Tear gas and corruption: Istanbul police disperse protesters as graft scandal heats up
Turkish police have shot tear gas and water cannon at thousands of demonstrators swarming onto Istanbul’s streets to protest the government after a corruption probe prompted the PM to purge the police force and allege ‘dark’ international plots.
Sixty-four-year-old Elif Cermik's heart stopped after the tear gas offensive, and he was placed in intensive care after receiving a cardiac massage, according to local press, 'TWİTTER GAZETESİ'.
Kadıköy 22 aralık 2013,polis saldırıyor pic.twitter.com/nW10ov7TGZ
— Sevinç Eratalay (@EratalaySevinc) December 22, 2013
Thousands gathered in Istanbul's Kadikoy district, wielding
banners which called for the resignation of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. Some witness estimates say that the crowd grew to
as much as 10,000 at one point, according to Reuters.
Chants of “enough is enough, Istanbul is ours” could be
heard coming from the crowd, according to Turkey’s Dogan news
agency. March participants comprised of a broad coalition of
party groups and civil society organizations.
#Kadıköy Thousand of demonstrating at the Kadıköy protesting against state corruption .Polis responded with tear gas pic.twitter.com/qwr3QcP5pb
— Şeyma Elaman (@SeymaElaman) December 22, 2013
“We believe what we saw,” stated the provincial chairman
of Turkey’s CHP (Republican People's Party), Oğuz Kaan Salıcı. He
said that “Mr. Prime Minister is the ringleader” of any
corruption and made calls for “the resignation of the
government soon.”
Salici tweets that him and his organization arejoining in Kadikoy to say 'no/' to pillage, plunder, and thieves.
Yağmaya, talana, hırsızlara hayır demek için örgütümüzle birlikte Kadıköy'deyiz. #KentineSahipCıkpic.twitter.com/LfRkgjlVfV
— Oğuz Kaan Salıcı (@oguzksalici) December 22, 2013
The case investigating widespread bribery erupted on Tuesday,
targeting some 89 people, including a handful of Erdogan’s close
allies.
On Saturday, the sons of Interior Minister Muammer Guler and
Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan were charged with acting as
go-betweens. They were among the 24 people - including
high-profile bureaucrats, businessmen and politicians arrested in
connection with the large scale operation, known as ‘The Big
Bribe’ which has been underway since Tuesday.
Two have been released since the arrests began. Mustafa Demir,
the mayor of Istanbul's Fatih district, and Abdullah Oguz
Bayraktar, who is the son of Environment and Urban Planning
Minister, Erdogan Bayraktar are both free, but barred from travel
abroad as they need to check in at a police station once a week.
Erdogan described the corruption probe as a smear against his
party.
“A quite lawless, dirty and dark plot is being laid in the
guise of corruption. Corruption is only the cover. Our
sensitivity regarding corruption is already apparent,”
Erdogan said in an address at an opening ceremony in Turkey's
northern province of Giresun, according to Turkey’s Anadolu
Agency.
Twenty-five police chiefs were sacked on Sunday as part of a
crackdown on dissent - police or anyone else found to have been
involved with the probe were being punished for their
participation. Overall, about 70 police officers, including the
head of Istanbul's force, have either been fired or been forced
to change position.
The investigation revealed rifts between Erdogan and his former
ally, US-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen.
Gulen has some influence over both the police and judiciary in
Turkey. While Erdogan has held back from ascribing blame to
Gulen, a deep divide on matters of schooling highlighted the rift
last month, and Gulen’s ‘Hizmit’ (‘Service’) movement has been
increasingly at political loggerheads with Erdogan.
Bu pisliği ben bile temizleyemem! Beni bu olaya karıştırma Usta. #KentMitingi - Kadıköy pic.twitter.com/Zcolc3CO9I
— TOMA (@tomagrafi) December 22, 2013
"I can not even clean up this mess!" one tweeter proclaims.
On Saturday Erdogan denounced “international groups” and
“dark alliances” for being behind the corruption probe
which he said was undertaken with the intention of undermining
his rule.
“Some ambassadors are engaged in provocative actions,”
Erdogan announced in a televised conference on Saturday. He
instructed them to do their jobs, prompting US Ambassador Francis
Ricciardone to publically tweet that: “The United States has
nothing to do with the ongoing corruption investigation.”
Claims that foreign powers have been behind the unrest gripping
the country are reminiscent of Erdogan's stance in May and June.
Six people died and 8,000 injured in the nationwide protests,
which also saw the use of water cannon and tear gas by the
security forces. In June, it emerged that the country's tear gas
supplies were so depleted that they were beginning to run out.
