00:51Turkey: Istanbul's protesters in Taksim Square hold "Tear gas festival"
Turkey: Istanbul's protesters in Taksim Square hold "Tear gas festival"
Thousands of protesters continue to occupy Taksim square in Istanbul, while police are reportedly not maintaining a presence in the area. Protesters are preparing for a pejoratively dubbed 'tear gas festival' set to take place in the square at 19:00 local time on Sunday. Organisers are hoping to attract over 50,000 protesters to the event.
What started off as a peaceful environmental protests at Taksim Gezi park spiralled into violent clashes between police and protesters and spread to major cities across Turkey. Originally, people demonstrated against demolition of the park to make way for what was reported as an Ottoman-era military barracks and a new shopping centre. The demonstrations began as a peaceful sit-in on Monday when protesters blocked workers from razing the park's trees.
Police have clamped down on protesters, storming gatherings with tear gas and using what has been judged by human rights groups such as Amnesty International as excessive force. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has admitted that cases of 'extremism in police response' have manifested.
What began as a call for conservation may have spiralled into public outcry over what protesters see as the increasing authoritarianism of the government. Protests and clashes have spread to the capital Ankara, where some 500 people crammed into a small park close to embassy buildings, calling on the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign.
00:51NONE
Turkey: Istanbul's protesters in Taksim Square hold "Tear gas festival"
Thousands of protesters continue to occupy Taksim square in Istanbul, while police are reportedly not maintaining a presence in the area. Protesters are preparing for a pejoratively dubbed 'tear gas festival' set to take place in the square at 19:00 local time on Sunday. Organisers are hoping to attract over 50,000 protesters to the event.
What started off as a peaceful environmental protests at Taksim Gezi park spiralled into violent clashes between police and protesters and spread to major cities across Turkey. Originally, people demonstrated against demolition of the park to make way for what was reported as an Ottoman-era military barracks and a new shopping centre. The demonstrations began as a peaceful sit-in on Monday when protesters blocked workers from razing the park's trees.
Police have clamped down on protesters, storming gatherings with tear gas and using what has been judged by human rights groups such as Amnesty International as excessive force. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has admitted that cases of 'extremism in police response' have manifested.
What began as a call for conservation may have spiralled into public outcry over what protesters see as the increasing authoritarianism of the government. Protests and clashes have spread to the capital Ankara, where some 500 people crammed into a small park close to embassy buildings, calling on the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign.