Tag Archives: Collective

Follow RT’s LIVE UPDATES on the protests  Thousands of people are heading to Taksim Square from all directions, joining the already tens-of-thousands-strong crowd with flags and banners. Chanting and singing in unison can be heard, with slogans like “This is our Taksim, this is our Istanbul!” ringing in the air. The demonstration marks the third day of the protests in Turkey, which started as a peaceful sit-in against the re-development plans in Gezi Park, but turned into nationwide riots after the police brutally cracked down on protesters. Crowd significantly swelled. My estimate: 80-100,000 protesters in Taksim. Many more outside Taksim. — Mahir Zeynalov (@MahirZeynalov) June 2, 2013 While the mass protests were marred by violent clashes with the police, in which two people were reportedly killed and over 1,000 injured, as well as scenes of vandalism with cars turned over and buildings and vehicles covered in graffiti, there was some marked display of public support for the protesters and that of collective responsibility too. Those demonstrators who remained in the streets overnight, after the police had backed down and allowed the protests to continue, had cleaned Gezi Park and the surrounding areas piled with empty teargas canisters and rubble. The real tear bomb: after the police attack, PEOPLE cleaned Gezi park twitter.com/DirenGezi/stat…#occupygeziparki #OccupyIstanbul — Occupy Sydney (@occupySYDNEY) June 2, 2013 A free food stall has been set up in the park for exhausted demonstrators, while Twitter users posted reports of shops, pharmacies, hotels, and ordinary citizens aiding protesters with supplies, masks, medicine and refuge. This is how every citizen is participating in the protests #occupygezi #occupytaksim #occupyistanbul #occupyturkey twitter.com/DeSoNiR/status… — Sinan (@DeSoNiR) June 2, 2013 Meanwhile, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday stressed he “will not seek permission from marauders” to implement the building plans for Taksim, which sparked the initial sit-in protest in the park. Erdogan seemed to remain defiant of the protests, calling them “ideological” and manipulated by the opposition “unable to beat [the government] at the ballot box.” “Everyone in this country has the right to hold a rally within boundaries of democracy and laws. However, no one has the right to act against laws, conduct acts out of democracy and give damage to shop keepers, residents or pedestrians. No one has the right to increase tension in Turkey by using uprooted trees as an excuse,” Erdogan said, as quoted by the Turkish Weekly. Turkish PM Erdogan: “I will not seek permission from hoodlums to implement my plans for Taksim” #OccupyGezi twitter.com/57UN/status/34… — Stun ☠ (@57UN) June 2, 2013 “Is this democracy?” Erdogan rhetorically asked, citing the damage to property caused by the protests. He also apparently disagreed, without elaborating, with the protesters calling him a ‘dictator’, saying he is in fact the “one who serves the people.” An investigation into the use of excessive pepper spray by security forces at the Taksim Gezi Park has been launched by the Turkish Interior Ministry, he added. Teargas was again fired on Sunday in Ankara to stop around 1,000 protesters attempting to march to the prime minister’s office, AFP reported. But in Istanbul the atmosphere has remained peaceful, with jubilant demonstrators dancing in chains and chanting. While many waved communist party flags and banners, the crowd has remained “very detached” and with “no leader,” Mahir Zeynalov, a reporter from the Turkish daily newspaper, ‘Today’s Zaman’ tweeted.  … Read More