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Turkish Police Push Into Square Near Park Protest | Turkish Police Push Into Square Near Park Protest |
(about 2 hours later) | |
ISTANBUL — A large force of riot police officers entered Taksim Square early Tuesday, almost immediately firing tear gas grenades and using water cannons to disperse demonstrators who have been occupying the square for more than a week. | |
Television coverage of the continuing operation showed small groups of people hurling stones and firebombs at police vehicles as security officers fired tear gas. Most of the protesters have remained determinedly peaceful, and the clashes appeared to involve a small group of hooligans. | |
Many protesters retreated to nearby Gezi Park, whose preservation was the initial focus of the protests. But after riot police used tear gas and other harsh measures on May 31, the protest quickly deepened and spread across the country, becoming a broad rebuke to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10 years of what many call increasingly authoritarian leadership. | |
On Tuesday, despite the police use of tear gas and water cannons, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, the governor of Istanbul, said in a Twitter message that the police intended only to remove banners and posters from Taksim. He said people in Taksim, and in the parallel occupation of Gezi Park, which has lasted more than two weeks, would not be disturbed. | |
“Gezi Park and Taksim will never be touched,” he said. “This morning you are in the safe hands of your police brothers.” | “Gezi Park and Taksim will never be touched,” he said. “This morning you are in the safe hands of your police brothers.” |
As a group of police officers made its way into the square, they were met with protesters chanting what has become their slogan, “Everywhere Taksim, everywhere resistance.” Officers in riot gear retreated after being confronted by peaceful activists who shielded one of the entryways. | |
Television coverage showed at least eight protesters standing behind metal shields against the pressure of water cannons. Other scenes showed hundreds of activists wearing gas masks or swimming goggles and spraying soothing liquids into the eyes and mouths of people who had been affected by tear gas. | |
News reports said dozens of people were injured in the clashes, which began around 7 a.m. At least three ambulances drove into the square to gather the injured. | |
Dozens of barricades made of metal construction panels, wooden blocks and other materials, which had been built by activists and placed in entryways to Taksim, were pushed aside by cranes, clearing the way for police vehicles. | |
Protesters formed a human chain around Taksim Square for a while, when some representatives persuaded the police to retreat toward Istiklal Avenue, the popular pedestrian mall that leads to the square. The police returned around noon, firing tear gas grenades when some demonstrators tried to restore their posters. At least six armored police vehicles could be seen around the main gathering area in the square. | |
The police used loudspeakers to urge activists inside Gezi Park to remain where they were rather than join the groups outside. | |
In the afternoon, protesters gathered behind a burning barricade in Tarlabasi Boulevard, one of the main streets leading to Taksim Square. Inside the square, police officers circled the Cumhuriyet monument, an important national symbol celebrating the birth of the Turkish republic, which they had cleared of protesters’ posters and banners. | |
The police also cleared banners from the facade of the Ataturk Cultural Center, an old opera house awaiting destruction by government decree, but they left hanging a poster of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, and a Turkish flag. | |
There were still scattered clashes as the workday ended. | |
The operation came a day after the government appeared to change tactics, with Mr. Erdogan agreeing to meet with protest leaders on Wednesday. | |
It was the first public sign that Mr. Erdogan, a popular but stubborn leader who has broadly denounced the protests as the work of looters and thugs, was willing to directly engage at least some of the organizers in a dialogue. | |
The Radikal newspaper said the list of people to meet Mr. Erdogan included Mucella Yapici, the spokeswoman of Taksim Solidarity, and representatives of Greenpeace and the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, two nongovernmental organizations. | The Radikal newspaper said the list of people to meet Mr. Erdogan included Mucella Yapici, the spokeswoman of Taksim Solidarity, and representatives of Greenpeace and the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly, two nongovernmental organizations. |
The announcement of the meeting, by Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc, came on Monday after a nearly seven-hour cabinet meeting during which members of Mr. Erdogan’s pro-Islamic Justice and Development Party discussed the protests, which have grown into sometimes violent confrontations in more than 60 cities across the country. | |
Three people have been killed and more than 2,300 injured in the violence, which has revealed some deep-seated resentment toward Mr. Erdogan. Although he has widespread support across much of Turkey, the protests presented him with one of the biggest political challenges since he became Turkey’s leader a decade ago. | Three people have been killed and more than 2,300 injured in the violence, which has revealed some deep-seated resentment toward Mr. Erdogan. Although he has widespread support across much of Turkey, the protests presented him with one of the biggest political challenges since he became Turkey’s leader a decade ago. |
The protests were originally intended as an environmental demonstration meant to save Gezi Park, in the heart of Taksim Square, which the government intends to develop. They escalated when riot police officers used tear gas and water cannons to disperse participants in what even some government officials conceded was an overly harsh response. | The protests were originally intended as an environmental demonstration meant to save Gezi Park, in the heart of Taksim Square, which the government intends to develop. They escalated when riot police officers used tear gas and water cannons to disperse participants in what even some government officials conceded was an overly harsh response. |
The protesters later widened their grievances into a broad rebuke of what they consider the authoritarian style of Mr. Erdogan and his political party, which is supported by religious conservatives in Turkey. The protesters have demanded the resignation of governors and security chiefs in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, the punishment of abusive police officers and the release of people detained in the protests. Some have called for Mr. Erdogan to resign. | The protesters later widened their grievances into a broad rebuke of what they consider the authoritarian style of Mr. Erdogan and his political party, which is supported by religious conservatives in Turkey. The protesters have demanded the resignation of governors and security chiefs in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, the punishment of abusive police officers and the release of people detained in the protests. Some have called for Mr. Erdogan to resign. |
Mr. Arinc rejected those demands and contended that international provocateurs, whom he did not further identify, played a role in the violence. | Mr. Arinc rejected those demands and contended that international provocateurs, whom he did not further identify, played a role in the violence. |
But he also sounded conciliatory about the motivations of the Gezi Park protesters. “In terms of actions that started on good intentions, if the subject matter is environmental concerns, if the subject matter is human rights, if the subject matter is democracy, we would very much like to talk and discuss all these with related parties,” Mr. Arinc said. | But he also sounded conciliatory about the motivations of the Gezi Park protesters. “In terms of actions that started on good intentions, if the subject matter is environmental concerns, if the subject matter is human rights, if the subject matter is democracy, we would very much like to talk and discuss all these with related parties,” Mr. Arinc said. |
The prime minister, who was abroad for much of last week as the protests spread, has said that the government would not abandon plans to develop Gezi Park into a replica of an Ottoman-era military barracks originally located there. | The prime minister, who was abroad for much of last week as the protests spread, has said that the government would not abandon plans to develop Gezi Park into a replica of an Ottoman-era military barracks originally located there. |
Mr. Arinc has said that the government will, for now, follow a local court ruling that the project be halted while public concerns are assessed. | Mr. Arinc has said that the government will, for now, follow a local court ruling that the project be halted while public concerns are assessed. |