Protesters flood the streets on their way to reoccupy Taksim Square, Istanbul. Still from video by Memento Mori
Protesters have reoccupied Taksim Square in Istanbul following a police withdrawal after two days of protests left 53 civilians and 26 policemen injured, with nearly 1000 people arrested.
The protests began as an attempt to prevent the building of a shopping mall on Gezi Park, at Taksim Square in Istanbul, a popular place for rallies and protest marches over the years. Violence erupted from these peaceful protests after police began destroying and setting fire to the tents of protesters, and then fired tear gar, pepper spray. and high pressure water cannons at the increasing crowds.
As the heavy hand of the law came down on protesters in Gezi Park, Istanbul, other protests emerged across the country, notably in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Far from protecting a historical site, the protests had evolved into anti-government marches, with people discontent with the authoritarian style of the AKP government led by prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. They blame the government for imposing Islamic values on the country and taking away their personal freedoms.
After the police withdrawal, many of the protesters spoke of a carnival atmosphere in Taksim Square, with people likening the situation the Tahrir Square in Egypt in the height of the Arab Spring. Following the Egyptian example, and with similarities to the occupy movement, the protesters have been clearing rubbish from the square and cleaning the park and cooking food for each other.
Solidarity cleans the park where #occupygezi began via @Hasanfehmier http://t.co/3wMPgqfO50 @yahyabostan #Turkey
— Erdinc Ergenc (@erdierge) June 2, 2013
ppl sharing food at #GeziPark #Taksim #occupygezi #bubirsivildireniş #direngeziparki #Turkey” pic.twitter.com/2zO0lanEVC
— duygu demirdag (@duygudemirdag) June 2, 2013
Mr Erdgogan previously called referred to the protesters as “extremists” and “terrorists”, but after the failure of police action to disperse the protesters, and with the world watching, Mr Erdogan has offered to talk with protesters about their issues with his government. Currently, no clear leader of the demonstrators has yet emerged, but thousands of people continue to flood the streets.
People on their way to Taksim, literally flooding the streets #occupygezi via @kenankaya2 pic.twitter.com/mx8cistg7R
— Banu Akdenizli (@banuakdenizli) June 2, 2013
Videos of the protests:
