, still tried to access the square.

The Istanbul governor’s office said 20 protesters were arrested and at least two police injured during the clashes. The private Dogan news agency said at least two journalists were also hurt.

Wednesday’s clashes in Istanbul came after three years of relatively peaceful May Day festivities.

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Associated Press writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey contributed.

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