Protests in Turkey against dictator president.

[Vincent R.]

Peaceful last night in Istanbul. Protesters put up road blocks to keep riot police from square. These pics I took a couple of hours ago:

[atheisticmystic]

Breathing CS gas is not a very pleasant feeling - not just like an irritant, but when in concentrated form you get the sensation you are choking and cannot breath, then your lungs run out of oxygen, you inhale bigger, and more CS goes into your lungs, causing a violent reaction - akin to inhaling water or something, you choke out your breath and then gasp for more air only to have more CS come in. It really does feel like you are dying and cannot breath. I had an unfortunate incident involving equipment failure where I had to stay in a room with a highly concentrated mixture for about 10 to 15 minutes without a working gas mask. It took me about 10 minutes to finally get used to the choking dying feeling, becoming comfortable with the reality that I was in fact getting oxygen, despite the fact that my body was convulsing and telling me that it was starving for air. Lots of snot...

Stay safe Vincent and anyone else over there. My thoughts go with you and the people of Turkey.

10 minutes?

I thought I'd died after the obligatory 60 seconds or so in boot camp.

Still hoping everyone is doing well while bringing the street heat.

If they are anti-government protests, is the AKPs rival, the Turkish military, benefitting from or supporting the protests?

[Adam Aslan]

I am living in Istanbul right now. On the streets every moment, daily life basically stopped over here. Everybody and his grandmother is on the street protesting. Police is too violent to describe. I got some gas bombs fired at me, they really aim at persons. Last night it was already "hell" on the Main Street, just 10seconds uphill from where I life. Today probably worse since more and more people are coming. My street is very quiet normally but the police are forcing the demonstrators down the hill with lots and lots of gas bombs. I closed all windows but it didnt prevent from getting inside last night.

See this small video I shot on my iPhone;

Damn thats crazy. Really shows the brutality of this conservative government.

[Adam Aslan]

My father is from Turkey. I visited three or so years ago. Pretty crazy to see the amount of change for the worse, this government has brought. You can see them shooting gas canisters directly at people in this video!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BbTs_wUahs

[Vincent R.]

How I go to the pub these days:

But all jokes aside, it's quite stable right now in istanbul. Still all access to the park and square is road blocked by the protesters, no sign of police or whatsoever.

The protest somewhat moved to the capital of Ankara. Huge demonstration going on there right now.

Good read in the economist;

http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21579004-recep-tayyip-erdogan-should-heed-turkeys-street-protesters-not-dismiss-them-democrat-or-sultan

[VASI]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/07/erdogan-accuses-eu-hypocrisy-turkey-protests

[Christian Spaeth]

It may sound lame, but police are the same everywhere. Alright, protecting a status quo is their job, but joy at violence, at hurting unarmed and unprotected people without being persecuted for that is a feature of a character best described as a**hole, and it is a certain kind of people, worldwide, that this job appeals to.

 

So Erdogan has a point, let's not pretend that US or EU cops are much different. I witnessed the same police strategy and violence (tear gas, water cannons to the face) in a park a few hundred meters from my apartment in Stuttgart, Germany, where teenagers peacefully protested against the cutting down of century old trees.

[John H]

Christian: You're so right -- definitely not a "lame" comment. The cops in the US were and are, by & large, a'holes to protesters, as well. In such circumstances, they're usually doing the bidding of chiefs who are in turn doing the bidding of politicians who are in turn doing the bidding of corporate masters. It's "trickle-down" badgering, bullying, and abuse, perfect for those who don't have to think and want to exert brute power.

[Vincent R.]

I do not want a do a "mine is bigger" contest, but:

-international organizations see this use of tear gas and other gas weapons as quite excessive

-people are followed home by police, and tear gas grenades are shot at windows to break and get inside, shot inside apartment buildings, inside cafes and so on and on.

-today, a press conference hold in a lobby of a court, by lawyers, who pled against this way of handling, was ended by riot police who arrested each one of them.

-kids as young as 12 year old are kicked and beaten by police.

-a president who says publicly; "I don't care that the judge says, "we have to wait (by order of law) and see all documents according the redevelopment of the particular place again", I want to build, so I am gonna build".

-ambulances are stopped by police to get to the victims. People have to carry them to improvised hospitals.

I can go on but this is just on top of my mind now.

[studiomprd]

" I witnessed the same police strategy and violence (tear gas, water cannons to the face) in a park a few hundred meters from my apartment in Stuttgart, Germany, "I'

ve seen it in LAX, USA

[Christian Spaeth]

And I've seen it in Genova, Italy. Doesn't make it any less brutal in Istanbul of course. Protesters need to be aware of who they're dealing with, and that the oppressing forces will do almost anything to intimidate them into not going out again. But these are desperate measures of course, as it looks like in Istanbul they are not going to win with the intimidating strategy. They just drive more and more people onto the streets, and eventually they have to give in. Maybe like in North Africa in the recent past. But I think the reason for this brutal strategy is that Erdogan wants to show the EU that he is capable of keeping his country under control, because he wants to enter the EU.

[Vincent R.]

After a quite peaceful week (read: police took over the park and square) a demonstration in remembrance of the deaths from the last weeks, got quite out of hand again... I was in the middle of it, shot these iphone videos:

[Adam Aslan]

Whats the latest there?

[Vincent R.]

Still quite some unrest. Yesterday a boy, 19 years old died. He was protesting, then a bunch of pro government guys, who are left alone by the police, beat him up. He went straight to the hospital but they refused to help him. Next day he woke up at home all dizzy, and ended up in a coma. Now, 30 days later he died...

This video I shot last weekend. The park was to be re opened, but they didn't want the so called theorists, that's how government calls the protestors, in it. So again, they used some force.

Then last Monday. The higher court, ruled in favor of the demonstrators, the park and it surroundings can not be demolished. The government is quite frustrated about that. I was in the park this Monday, and when I left police there again to kick everybody out of the park. Nobody understood why, since it was a public park just reopened. And they used brutal force with that. I live about a half a Km from the park. They'd put the whole area under curfew, I couldn't go out for food, and they threw gas bombs everywhere... So well, still going on here...