http://rt.com/news/protesters-reclaim-taksim-clashes-549/
Riot police have fired volleys of tear gas as thousands of protesters are trying to reclaim Taksim after being forced out in fierce clashes with law enforcement. Thick smoke blankets the square.
Turkish riot police are driving thousands into narrow side streets, Reuters report citing witnesses, with water cannon vehicles advanced across the square. Struggling to disperse the crowd, riot police water- cannoned a disabled protester who was unable to leave Taksim.
Turkish riot police clear Istanbul square | ||
Tear gas and water cannon used in Taksim Square to remove protesters who accuse the PM of overreaching his authority.
Last Modified: 11 Jun 2013 23:28
     | ||
| Riot police using tear gas and water cannon have removed protesters from Istanbul's Taksim Square, reoccupying the heart of Turkey's biggest city just hours after Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, demanded an immediate end to 10 days of demonstrations. Meanwhile, riot police clashed with protesters in Kizilay, the government quarter of the capital, Ankara, firing tear gas. The police intervention on Tuesday night came as some 5,000 people took to the streets in Ankara's business district chanting: "Government, resign!" Earlier, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, Istanbul's governor, appeared on television declaring that police operations would continue day and night until Taksim Square - focus of demonstrations against Erdogan - was cleared.
Police fired volleys of tear-gas canisters into a crowd of thousands - people in office clothes as well as youths in masks who had fought skirmishes throughout the day - scattering them into side streets and nearby hotels. Water cannon swept across the square targeting stone-throwers in masks. Day of violence The protesters, who accuse Erdogan of overreaching his authority after 10 years in power and three election victories, filled the steep narrow lanes that lead down to the Bosphorus waterway that divides Istanbul into Asian and European quarters. Many drifted gradually back into Taksim Square and lit bonfires, only to be scattered by more tear gas. Erdogan had earlier called on protesters to stay out of the area, where a heavy-handed police crackdown on a rally against development of the small Gezi Park abutting the square touched off a wave of protest. Gezi Park has been turned into a ramshackle settlement of tents by leftists, environmentalists, liberals, students and professionals who see the development plan as symptomatic of overbearing government. The protests, during which demonstrators used fireworks and petrol bombs, have posed a challenge to Erdogan's authority and divided the country. Protesters accuse Erdogan of authoritarian rule and some suspect him of ambitions to replace the secular republic with an Islamic order, something he denies. Western allies have also expressed concern about the troubles in an important NATO ally bordering Syria, Iraq and Iran. Victor in three consecutive elections, Erdogan says the protests are engineered by vandals, terrorist elements and unnamed foreign forces. Despite the protests, he remains unrivalled as a leader in his AK Party, in parliament and on the streets. His critics, who say conservative religious elements have won out over centrists in the AK Party, accuse him of inflaming the crisis with unyielding talk. Erdogan, who denies accusations of authoritarian behaviour, declared he would not yield. "They say the prime minister is rough. So what was going to happen here? Were we going to kneel down in front of these [people]?" Erdogan told a meeting of his AK Party's parliamentary group. as action to clear Taksim Square began. "If you call this roughness, I'm sorry, but this Tayyip Erdogan won't change." In an indication of the impact of the protests on investor confidence, the central bank said it would intervene if needed to support the Turkish lira. The lira, already suffering from wider market turmoil, fell to its weakest level against its dollar/euro basket since October 2011. The cost of insuring Turkish debt against default rose to its highest in 10 months, although it remained far from crisis levels. "A comprehensive attack against Turkey has been carried out," Erdogan said in his speech. "The increase in interest rates, the fall in the stock markets, the deterioration in the investment environment, the intimidation of investors - the efforts to distort Turkey's image have been put in place as a systematic project." The police moved back into Taksim Square a day after Erdogan agreed to meet protest leaders involved in the initial demonstrations over development of the square. "I invite all demonstrators, all protesters, to see the big picture and the game that is being played," Erdogan said. "The ones who are sincere should withdraw ... and I expect this from them as their prime minister." Turkey's Medical Association said that as of late Monday, 4,947 people had sought treatment in hospitals and voluntary infirmaries for injuries, ranging from cuts and burns to breathing difficulties from tear-gas inhalation, since the unrest began more than 10 days ago. Three people have died. | ||
Source:
Al Jazeera and agencies
| ||
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-06-11/turkish-riot-police-storm-taksim-square-central-banks-warns-intervention-due-extreme
Turkish Riot Police Storm Taksim Square, Central Banks Warns Of Intervention Due To Extreme Market Volatility
Over a week into "Occupy Taksim", the Turkish situation is nowhere near resolution. In fact, judging by the capital markets response to news that hundreds of police stormed Taksim Square this morning using tear gas to disperse protesters, where the Turkish lira declined overnight to the weakest level since December 2011, bond yields dropped 29 bps, Turkish CDS rose wider than Russia, and where even the central bank has warned it may start engaging in tightening operations, things are going to get much worse. Finally, a big demonstration is due in a few hours: will Taksim Square June 2013 be the "Waddel and Reed/May 2011" Syntagma Square flash crash equivalent? Find out shortly.
More from Reuters:
Turkish riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of protesters armed with rocks and fireworks on Tuesday as they tried to take back control of a central Istanbul square at the heart of fierce anti-government demonstrations.Hundreds of riot police backed by armored vehicles surrounded Taksim Square as bulldozers began removing barricades of paving stones and corrugated iron built by the protesters. What began as a protest at redevelopment plans for the square has grown into an unprecedented challenge to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government and divided Turks.The unrest has damaged investor confidence in Turkey, previously an emerging market success story. The central bank said it would intervene if needed to support the lira, after the currency fell to its weakest against its dollar/euro basket since October 2011. The cost of insuring Turkish debt against default rose to the highest in ten months, although it remained far from crisis levels.The police move, shortly after dawn, came a day after Erdogan agreed to meet protest leaders, whose peaceful demonstrations two weeks ago spiraled into anti-government protests in cities across the country in which three people have been killed and about 5,000 hurt.Police removed huge banners hung by protesters from a building overlooking Taksim but the local governor said they had no intention of breaking up a peaceful campaign against government redevelopment plans inside the adjoining Gezi Park, where the demonstrations first began."Our aim is to remove the signs and pictures on the Ataturk statue and the Ataturk Cultural Centre. We have no other aim," Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu wrote on Twitter.
| ||
Police seek to cleanse Istanbul centre of "signs of occupation", as PM calls on Gezi Park protesters to disperse.
Last Modified: 11 Jun 2013 11:16
| ||
| A defiant Turkish prime minister has called on protesters in Istanbul's Gezi Park to disperse, hours after police moved into the adjoining Taksim Square, the cradle of ongoing demonstrations against his government. Addressing party MPs on Tuesday, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the ongoing protests targeted Turkey's image and economy. Hours earlier, the police backed by armoured vehicles and wielding shields, moved past barricades set up by protesters, and blocked all exits as small groups of demonstrators fought back against the early morning intervention. Protesters responded by throwing stones, petrol bombs and fireworks. Taksim Square has been at the heart of anti-government demonstrations over the past two weeks. The protests were intially triggered by opposition to government plans for redeveloping the Gezi Park adjoining the square, before escalating into nationwide demonstrations against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A statement from Mutlu's office said the aim of the invervention was to remove the banners of various groups in the square, which were making it look as though it was under "occupation". This was "negatively affecting our country's image in the eyes of the world opinion and leading to reaction from within the society". Mutlu later said that police would only remain in the square to prevent anyone surrounding the Ataturk Cultural Centre and Republic Monument. Interior Minister Muammer Guler said 25 protesters had been taken into custody, and denied reports that "undercover cops" were among the protesters. Al Jazeera's Emre Rende in Istanbul said police claimed they were not targeting those who were there to resist the redevelopment of the park. He said police were repeating this statement on loudhailers: "People in Gezi Park, we will not hurt you or intervene. We want to help you", while telling protesters in Taksim Square to "stop throwing stones, stop throwing bottles and we will stop the teargas". In his address, the Turkish prime minister said that three young people had "lost their lives" in the protests, and a policeman had been "martyred". |
http://rt.com/news/police-turkey-taksim-square-505/
Turkish police oust Taksim protesters with tear gas as Erdogan cheers removal of ‘rags’
Published time: June 11, 2013 04:56
Hundreds of Turkish police clashed with protesters after taking over Taksim Square in Istanbul. The raid allowed removal of barricades and banners. PM Erdogan praised the troops for removing the ‘rags’ as he branded the revolutionary symbols.
Hundreds of security troops have arrived at the scene early morning. The square itself was mostly empty of protesters at the time.
The few protesters present at the square when police arrived were quickly dispersed with tear gas, eyewitnesses report. They retreated to neighboring areas and are launching sporadic assaults at police forces, being beaten back each time.
While the square itself saw relatively low level of violence during the first hours of the operation, the surrounding streets have become a place of serious confrontation, RT’s crew reports from the scene.
“There are serious clashes in the small streets surrounding the square. They are running after each other tossing stones, bottles and smoke grenades there. It’s a real meat grinder in there,” reports RT’s Ashraf El Sabbagh.
No comments:
Post a Comment