Saturday, July 6, 2013

Turkey next stop for Arab Summer ? Turkish police once again resort to tear gas and water cannons as fresh protests follow on the heels of Egypt's coup. Prime Minister Erdogan very displeased as the writing is on the wall - if a peaceful protest could topple Egypt's President morsi - who was democratically elected and then toppled by the Military ( with western approval as the West refuses to call a coup by that specific name ) , why can't peaceful protests topple Turkey's present leadership ?

Arab summer rolls on.....Now Turkey in focus


Turkish police fire teargas, water cannon to disperse Gezi park protesters

Published time: July 06, 2013 16:03
Edited time: July 06, 2013 17:03
Image from twitter.com @BerxwedanYARUK
Image from twitter.com @BerxwedanYARUK
Police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters gathering in Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday as they united to enter Gezi Park, which has been at the center of protests since the beginning of May.
Follow RT's live updates on protests in Turkey

The Taksim Solidarity Platform, which encompasses a vast collective of political groups, organized the march, calling for protesters to try and gain access, according to Reuters' witness reports. Istanbul’s governor had responded saying that any attempt to do so would be met with a police response.

The demonstration had been scheduled for 7 p.m. local time.
18:21 istiklal pic.twitter.com/mkKH3xtHRE
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The water cannon was reportedly deployed down side-streets close to the square. One side street, Istiklal, was the scene of tear gas deployment on June 22, when clouds were unleashed on crowds ushered away from the square. 
Image from twitter.com @idrisemen
Image from twitter.com @idrisemen
"The Constitution says that anyone can stage a demonstration without giving notification, but the legislation says that applying to the authorities for permission is mandatory. So nobody can say they exercise their constitutional rights. This is unlawful," Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu had told reporters in response to news of the protest.

"I can't allow a demonstration that I haven't permitted in advance,"
 he said.

Hürriyet TV muestra imágenes de 1 niña afectada por lacrimógenos.Represores contra todos en Estambul. ->> pic.twitter.com/nC42uPSXvY
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"Hurriyet TV shows images of one child affected by tear gas. Repressors against all," reads the tweet. 

bir kadin ilk mudahalenin ardindan yaralanarak yere dustu... pic.twitter.com/eWToPRjpFC
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Police intervene at İstiklal Avenue against Gezi protesters gathering to enter 'their park' again

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

A water cannon reuck fired at protesters gathered at the juncture of the İstiklal Avenue and the Taksim Square. DHA photo 
A water cannon reuck fired at protesters gathered at the juncture of the İstiklal Avenue and the Taksim Square. DHA photo
Police has intervened firing tear gas and water cannons against few thousands of protesters who were starting to gather at Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue ahead of a mass demonstration. The pedestrian İstiklal Avenue is one of the main junctions intersecting with Taksim Square, which is adjacent to Gezi Park.

Protesters dispersed as security forces chased them in the side streets, using intense tear gas. Ambulances were seen entering the area after the intervention.

Riot police officers were booed by the by-standers at the İstiklal Avenue. Metro access to Taksim Square has also been interrupted.

Protesters were organizing a "water fight" event in order to peacefully denounce police's repeated crackdowns using water cannons, which contain water mixed with the same chemical substances as the pepper spray, when security forces intervened.

The Taksim Solidarity Platform has called for a demonstration to "enter" the park today. However, the governor of Istanbul has warned that the protest would be unlawful and entail police intervention as no application has been made to the authorities.

Following the intervention, the Taksim Solidarity Platform gathered near Taksim Square to serve the notice of the Istanbul 1st Regional Court's June 6 decision, which canceled the controversial Taksim pedestrianization project and the Artillery Barracks project set to replace Gezi Park.

Some protesters argued that the police did not have the right of sealing the park off after the court ruling. Gürsel Tekin, the deputy head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also joined the protesters and negotiated with the police officers to prevent an intervention.

However, police started firing again water cannons just a few minutes after warning the protesters to disperse. Gürsel was reportedly affected by the crackdown.

Daily Hürriyet also reported that police started to make some detentions in the side streets.

The initiative argues that the Taksim Square pedestrianization project and the Artillery Barracks project have lost their legal grounds.

Taksim demo unlawful: Governor

A few hours earlier, the Istanbul governor had said that the demonstration was not authorized and would entail a police intervention.

"The Constitution says that anyone can stage a demonstration without giving notification, but the legislation says that applying to the authorities for permission is mandatory. So nobody can say they exercise their constitutional rights. This is unlawful," Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters today regarding the protest that was due to start at 7 p.m.

"I can't allow a demonstration that I haven't permitted in advance, I can't act unlawfully. So we won't allow these gatherings. Our police will warn. We believe that an significant part will leave the place after these warnings," Mutlu said hours after he announced via Twitter that Gezi Park will be open to public tomorrow.

"But there are always small groups that seek confrontation with the police," he added.

Gas Man Festival

Kadıköy, on Istanbul’s Asian side, will also witness another protest on Sunday. The “Man Made of Tear Gas” Festival is set to take place on July 7 in the district, bringing together the “rebellious” crowds and a set of artists scheduled to perform at the event.

The festival flyer states that the form of protesting has changed over time, and that a new form of demonstration “for an independent and democratic Turkey” has turned all parks and streets into festivals “with the demand of freedom.”

The festival is set to host a series of artists, including Bulutsuzluk Özlemi, Kurtalan Ekspres, Cem Adrian and the Boğaziçi University’s Jazz Choir. A fashion show will also be among the festivities of the event.

The anti-government protests that were kicked off by severe police intervention against a small, peaceful group protesting mall plans in place of Taksim’s Gezi Park, received a severe blow when police forces cleared out the park after a days-long occupation by protesters.

Despite this, the movement refused the die down and instead spread to parks nationwide and individual forms of protest erupted around the country.

Security officials are continuing to launch raids in various cities, detaining people over alleged vandalism during the protests.

15 detained


Fifteen people were detained for allegedly harming private property and using Molotov cocktails while attending the Gezi protests, in what became the third wave of raids against the movement.

Security forces raided 17 locations simultaneously in four different cities, with İzmir as the focus of the operation. Istanbul, Manisa and Batman were the remaining the cities.

The suspects were detained over allegedly acting on behalf of terrorist organizations, harming private property, using Molotov cocktails and provoking the people during their time attending the anti-government protests.

Forces confiscated documents allegedly related to criminal organizations and CDs.

Two other operations were conducted on June 20 and June 24, during which 27 people were detained, 24 of whom were subsequently arrested by the court.

Some 2.5 million protesters hit the streets across Turkey since the unrest began on May 31 over the attempt to demolish Istanbul’s Gezi Park, which quickly turned into nationwide mass anti-government protest. Only in two cities did people not attend protests, while 79 cities witnessed large-scale protests, the Interior Ministry’s record of protests said, according to daily Milliyet’s report.
July/06/2013





'One Morsi will go, a thousand Morsis will come in Egypt,' Turkish EU minister says

ISTANBUL

Turkey's EU Minister Egemen Bağış reiterated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's criticism against Western countries for their reaction following the ouster of Egypt's elected President Mohamed Morsi by the army. DHA photo 
Turkey's EU Minister Egemen Bağış reiterated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's criticism against Western countries for their reaction following the ouster of Egypt's elected President Mohamed Morsi by the army. DHA photo
The Muslim Brotherhood organization is rooted enough to come back to power in Egypt, Turkish EU Minister Egemen Bağış said, commenting on the military overthrow of the elected President Mohamed Morsi.

"One Morsi will go, another Morsi will come. The Muslim Brotherhood has a strength that it has constituted since the 1920s," Bağış said during an interview today with private broadcaster NTV.

Commenting on claims that there was an application to Turkey to grant asylum to Morsi, Bağış repeated Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's answer that no such request had been received.
He added that Turkey had always opened its doors to "victims," but said that he preferred to see Morsi "doing politics rather than in Istanbul."

Bağış also slammed the United States and Europe's attitude toward the Egyptian military's intervention.

"We are facing a world who can't call a coup a coup. A leader elected by democratic means has been toppled in front of everyone's eyes, forced out by the army, with the tank's pressure. What is it if not a coup? It is an outright coup," Bağış said.

Turkey has voiced the strongest criticism after Morsi's ouster on July 3. Prime MinisterRecep Tayyip Erdoğan argued yesterday that there was no such thing as a "democratic coup" and slammed Western countries for their reaction.
July/06/2013



Erdoğan slams West for not calling Egypt army intervention a ‘coup'

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Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks during his Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) parliamentary group meeting on July 2, 2013. (Photo: Cihan, Emrullah Bayrak)
5 July 2013 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has strongly criticized Western nations, particularly the European Union, for turning a blind eye to the army intervention in Egypt that overthrew former President Mohamed Morsi and put in place an interim technocrat president to lead the country out of the political standoff.
Erdoğan leveled criticism against Western nations for not terming the army intervention a “military coup” and said this doesn't fit into values of the West. He said all coups, no matter where or against whom they take place, are “bad, inhumane and the enemy of democracy.”
The Egyptian military forced Morsi out on Wednesday after millions of Egyptians turned out for four days of protests. After its top leaders were targeted with arrest warrants, the Muslim Brotherhood hotly rejected an appeal by the military to take part in forming a new regime.
Morsi's removal follows protests by Egyptians angry over what they see as his efforts to impose control through the Muslim Brotherhood and his failures to deal with the country's many problems.
The prime minister said he is surprised at the Western reaction to the coup and stated that these nations failed to describe it as a “coup.” “What happened to their democratic ideals? This is a test of sincerity,” Erdoğan said, referring to “double standards.”
Erdoğan was alluding to last month's criticism of Turkey by the EU after police used heavy-handed methods to quell the protests linked to Gezi Park, adjacent to İstanbul's famed Taksim Square. For days, Erdoğan criticized the EU for siding with the protesters and blasted a decision by the European Parliament rebuking Ankara for its handling of the unrest.
Erdoğan urged the EU to again read its “EU acquis,” a lengthy charter that governs EU values and norms. However, he hailed the African Union for suspending Egypt's membership after the army removed Morsi and suspended the constitution.
The prime minister also lashed out at those who call the army intervention “popular” and said the intervention cannot be justified as democratic behavior. He underlined the fact that he is calling what happened in Egypt a “military coup” and not an “intervention.”
Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ also denounced on Friday those who jubilantly celebrated and shed tears of joy for the military coup.
“It is a shameful situation to celebrate the military coup jubilantly and shed tears of happiness,” said Bozdağ as he likened those who welcomed the coup to pro-coup circles who disregarded the national will and the rule of law in Egypt. Bozdağ's remarks were published on his official Twitter account.
He added that regardless of where and by whom they are done, coups should be rejected and denounced by those who believe in justice, democracy and the national will.
Erdoğan said some supporters of the coup utter phrases such as “Coups are bad, but…" and that they are justifying the coup. He said that there cannot be a “democratic coup,” calling this a paradox. He argued that those “who look at streets and ignore the ballot box cannot display a principled and ethical position.”
Erdoğan's government has had an aversion to military intervention in politics and since coming to power a decade ago, and has curtailed the powers of the Turkish military, which staged three coups between 1960 and 1980 and forced a democratically elected government out of office in 1997.
The prime minister criticized the Egyptian military without naming it explicitly, saying: “You rule the country for 30-40 years with a single party but then you can't tolerate a president elected freely. It is against democracy.” He said it is possible that governments make mistakes but the ballot box is the only legitimate way to do away with the governments people don't want.
Throughout his speech, Erdoğan frequently stressed that a democratically elected leader could only be unseated through elections and harshly criticized those who attempt to justify an army's intervention based on mistakes by the previous government.
Erdoğan said, “What we have in Egypt is the minority imposing their will on the majority,” and not vice versa.
The prime minister said Turkey fully supported the Jan. 25 revolution, referring to the 18-day mass protests that forced former President Hosni Mubarak's resignation, and that his country was happy to see Egypt get rid of a “dictator,” referring to Mubarak. But he also expressed concerns that the progress made as a result of the 2011 revolution are being undermined as a result of Wednesday's coup.
Erdoğan affirmed that the ballot box “is not everything” but slammed those who justify illegal means to overthrow governments based on this idea.
Erdoğan also criticized Western countries for not backing the Egypt's nascent democracy with financial aid and said only Qatar and Turkey helped Egypt revive its economy.
The government of Qatar, which has provided $7.5 billion in grants and low-interest loans, has been close to the Muslim Brotherhood and may view Morsi's ouster as a diplomatic setback.
Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood group has long viewed Erdoğan's government as a success story, mixing a strong economy with Western ties and Islamic piety -- and the two had been working toward strengthening ties. Last year, Turkey pledged $2 billion in aid to boost confidence in Egypt's economy, which was battered by a tourism slump, strikes and protests since the fall of Mubarak in the 2011 uprising.
Erdoğan dismissed claims that Turkey is positioning itself against the current revolution because his government was an ally of Morsi and said they would have display the same position if the coup had been staged against those who were in the opposition demanding Morsi's resignation.
Erdoğan urged the interim government to embrace all political actors in Egypt during the transition period and expressed “deep concerns” over a wave of arrests of politicians. He said “those who came to power through the coup are planning to put Morsi in prison.”
Morsi has been under detention in an unknown location since Wednesday night, and at least a dozen of his top aides and advisers have been under what is described as "house arrest," though their locations are also unknown.
Besides the Brotherhood's top leader, General Guide Mohammed Badie, security officials have also arrested his predecessor, Mahdi Akef, and one of his two deputies, Rashad Bayoumi, as well as Saad el-Katatni, head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party, and ultraconservative Salafi figure Hazem Abu Ismail, who has a considerable street following.
Authorities have also issued a wanted list for more than 200 Brotherhood members and leaders of other conservative groups. Among them is Khairat el-Shater, another deputy of the general and a man widely considered the most powerful figure in the Brotherhood.
Erdoğan spoke at length on how a tradition of military coups in Turkey put his country into “deep darkness” and how they backfire in the long run despite initial popularity. The prime minister urged Egyptians who are cheering the army's intervention to carefully and closely take a look at the history of military coups in Turkey.
Every military coup, Erdoğan stressed, took Turkey “10 years back in time.” “Egyptians should read Turkish history well.”

Approximately 2.5 million people have taken to the streets across Turkey since May 31, when a harsh police crackdown against activists in Istanbul’s Gezi Park prompted mass nationwide anti-government protests, according to a report published by Turkish Hurriyet Daily News at the end of last month.
Image from twitter.com @serkanocakkk
Image from twitter.com @serkanocakkk
Major protests have been witnessed in 79 cities nationwide, with a majority of the demonstrations taking place in Ankara and Istanbul.

Five people have been killed and around 4,000 injured – including 600 police officers – over the course of the mass demonstrations, and around 4,900 protesters have been detained. The report further stated that some 58 public buildings and 337 private businesses were damaged, while 240 police vehicles, 214 private cars, 90 municipal buses and 45 ambulances were left unusable.

Total damages are estimated to have cost over $72 million. 

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