After dispersing a crowd commemorating the victims of police brutality with tear gas and rubber bullets, police swept the side streets of Istanbul with water cannons to prevent people from gathering again. Similar cleansing could be witnessed in Ankara.
Scattered clashes in the streets around Istanbul’s Taksim Square
were being reported for hours after police dispersed the massive
rally on the square itself. At least 42 people were injured in
clashes, according to Istanbul Medical Chamber.
Police used heavy-handed tactics to push protesters back from
Taksim, unleashing a barrage of rubber bullets and thick clouds
of tear gas. Water cannon trucks were then parked at several
entry points to Taksim to prevent the demonstrators from
regrouping.
Meanwhile in the streets of the Turkish capital of Ankara, police
sprayed tear gas and water to break up hundreds of protesters who
were planning to march to the city's main square. Ankara riot
police have been patrolling the streets in such a manner over the
last week, with RT’s Tom Barton having experienced himself how it feels to be suddenly
attacked by water cannon.
Social media are also flooded with pictures of the wounds from the police’s non-lethal force.
Thousands of people gathered on Taksim Square on Saturday to
commemorate victims of police brutality during the previous
stand-offs. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in the meantime blamed
the massive protests on Turkey’s “enemies from abroad”.
The protestors gathered in the square holding carnations and
Turkish national flags in their hands, with no political banners
on display.
The police didn’t let the people return to Gezi Park, which has
been cordoned off since last week. The crowd condemned the
closure of the park, chanting: "Open park belonging to the
public."
After warning the people to disperse, the riot police moved in to
quell the demonstration. The crowd quickly scattered, with the
protesters shouting: "Police, don't betray your people!"
Stand-offs continued in side streets with Twitter reports of
thick clouds of gas filling the buildings around the square.
Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, took part
in the pro-governmental ‘Respect for National Will’ rally in the
Black Sea port city of Samsun.
In his speech, he touched upon the Gezi Park protests, saying that the whole action was masterminded by the enemies of Turkey from abroad.
Gazı göstermiyormuş TV'ler. Bu fotoğraf iyi değil ama 21.52 pic.twitter.com/pB2gDl1fA2
— Sinan Cakmak - ATLAS (@sinanchakmak) June 22, 2013
Taksim de polis kalabaligi dağıtmak üzere üzerine pic.twitter.com/hRPEE0CfII
— ilhan tanir (@WashingtonPoint) June 22, 2013
"I am asking you. Who is the winner at the end of the protests
going on for three weeks now?” Erdogan is cited as saying by
the local Anadolu news agency. “I will tell you. The winners
are the 'interest rate lobbies' as well as Turkey's enemies. Who
has lost? Turkey's economy, tourism, and international strength
and the image of Turkey."
The prime minister said that the anti-government rallies currently taking place across Brazil are part of the same global conspiracy, which Turkey suffered from.
"It was the same game being played on Brazil, and same
symbols, same banners, and the same international media. They are
doing their best to achieve in Brazil what they could not achieve
in Turkey," he said.
Erdogan also denied accusations that the police have been using
excessive force against the Taksim protesters during the weeks of
unrest.
"It is a betrayal to show Turkish police as pro-violence in
the international media. The police are ours and they are doing
their duty," the PM stressed.
The Taksim square has been the cradle of protests since May 31
after the police used force to remove a group of
environmentalists opposing the government’s plans to develop Gezi
Park.
But the rally quickly transformed into show of dissent against the government and Erdogan, who opponents call an authoritarian leader, pushing for the Islamisation of Turkey and meddling in peoples’ everyday lives.