Turkey, crackdown on protests.....

mickeyrat

I wonder what country is next in the region?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... J920130531

(Reuters) - Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon on Friday at demonstrators in central Istanbul, wounding scores of people and prompting rallies in other cities in the fiercest anti-government protests in years.

Thousands of demonstrators massed on streets surrounding Istanbul's central Taksim Square, long a venue for political unrest, while protests erupted in the capital, Ankara, and the Aegean coastal city of Izmir.

Broken glass and rocks were strewn across a main shopping street near Taksim. Primary school children ran crying from the clouds of tear gas, while tourists caught by surprise scurried to get back to luxury hotels lining the square.

The unrest reflects growing disquiet at the authoritarianism of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Riot police clashed with tens of thousands of May Day protesters in Istanbul this month. There have also been protests against the government's stance on the conflict in neighboring Syria, a tightening of restrictions on alcohol sales and warnings against public displays of affection.

"We do not have a government, we have Tayyip Erdogan. ... Even AK Party supporters are saying they have lost their mind, they are not listening to us," said Koray Caliskan, a political scientist at Bosphorus University, who attended the protest.

"This is the beginning of a summer of discontent."

The protest at Taksim's Gezi Park started late on Monday after trees were torn up under a government redevelopment plan, but has widened into a broader demonstration against Erdogan's administration. Friday's violence erupted after a dawn police raid on demonstrators who had been camped out for days.

"This isn't just about trees anymore, it's about all of the pressure we're under from this government. We're fed up, we don't like the direction the country is headed in," said 18-year-old student Mert Burge, who came to support the protesters after reading on Twitter about the police use of tear gas.

"We will stay here tonight and sleep on the street if we have to," he said.

Thousands chanting for the government to resign gathered at a park in the center of Ankara, where police earlier fired tear gas to disperse several dozen opposition supporters trying to reach the AKP headquarters. Protesters also rallied at two locations in Izmir, according to pictures on social media.

EXCESSIVE FORCE

A Turkish woman of Palestinian origin was in a critical condition after being hit by a police gas canister, hospital sources said. The 34-year-old, who doctors had earlier identified as Egyptian, was undergoing an operation after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

A total of 12 people, including a pro-Kurdish MP and a Reuters photographer, suffered trauma injuries and hundreds suffered respiratory problems due to tear gas, doctors said.

Some people were injured when a wall they were climbing collapsed as they tried to flee clouds of tear gas.

Amnesty International said it was concerned by "the use of excessive force" by the police against what had started out as a peaceful protest. Ria Oomen-Ruijten, the European parliament rapporteur on Turkey, also voiced concern.

In Washington, the State Department said it was concerned with the number of injuries and was gathering its own information on the incident.

"We believe that Turkey's long-term stability, security and prosperity is best guaranteed by upholding the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association, which is what it seems these individuals were doing," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

Interior Minister Muammer Guler promised that allegations that police had used disproportionate force would be investigated.

Erdogan has overseen a transformation in Turkey during his decade in power, turning its economy from crisis-prone into Europe's fastest-growing. Per-capita income has tripled in nominal terms since his party rose to power.

He remains by far Turkey's most popular politician, and is widely viewed as its most powerful leader since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk founded the modern secular republic on the ashes of the Ottoman Empire 90 years ago.

DEFIANCE

But Erdogan brooks little dissent. Hundreds of military officers have been jailed for plotting a coup against him in recent years. Academics, journalists, politicians and others face trial on similar charges.

He has made no secret of his ambition to run for the presidency in elections next year when his term as prime minister ends, increasing opposition dismay.

"These people will not bow down to you" read one banner at the Gezi Park protest, alongside a cartoon of Erdogan wearing an Ottoman emperor's turban.

Postings on social media including Twitter, where "Occupy Gezi" - a reference to protests in New York and London last year - was a top-trending hashtag, and Facebook said similar demonstrations were planned for the next few days in other Turkish cities including Ankara, Izmir, Adana and Bursa.

"Kiss protests," in which demonstrators are urged to lock lips, had already been planned for Istanbul and Ankara this weekend after subway officials were reported to have admonished a couple for kissing in public a week ago.

Erdogan is pushing ahead with a slew of multibillion-dollar projects he sees as embodying Turkey's emergence as a major power. They include a shipping canal, a giant mosque and a third Istanbul airport billed to be one of the world's biggest.

Speaking a few miles (km) from Gezi Park at the launch on Wednesday of construction of a third bridge linking Istanbul's European and Asian shores, Erdogan vowed to pursue plans to redevelop Taksim Square.

Architects, leftist parties, academics, city planners and others have long opposed the plans, saying they lacked consultation with civic groups and would remove one of central Istanbul's few green spaces.

(Additional reporting by Murad Sezer, Osman Orsal, Umit Bektas, Can Sezer, Ece Toksabay, Asli Kandemir, Humeyra Pamuk and Lesley Wroughton; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Alistair Lyon and Peter Cooney)

brianlux

Oh man, this kind of freaks me out. My sister was or is in Istanbul very recently and we haven't heard from her for a few days- not that that in-of-itself is unusual. I'll be very nervous until I hear from her. It always unnerves the hell out of me when she goes to these exotic places though it shouldn't- this kind of activity is most often centrally located.

Sorry- this isn't really related to the thread. Carry on.

lukin2006

brianlux wrote:

Oh man, this kind of freaks me out. My sister was or is in Istanbul very recently and we haven't heard from her for a few days- not that that in-of-itself is unusual. I'll be very nervous until I hear from her. It always unnerves the hell out of me when she goes to these exotic places though it shouldn't- this kind of activity is most often centrally located.

Sorry- this isn't really related to the thread. Carry on.

hope you hear from your sister soon

Byrnzie

mickeyrat wrote:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... J920130531

"We believe that Turkey's long-term stability, security and prosperity is best guaranteed by upholding the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association [...] State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

I'm sure the Occupy Wall Street protestors would agree with that, right?

brianlux

lukin2006 wrote:

brianlux wrote:

Oh man, this kind of freaks me out. My sister was or is in Istanbul very recently and we haven't heard from her for a few days- not that that in-of-itself is unusual. I'll be very nervous until I hear from her. It always unnerves the hell out of me when she goes to these exotic places though it shouldn't- this kind of activity is most often centrally located.

Sorry- this isn't really related to the thread. Carry on.

hope you hear from your sister soon

Thanks, lukin2006. Reading this and the "Rising up in Turkiye" are a bit nerve wracking.

Sometimes the world seems like one giant wild fire where hot spots flair up suddenly or the winds of discontent blow flames from one place to the next.

SOLAT319

Byrnzie wrote:

mickeyrat wrote:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... J920130531

"We believe that Turkey's long-term stability, security and prosperity is best guaranteed by upholding the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association [...] State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

I'm sure the Occupy Wall Street protestors would agree with that, right?

Are you in China? You should know all about government crackdown on freedom of choice then...

Byrnzie

SOLAT319 wrote:

Byrnzie wrote:

mickeyrat wrote:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... J920130531

"We believe that Turkey's long-term stability, security and prosperity is best guaranteed by upholding the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association [...] State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

I'm sure the Occupy Wall Street protestors would agree with that, right?

Are you in China? You should know all about government crackdown on freedom of choice then...

Yeah. Still doesn't change the relevance of what I said.

mickeyrat

Byrnzie wrote:

mickeyrat wrote:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... J920130531

"We believe that Turkey's long-term stability, security and prosperity is best guaranteed by upholding the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association [...] State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

I'm sure the Occupy Wall Street protestors would agree with that, right?

with all due respect Byrnzie, I could give a shit what the state dept says right now.
Instead of offering opinion on whats going on over there with an islamist administration governing a secular society , your bias against anything american gov related has shown JimmyV's observation to be true.

I think we can agree whats said by any gov runs counter to what actions they generally take in the end.

Now, what do you have to offer about the situation instead of opinion on outside gov statements?

Byrnzie

mickeyrat wrote:

with all due respect Byrnzie, I could give a shit what the state dept says right now.
Instead of offering opinion on whats going on over there with an islamist administration governing a secular society , your bias against anything american gov related has shown JimmyV's observation to be true.

Because we should just ignore blatant hypocrisy when it raises it's head, right? Oh, and my comment doesn't prove Jimmy V's 'observation' to be true, because his 'observation' was that I'm prejudiced against America and all Americans, whereas you just said yourself that I'm biased 'against anything American government related'. So which is it?

Or am I just biased against white people? Am I a self-hating white person? Or...could it even be that this issue has nothing to do with my character? :think: Imagine that!

Actually though, I truly believe that I have a higher opinion of America than you and Jimmy V combined. It's just that I'm pretty sure that 'America' means something completely different to me than it does to you.
Just the fact that my being staunchly opposed to all forms of bigotry, hypocrisy, Nationalism, and governmental corruption and greed, causes you to consider me an Anti-American, and/or an anti-Semite, proves my point precisely.

mickeyrat wrote:

I think we can agree whats said by any gov runs counter to what actions they generally take in the end.

No, I don't think we can. Maybe in the run-up to an election, but it doesn't apply in general.

mickeyrat wrote:

Now, what do you have to offer about the situation instead of opinion on outside gov statements?

What do I have to offer about the situation? Not much more than you at the moment. But It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

dimitrispearljam

im not gonna ennter any political opinion here,but sucks and its sad see this violence..
the photos and the videos i watched,its like watching the same at my country the last 3 years for other political reasons here

dimitrispearljam

brianlux wrote:

Oh man, this kind of freaks me out. My sister was or is in Istanbul very recently and we haven't heard from her for a few days- not that that in-of-itself is unusual. I'll be very nervous until I hear from her. It always unnerves the hell out of me when she goes to these exotic places though it shouldn't- this kind of activity is most often centrally located.

Sorry- this isn't really related to the thread. Carry on.

i hope you have good news asap

brianlux

They must keep this sort of thing really isolated from tourists and travelers. My sister says she's fine but doesn't know what I'm talking about- and she's very politically and socially aware. I find it very strange that she is in the dark about all this. They're either isolated from events over there or not at liberty to say anything. I would guess most likely the former.

Byrnzie

brianlux wrote:

They must keep this sort of thing really isolated from tourists and travelers. My sister says she's fine but doesn't know what I'm talking about- and she's very politically and socially aware. I find it very strange that she is in the dark about all this. They're either isolated from events over there or not at liberty to say anything. I would guess most likely the former.

From what I've read there's been a total media blackout of these events in Turkey. The people there are relying on foreign media for information. But apparently most foreign media - except Al Jazeera - has been pretty slack to cover events as they're happening. I read that the most up-to-date reports are coming through on Facebook and twitter.

SOLAT319

Byrnzie wrote:

brianlux wrote:

They must keep this sort of thing really isolated from tourists and travelers. My sister says she's fine but doesn't know what I'm talking about- and she's very politically and socially aware. I find it very strange that she is in the dark about all this. They're either isolated from events over there or not at liberty to say anything. I would guess most likely the former.

From what I've read there's been a total media blackout of these events in Turkey. The people there are relying on foreign media for information. But apparently most foreign media - except Al Jazeera - has been pretty slack to cover events as they're happening. I read that the most up-to-date reports are coming through on Facebook and twitter.

CNN is only today waking up but following three days behind. They are talking about tear gas and water cannons while there were photos of Agent Orange containers proving that is being used by the police now. If people want to help, the best thing to do is to share info through social media right now.

dimitrispearljam

for the record,the greek media play the theme every day at news
its one of the main themes

badbrains

World Wide Suicide........

jumbojet

It is difficult to be secular and live under the rule of those for whom religion is the first and foremost thing.
A lot of people already experiencing these difficulties for a long time.

Add to that an ultra-authoritarian prime minister who thinks he has the right to do anything he wants.

And the mainstream local media acting unaware of events going on due to their fear from the rulers.

People just starting to feel they don't have any other way to show their complaints and they have nothing left to lose.

This is what is happening in my country.

All my friends are on the streets, telling stories of tear gas. I get in shock when I see those but I think I would be doing the same if I were there.

badbrains

jumbojet wrote:

It is difficult to be secular and live under the rule of those for whom religion is the first and foremost thing.
A lot of people already experiencing these difficulties for a long time.

Add to that an ultra-authoritarian prime minister who thinks he has the right to do anything he wants.

And the mainstream local media acting unaware of events going on due to their fear from the rulers.

People just starting to feel they don't have any other way to show their complaints and they have nothing left to lose.

This is what is happening in my country.

All my friends are on the streets, telling stories of tear gas. I get in shock when I see those but I think I would be doing the same if I were there.

You live in Russia? Sweet, my ancestors come from maikop and Nalchik. Adigha strong!

mikepegg44

Byrnzie wrote:

mickeyrat wrote:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... J920130531

"We believe that Turkey's long-term stability, security and prosperity is best guaranteed by upholding the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association [...] State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

I'm sure the Occupy Wall Street protestors would agree with that, right?

That turkey is better off with upholding fundamental freedoms of expression assembly and association?


I sure would think so. But I wasn't one of them so I can't really speak for the group.

Hope this gets settled quickly and the Turkish gov't opens up. I hate to see gov'ts hurting anyone, much less their own people.

jumbojet

badbrains wrote:

You live in Russia? Sweet, my ancestors come from maikop and Nalchik. Adigha strong!

Yes, for 6 years. I do not have Russian ancestors but my soon-will-be-born daughter will have.

morello

I heard from my friends in Istanbul today. One at the protests & then her brother as well. He says:
"I think there is nothing left to be worried about. The struggles came to an end except some minor cases. That was the most peaceful protest I have ever witnessed. Now things started to calm down.

Although I'm not sure about the exact number 4-5 people have lost their lives. The sad thing is we are still not confident about if the responsibles from those deaths will be judged and punished or how the renovation project of the park will be organised."

When I asked when their next election is & if this government maybe get voted out, he said:
"Next elections will take place in two years. Unfortunately the opposition is very weak and nobody likes them as well. If in this two years time the portrait of the opposition will not change, erdogans party will go on ruling"

jumbojet

morello wrote:

I heard from my friends in Istanbul today. One at the protests & then her brother as well. He says:
"I think there is nothing left to be worried about. The struggles came to an end except some minor cases. That was the most peaceful protest I have ever witnessed. Now things started to calm down.

Although I'm not sure about the exact number 4-5 people have lost their lives. The sad thing is we are still not confident about if the responsibles from those deaths will be judged and punished or how the renovation project of the park will be organised."

When I asked when their next election is & if this government maybe get voted out, he said:
"Next elections will take place in two years. Unfortunately the opposition is very weak and nobody likes them as well. If in this two years time the portrait of the opposition will not change, erdogans party will go on ruling"

Protests resume in the evening, after work.

At the moment, the priority is erdogan to resign. His party is supposed to stay in power as they have won the elections. With erdogan's resign, his plans for the park and other plans will also become null and void.

morello

^^ I hope they do get Edogan to resign then, although maybe the opposition will be worse, & before anymore lives are lost or any parks & much need green spaces are ruined.

Jason P

Jason P

This cop could fill out an application at UC Davis if the whole Turkey thing doesn't work out.

Sadly, I don't think that women is going to get a nice check down the road. :(