Turkey arrests anti-government protesters

[Anchor]

Story of some people making themselves heard. The project to destroy the park (for development into a shopping center I think) has been temporarily suspended.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2013/05/2013531112443894367.html


Turkish authorities have arrested dozens of people protesting in the fiercest anti-government demonstrations the country has witnessed in years, with riot police firing tear gas on demonstrators in Istanbul and Ankara.

At least 60 people were detained on Friday as they protested in Istanbul at a rally which began over the demolition of a park, but which turned into a broader protest against what they see as an increasingly authoritarian government.

"The protesters are saying that this is not about trees anymore," said Al Jazeera's Rawya Rageh, reporting from Istanbul.

Several thousand people had attended the Istanbul protest, and there is "an assortment of tear gas cannisters everywhere" in the city's main Taksim Square, she said.

More than 100 people were injured, some left lying on the ground unconscious, while two people were hospitalised with injuries to the head, an AFP photographer witnessed.

In the most severe case, a Turkish national of Palestinian origin had to undergo brain surgery after fractures to her skull, but she was doing well in intensive care, according to Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu.

He said in televised remarks that an investigation was underway and people had been detained for "provoking violence."

The demonstrators had occupied the Gezi park since May 28 to prevent bulldozers from completing the demolition, part of the government's redevelopment plan for central Taksim Square.

In a victory for the protesters later on Friday, an Istanbul court ordered the temporary suspension of the project to uproot the trees.

But the protest spread to the capital Ankara, where about 5,000 people gathered in a park, and with police there firing tear gas to disperse crowds trying to reach the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

The demonstrators, mostly young supporters of the opposition Republican People's Party, had planned to protest against new laws restricting the sale of alcohol and chanted: "Everywhere is resistance, Everywhere is Taksim."

(Above is not the whole article)

[bennycog]

people had been detained for "provoking violence."

Yes the violence of the riot police.. As there is no mention of the protesters doing harm..

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[Azt]

This seem part of the world gov agenda ... Turkey (the next Syria?)

[Tesseract]

Modern Turkey:

- NATO's Eastern lap dog
- Invader and occupier of Cyprus
- Denier of the Armenian genocide
- Supporter of terrorism in Syria
- What is nine dead activists between friends?

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[ghostrider]

my brother is retired from the air force , he spent time in turkey, told me they have very strict laws, you can be arrested for spitting on the sidewalk... I cant imagine what they do to protesters behind closed doors ...

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[Flash]

my brother is retired from the air force , he spent time in turkey, told me they have very strict laws, you can be arrested for spitting on the sidewalk... I cant imagine what they do to protesters behind closed doors ...

I lived in Istanbul for 4 years. This is ridiculous what you write. The spitting law may exist, I do not know, but I surely never saw nor heard anyone being arrested for spitting. I have had very bad encounters with some people there and very good ones. The people are quite occidental thinking and open, few are very religious, still less fundamentalists. In fact, Turkey is much less fundamentalist than the US Christian belt in Southern US, even if you do not like hearing this, this is exactly what it is.

Their government does not represent them actually, no more than the US government represents its citizens.

Tesserac, you are describing their government, not the people. Most of the planet do have much worst to say about USA for example, yet, they often too confound USA government with USA people. Both are quite different.

I do see some blasting of the unknown here.

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[Taurean]

The Pushback has begun;-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22741644

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[Molope]

I have a turkish friend and he told me that at least 2 or 3 people died because of the cops.One of them was ran over by a police riot tank and other was a girl that got head shotted with a tear gas can from what he told me.

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[Tesseract]

To clarify: I do mean the government(s) of Turkey. For the sake of brevity I often just say or write the name of a country instead of 'government(s) of...' because I, unreasonably or not, expect people to understand that is what I mean - and of course I wouldn't condemn an entire people, especially not one of which hundreds of their numbers I marched beside after the Marvi Mamara massacre.

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[Cristian]

http://banoosh.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/amXq5GV_700b.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/ee47a83c7b9cb827016e786e4c1073d1/tumblr_mnqf39SoqZ1ste7qoo1_1280.jpg
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http://24.media.tumblr.com/ee01995f2bc84f7ad8599f7f1a1fc663/tumblr_mnq8y9D2yd1ste7qoo1_1280.jpg

[Cristian]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/dd160743455e074304ab4dd257720937/tumblr_mnq531fnRR1ste7qoo1_1280.jpg
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http://24.media.tumblr.com/6ee76e8b314c298e5a5a064a8bdec41e/tumblr_mnnrfkm8u01ste7qoo1_1280.jpg

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[InCiDeR]

I feel for every soul involved in this horrifying events.

I also feel for the police obligated to be a part of something I am not sure they willingly would do if they realised they had a choice.

They have families and relatives as well, how can we reach them and make them realise they have a choice?!

We been talking about that the WW III is around the corner.

I am afraid it is already here. But not in a way we assumed it would be.

It is about the expression of free will against the suppression of free will.


Gutta cavat lapidem, non vi, sed saepe cadendo
[a water drop hollows a stone, not by force, but by falling often]


We have to let the drops keep falling for the sake of this:
Tafxr8NuvqA

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[InCiDeR]

This is a long analyse and article, but I found it well worth my time

Source/read more (http://technosociology.org/?p=1255)


Is there a Social-Media Fueled Protest Style? An Analysis From #jan25 to #geziparki
by zeynep

(...)
Turkey has has a variety of large demonstrations over the years. Not a single large, widespread spontaneous one, though.

The last somewhat organic, widespread demonstrations I can remember in the 1980, post-coup era are the “1989 Spring” workers’ strikes and actions which were widespread and which culminated in the Zonguldak mine workers strike. And those were also somewhat- to completely-led by the trade unions.

Pretty much every other large, impactful political gathering in Turkey I know of has been organized by a traditional institutions.

So, Turkey has been a NAACP country, not Tahrir.

That is, until yesterday.
(...)


(...)
So, as far as I can remember, these are the first protests in Turkey in the post-80 coup era that are less like NAACP-organized civil rights protests, and more like social-media fueled Tahrir protests. (Just so people don’t get confused, there are significant differences between Egypt 2011 and Turkey starting with the fact that AKP is a duly elected, relatively popular government that has been growing tone-deaf and authoritarian/majoritarian).

So, is there a social-media style of protest? I think we have enough examples now to say there seems to be, and here are some of their common elements. (Examples include Egypt and Tunisia, M15 in Spain, Occupy, Gezi in Turkey, Greece, etc).

1- Lack of organized, institutional leadership. This also makes it hard for anyone to “sell out” the movement because nobody can negotiate on behalf of it. (For hilarious versions, read Wael Ghonim’s version of how Mubarak officials tried to convince him to call of the protests in return for concessions as he tried to explain that he had no such power!)

On the other hand, this means that the movement cannot negotiate gains either because.. Well, because it cannot negotiate.

2- A feeling of lack of institutional outlet. In the case of Egypt, this was because elections were rigged and politics banned. In Turkey, media has been cowered and opposition parties are spectacularly incompetent. In Occupy in US, there was a feeling that the government and the media are at the hands of the moneyed interests and corrupt.

3- Non-activist participation. I think this is crucial. Most previous big demonstrations in Turkey are attended by people who have attended demonstrations before. Tahrir protests 2011, Tunisia December 2010, Gezi 2013 drew out large numbers of non-activists.

4- Breaking of pluralistic ignorance. I have made this argument before but revolutions, political upheavals, and large movements are often result of breaking of “pluralistic ignorence”–ie the idea that you are the only one, or one of few, with a view. Street demonstrations, in that regard, are a form of social media in that they are powerful to the degree that allow citizens to signal a plurality to their fellow citizens, and help break pluralist ignorance. (Hence, the point isn’t whether the signalling mechanism is digital or not, but whether how visible and social it is).

5-Organized around a “no” not a “go.” Existing social media structures allow for easier collective action around shared grievances to *stop* or *oppose* something (downfall of Mubarak, stopping a government’s overreach, etc) rather than strategic action geared towards obtaining political power. This is probably the single biggest weaknesses of these movements and the reason why they don’t make as much historical impact as their size and power would suggest in historical comparison. However, in the end, politics happens where politics happens and staying out or being unable to join results in a tapering, whimpering out effect as the movement slowly dissipates as it runs out of tactical moves and goas.

6-External Attention. Social media allows for bypassing domestic choke-points of censorship and reach for global attention. This was crucial in the Arab Spring (and we know many people tweeting about it were outside the region which makes Twitter more powerful in its effects, not less.

Here’s CNN International showing Turkey protests while CNN Turkey shows a cooking show. (Image widely circulated on social media):

http://technosociology.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Cnn-international-versus-CNN-Turkey.jpg

CNN International covers the Gezi protests while CNN Turkey shows cooking shows.

Through social media, protesters learned that the whole world, or at least some portions of it, was indeed watching. Since protests are as much about signaling more than they are about force (as protesters are almost never more powerful than state security forces), this is a crucial dynamics.

7- Social Media as Structuring the Narrative. Here and in other protests, we saw that social media allows a crowd-sourced, participatory, but also often social-media savvy activist-led structuring of the meta-narrative of what is happening, and what shape the collective grievances should take. Stories we tell about politics are incredibly important in shaping that very politics and social media has opened a new and complicated novel path in which meta-narratives about political actions emerge and coalesce.

8-Not Easily Steerable Towards Strategic Political Action. This we have seen again and again and is related to point number 5. Social-media fueled collective action lacks the affordances of politics an institutional arrangement –political party, NGO, etc– can provide.

Where is this going? I can’t offer predictions but I do emphasize that this is not going to topple the Turkish government by itself. This is not Tahrir, 2011, but it is an interesting inflection point among the frustrated but powerful segments of the Turkish society who believe that the current government has decided to run roughshod over them and cannot find efficacious outlets for their opposition.

[added] Here’s a striking example of what media cowardice and self-censorship looks like. New York Times covered the Turkey protests on the front page of its online site. Sabah, a major newspaper in Turkey, did not put one of the biggest protests in Turkey on its front page at all.

http://technosociology.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/sabah-versus-nyt.jpg
(Image circulating on social media)


What happens next depends on many factors including the government response and the depth of the feeling among the Gezi protesters. I doubt, however, that this is the last social-media fueled protest we have seen. (...)

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[Tesseract]

Protester getting rammed by police vehicle:

sbYQ_dzFniY

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[Cristian]

This is the voice of the revolution...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BLr_U6-CEAQ38fp.jpg:large



Protestors take care of an injured demonstrator during a demonstration in support of protests in Istanbul and against the Turkish Prime Minister and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), in Ankara, on June 1, 2013 (AFP Photo / Adem Altan)

http://rt.com/files/news/1f/47/20/00/--1.jpg


Police use a water cannon to disperse protestors near the Taksim Gezi park in Istanbul after clashes with riot police, on June 1, 2013, during a demonstration against the demolition of the park (AFP Photo / Gurcan Ozturk)

http://rt.com/files/news/1f/47/20/00/01.jpg


Protestors run away from tear gas at the Taksim Gezi park in Istanbul after clashes with riot police, on June 1, 2013, during a demonstration against the demolition of the park (AFP Photo / Gurcan Ozturk)

http://rt.com/files/news/1f/47/20/00/02.jpg


Riot police use tear gas to disperse the crowd during an anti-government protest in Istanbul June 1, 2013.(Reuters / Murad Sezer)

http://rt.com/files/news/1f/47/20/00/18.jpg


Tear gas surrounds a protestor holding a Turkish flag with a portrait of the founder of modern Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as he takes part in a demonstration in support of protests in Istanbul and against the Turkish Prime Minister and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), in Ankara, on June 1, 2013 (AFP Photo / Adem Altan)

http://rt.com/files/news/1f/47/20/00/turkey1.jpg


A protestor flashes a victory sign as he takes part in a demonstration in support of protests in Istanbul and against the Turkish Prime Minister and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), in Ankara, on June 1, 2013 (AFP Photo / Adem Altan)

http://rt.com/files/news/1f/47/20/00/turkey2.jpg

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[Cristian]

Hmmm...I have a weird feeling of future events that resemble this and perhaps much worse in US and Europe....

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[Rocky_Shorz]

another 1/4 of Kurdistan ready to break off from the country occupying it...

Iran is the last piece not in motion yet...

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[naste.de.lumina]

Watch the guy in the white shirt... who is this guy?

-L9BNXT6n2I

These guys cowards type the white shirt of the video, after the game turn, are the first to cry that they were only doing their job and who has rights to be respected.
There is no excuse for doing so, he seems to have pleasure.
I know cops here in Brazil like this guy, they believe that the laws are for others, do not apply to them.
I hope he's prepared for when your karma knock on your door.
With karma no dialogue, nor crying, nor leaves for later. It is now, and just.
Peace and perseverance.

[Violet]

I have difficulties believing that all this is just an alcohol-matter.

I do hope people will come to their senses soon...which should not be all too difficult, looking at neighbouring countries.

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[ozlemer]

Hi All,

I live in Turkey and have to say that this is not about alcohol or a park at all. People want the PM to resign because they don't want to be ruled by a dictator. He could have stopped all this from happening, but his comments about the park etc just fueled the people more and all this happened. He won't back down. The media is deaf (and I mean really deaf, while all this is going on only 2 channels went live, unbelievable!!!). Anyway we all hope this stops before it gets really worse...

[ViralSpiral]

I have difficulties believing that all this is just an alcohol-matter.

I do hope people will come to their senses soon...which should not be all too difficult, looking at neighbouring countries.

From their Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/OccupyGezi) site



https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/945544_10152870314245716_1280505013_n.jpg



What The Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/02/turkish-protesters-control-istanbul-square) is saying:



Social media and opposition to blame for protests, says Turkish PM

'Social media is the worst menace to society,' says Recep Erdogan after thousands take control of Istanbul's main square

.......


http://rt.com/files/news/1f/47/20/00/03.jpg

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[ViralSpiral]

:)


Yes, i.m.o. the controllers of this Simcity made an error in judgement by allowing this platform to flourish. I for one would be happy if they shut down FB. They apparently 'own' my photos, which I'm not happy about.... (although deleted, they are not 'gone')


Having not read all the posts in this thread I am not sure if anyone posted a link to this blogger. What is happening in Istanbul (http://defnesumanblogs.com/2013/06/01/what-is-happenning-in-istanbul/)



Two young people were run over by the panzers and were killed.

Was this reported?

[ozlemer]

It's not true, so not reported...

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[Violet]

I have difficulties believing that all this is just an alcohol-matter.

I do hope people will come to their senses soon...which should not be all too difficult, looking at neighbouring countries.

This is not about alcohol... yes they just rushed through a bill about 2 weeks ago banning the sale of alcohol after 10pm... but that is one in many!
See the video below for a brief description made by a very brave man who has risked his safety by creating and posting this explanation... (which isnt complete by no means, he has missed out some things but I can only assume he didnt speak of them out of fear)

aEapNRakzDI



Disturbing, but who'll take over then? What will come from these riots? Usually calls for democracy are answered by very wrong people. So, I hope these people have a good plan.

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[naste.de.lumina]

"Now there is a threat called Twitter. And the best examples of the lies are there. To me, social networks are the biggest threat to society," - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan.

They never tire of trying to silence the voice of freedom.

[Kimberley]

This showed up on my FaceBook feed...I do not have the original source, however I do like the message...


Heart warming story on Turkish developments....

Gülay Ateş
Dear friends… I want to thank you most of all for your support and comfort.
We have a little over 80 million citizens here in the republic of Turkey… and something wonderful is happening here. Millions have not slept over the past 36 hours; we are all really on the streets. Large cities, small cities, suburbs are full of people who know how they will be treated. Jung and old people, professors, actors, writers, workers all know that they will be beaten bloody, be bombarded with teargas and agent-orange. This is not stopping anyone from helping those in need.

This was not planned, we did not organize this. We were all siting in our living rooms and saw in Halk TV and read on Twitter what was being done to peaceful demonstrators.

None of us thought long about this, we simply put on our shoes and ran out to help. Not even in my years as a student, have I ever taken part in a demonstration. But this is so natural that you don’t think of yourself and your own security any longer. It is so strange to experience this sort of thing… ALL ARE ONE…

Dear friends, I and many millions of people are experiencing this here and now and I tell you it feels absolutely wonderful… The POWER and ONENESS… and it is all so simple and it all went so fast… only when it has been awakened, do you realize, that the power was there all along and that we simply forgot it… WAKE UP… what is happening today here will be happening tomorrow in your country, the game is the same… what is fascinating me and probably baffling the powers that were – is that their system is as easy to bring down like a house of cards when you just stand as one.
In Love

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[Tesseract]

A (distressing) video collection of some of the police brutality so far caught on film. Imagine what has gone on that was never filmed.


cBsbv0Zrzoo

[Tesseract]

comment: 'А те 20 что умерли в больницах не в счёт'

I believe the person is saying 20 people have died in hospitals that have not been counted.

source:

http://russian.rt.com/article/10081

[Flash]

One question in this drama: how many covered women have you seen in the videos: almost none, Turkey is a very secular society. Imposing any law paramount to Sharia will not work there. It is also an old disctatorhsip country where freedom has been won in the late seventies. Guess what, it was the army who gave back the democracy then, in Turkey they are sworn into protecting the constitution at any cost, constitution written by Kemal in the beginning of the 20th century. Military will take over if the constitution is not respected and give the country back to people, at least in the books, it is what they are supposed to do. No wonder the actual president got rid of the heads of the military before starting to want to impose a new controlled political way.

[ozlemer]

True and correct. Thanks.

[naste.de.lumina]

http://www.davidicke.com/images/stories/June20133/phone-scam5-723081.jpg

History keeps warning us it takes just a spark to light a political bonfire. The recent spark in Istanbul was provided by a small group of very young environmentalists organizing a peaceful sit-in, Occupy-style, in Taksim Square to protest the planned destruction of one of the city center's few remaining public green spaces, Gezi park.

racket; it will be replaced by a simulacrum - in this case a replica of the Ottoman Artillery Barracks - housing, what else, yet another shopping mall. It's crucial to note that the mayor of Istanbul, also from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), owns a retail chain that will make a killing out of the mall. And the man holding the contract for this "redevelopment" is no less than Erdogan's son-in-law.'

Read more: Turkey: Erdogan's son-in-law devloper of shopping mall to go in bulldozed park! (http://atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-01-030613.html)

[bruno dante]

*bump*..........................

[InCiDeR]

Erdogan returns to face protests in Turkey (http://news.yahoo.com/erdogan-returns-face-protests-turkey-214844797.html)

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's prime minister was walking a political tightrope Thursday as he headed home from a four-day trip abroad to face massive anti-government protests that have mushroomed to dozens of cities across the country.

Speaking before leaving Tunisia to fly back to Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan attempted a balancing act. He appeared to soften his tone in an effort not to inflame protesters who see him as increasingly autocratic, while not conceding enough to appear weak to the base that has helped him win three landslide elections.

Thousands of supporters thronged the airport for his arrival, chanting "We are with you, Erdogan," in the first major public show of backing for the prime minister. Hundreds marched among the cars of traffic-clogged streets towards the airport, waving Turkish flags and chanting "Istanbul don't sleep, defend your leader."

Erdogan's reaction will be decisive in determining whether the demonstrations fizzle out or rage on. So far, a police officer and two protesters have died and thousands have been injured in nearly a week of clashes with the police.


His comments don't appear to have swayed many of the thousands of protesters who thronged central Istanbul's Taksim Square for a sixth day Thursday. More than 10,000 others filled a busy street in a middle class area of Ankara.
"I do not believe his sincerity," said protester Hazer Berk Buyukturca.

Turkey's main stock market revealed the fears that Erdogan's comments would do little to defuse the protesters, with the general price index plunging by 8 percent after his comments on concerns that continuing unrest would hit the country's economy.

In his comments in Tunisia, Erdogan acknowledged that some Turks were involved in the protests out of environmental concerns, and said he had "love and respect" for them.

"His messages were a lot softer than when he left. But they were not soft enough," said Sukru Kucuksahin, columnist and political commentator for Hurriyet Newspaper. "On the other hand, I don't think that the demonstrations will continue with such intensity forever."


The protests started last week over objections to Erdogan's plan to uproot the square's Gezi Park to make way for a replica Ottoman barracks and shopping mall. Police's extensive use of tear gas and water cannons outraged many and sent thousands flooding into the square to support what had, until then, been a small protest.

Over the past week the demonstrations have spread to 78 cities, growing into public venting of what protesters perceive to be Erdogan's increasing arrogance. That includes attempts to impose what many say are restrictive mores on their personal lives, such as how many children to have or whether to drink alcohol.
Erdogan rejects the claims, saying he is a servant of the people.

In Tunisisa, he claimed terrorists had gotten involved in the protests, saying an outlawed left-wing militant group that carried out a suicide bombing on the U.S. Embassy in Ankara in February was taking part.

"They are involved. They have been caught in the streets and on social media," he said.

He also stuck to his determination that Taksim Square would be redeveloped — although he said the plan would include the planting of trees and the construction of a theater and opera. He had earlier said the plans included the construction of a shopping mall.


Erdogan said the Islamic-rooted government had already apologized for the violent police crackdown on the Taksim sit-in, but that tear gas was used everywhere in the world to break up protests.

"Demands cannot be made through illegal means," he said.

The prime minister has insisted that democracy happens only at the ballot box, dismissing the demonstrators as an extremist fringe. Erdogan has seen his support steadily rise since he first won elections in 2002 and garnered nearly 50 percent of the vote in the 2011 ballot.

But his critics — and some members of his traditional support base of religious, conservative Muslims — point out that even with half the electorate behind him, he cannot ignore the wishes of the other 50 percent.

"As a leader you have responsibilities and duties toward your people, even if you don't share their beliefs," said Osman Emre Uygun, a restaurant owner in Istanbul's Hurriyet Mahallesi neighborhood, a traditionally conservative, Erdogan-supporting area.


"That means even if they are not Muslim, you have to defend their rights. We want some common sense. We want him to listen to the protesters and their demands."
Koray Caliskan, professor of political science and international relations at Bosporus University, pointed out that "Turkey is absolutely at a crossroad. Erdogan won't be able to point at Turkey as a model of democracy anymore."

The prime minister, he said, was maintaining a hard line because "until now Erdogan had always gained support by increasing the tension in the country."

Caliskan said the prime minister was surrounded by people too afraid to confront him and was out of touch with what was really happening in protests on the streets of Istanbul and Ankara.

"He couldn't see that there were also people from his grass roots there. There are cracks within his party."


More than anything, it was the violent police response to what was initially a peaceful sit-in in one of Istanbul's last remaining parks that galvanized his opponents.

"Erdogan's solid legend evaporated as tear gas rained over Turkey," Caliskan said.
Interior Minister Muammer Guler insisted police abuses were being investigated. He said police only dispersed protests that had turned violent, and that many officers had acted with restraint despite provocations.

Huseyin Celik, deputy leader of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted party, said the government is sympathetic to secular-minded Turks' concerns and is prepared to take steps to "eliminate" their fears.

So far, 4,300 people have been hurt or sought medical attention for the effects of tear gas during the protests, the Turkish Human Rights Foundation said. One person is on life support in Ankara.


Interior Minister Muammer Guler said more than 500 police officers had been injured. A total of 746 protests had erupted, causing some 70 million Turkish Lira ($37 million) in damages, he said. Nearly 80 protesters were still hospitalized, and almost all detained protesters had been released.

Officials said seven foreign nationals were detained during the protests: two Iranians, two French, an American, a Greek and a German.

[Padmé]

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[Padmé]

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[InCiDeR]

Turkish ruling party says no early elections after protests (http://english.ruvr.ru/news/2013_06_08/Turkish-ruling-party-says-no-early-elections-after-protests-0621/)

http://m.ruvr.ru/2009/11/25/1233737903/Turkey_Edrogan2_epa.jpg.1000x297x1.jpg

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party on Saturday said there was no question of calling early elections after a week of the fiercest anti-government protests in decades.

"Local elections will be held in March 2014, presidential elections in August 2014, and general elections in June 2015, and a change in the schedule is out of the question," Deputy Chairman Huseyin Celik told reporters after a meeting of the AK Party's executive committee.

"There is no reason for early elections. The government, parliament and cabinet are working like clockwork," Huseyin Celik added.

Activists said Saturday that the police response was noticeably more restrained overnight, but fresh clashes were reported in Istanbul's Sultangazi district, where police again attacked protesters with tear gas and water cannons.

Other focal points of the demonstrations against the Islamic-rooted government of Erdogan were quieter than on previous days, witnesses reported.

Groups of protesters, who accuse Erdogan and his AKP of slowly instituting authoritarian Islamic rule, returned to the streets of Istanbul Saturday.

The prime minister has struck a defiant tone, claiming he was "holding back" his supporters from taking on the protesters, whom he called "looters."'

The wave of protests was sparked by the brutal eviction of a peaceful protest camp in Gezi Park on the edge of Istanbul's Taksim Square, where Erdogan had pushed through plans to build a shopping centre that would replace one of the city's last green spaces.

Erdogan had already made it clear that he intends to push through the highly controversial building project, despite a court order blocking it.

The violent response of the Turkish police to the protests has sparked international outrage.

[InCiDeR]

Tear gas, stun grenades, fire: Chaos overtakes Istanbul protests (http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/11/world/europe/turkey-protests/index.html)

Video in link...

Istanbul (CNN) -- A day of clashes between protesters and riot police in Istanbul's Taksim Square suddenly changed dramatically Tuesday when police blanketed the area with massive clouds of tear gas and shot water cannons.

Tens of thousands in the square fled, while some in Gezi Park, which was also hit by tear gas canisters, chanted and launched fireworks in defiance.

Soon the square, home to days of protests over what demonstrators call an increasingly authoritarian government, was filed with chaos. Hugely loud bangs echoed through the area -- likely the result of stun grenades. Thousands packed back into Taksim Square, surrounding a large bonfire that they were fueling with whatever they could pick ups.

Prime Minister Recept Tayyip Erdogan's government had said it would allow protesters to remain in Gezi Park as long as they were peaceful. But CNN's Arwa Damon, inside the park, saw police shoot tear gas canisters in Tuesday.


"There's a spirit of determination" and "solidarity" in the park, Damon said. Throughout the day, protesters had called on each other to try to keep things calm and to keep protests peaceful.

The assault on the area marked a return to the more heavy-handed tactics Turkish authorities used in the earlier days of the protests.

The protests at first had focused on the environment -- opposition to a plan to build a mall at the park -- but quickly grew into a battle against Erdogan's democratically elected government.

Protesters had built a new barrier earlier Tuesday and lobbed Molotov cocktails at armored vehicles and burned one. Police responded by spraying water cannons.
In a game of cat-and-mouse, the demonstrators, using wooden boards as shields, would pull back -- only to return, lobbing cocktails and firecrackers and flashing "victory" signs.

Opinion: From victim to villain -- Erdogan's unfinished transformation
"We will never allow people to push things to us, force things to us," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told a gathering of his own Justice and Development Party in parliament. "And we will never force things either."

After touting a long list of achievements in the country, which he credited to his government, Erdogan turned to the street demonstrators in Istanbul, who for more than a week have called for him to step down.

"They say the prime minister is harsh. The prime minister is firm," Erdogan said of their grievances against him. "I'm sorry," he answered them. "This prime minister is not going to change."

Throughout Tuesday morning, smoke from tear gas and fireworks wafted through the air at Taksim Square as the armored vehicles shoved away makeshift barriers set up by the demonstrators.

Several protesters linked arms to form a human chain and prevent the police advance. But when police deployed multiple canisters of tear gas, they scattered again.

"If you stop throwing rocks, we will not use tear gas," the police told the raucous group over loud speakers. "We don't want you to get hurt; please obey."


A show of force

The police movement came one day before Erdogan planned to meet with protest organizers. The presence appeared more to be a show of force at the square than an effort to flush out protesters who have been camped there for days.

The demonstrations in Turkey started as a small sit-in over plans to bulldoze Gezi Park -- the last green space in central Istanbul -- and replace it with a shopping mall.

But they have grown into a protest across the political spectrum.

Demonstrators have demanded Erdogan's resignation, accusing his government of creeping authoritarianism.

The result has been the biggest challenge to Erdogan and his governing Justice and Development Party during their decade in power.

Beyond the riot zone: Why Taksim Square matters to Turks


Erdogan fights back

And the prime minister has fought back.

In speeches, Erdogan has said he has no tolerance for what he calls illegal demonstrations.

Sunday, he slammed protesters, warning that "even patience has an end."
He criticized protesters' tactics and challenged them to beat him at the ballot box.
"All they do is destroy. They attacked public buildings; they burned public buildings. They burned the cars of civilians," he said.

"Let's face off at the ballot box in seven months. If you are saying democracy and freedom, if you are saying rights and freedoms, you cannot achieve that with violence. Only within the laws, you can achieve it."


Violence at past protests

Previous protests have met with a harsher police response, garnering broad criticism from inside and outside of Turkey.

Since the demonstrations started on May 31, two protesters have been killed. One was hit by a car in Istanbul; the other was shot in the head by unknown assailants in Antakya, near the border with Syria.

A police captain died after falling from a bridge last week, the Adana governor's office said.

The Turkish Medical Association said that more than 4,300 people were injured in clashes last week. Only a few dozen suffered serious injuries.

[naste.de.lumina]

Released picture of a Pro-Erdogan demonstration in Ankara appears to be photoshopped

http://www.davidicke.com/images/stories/June20138/erdoganrallyphotoshop.jpg

P.S.: If you look carefully you will find copies of other individuals who are not circulated

Source:
http://www.davidicke.com/headlines/85564-released-picture-of-a-pro-erdogan-demonstration-in-ankara-appears-to-be-photoshopped

[Tesseract]

The Guardian reports that police went undercover and staged a molotov cocktail attack on their own forces:


'Turkish TV viewers witnessed this: a small group of four or five "demonstrators" throwing molotov cocktails at police. At one point they advanced on police lines in a comic Roman-style phalanx while holding the flag of a fringe Marxist party. The "protesters" were in fact middle-aged undercover police officers, staging a not very plausible "attack" on their own for the benefit of the cameras.'


If this report is accurate [it seems strange it is not the main point of the article], then certainly a false flag event. It may seem a minor false flag, but several people have already been killed in these protests, and with Erdogan turning up the terrorist rhetoric they may not be the last.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/11/turkey-recep-tayyip-erdogan-must-compromise#OccupyGezi

[InCiDeR]

Turkey protests: Erdogan in 'final' warning (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22889060)
Video in link

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/68144000/jpg/_68144352_68144351.jpg

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued a "final warning" to protesters to leave Gezi Park in central Istanbul.

"Our patience is at an end. I am making my warning for the last time," he said.

A group representing activists from the park is on its way to Ankara for a meeting with Mr Erdogan due to begin at 23:00 local time (20:00 GMT).

Clashes between police and protesters in the park and adjoining Taksim Square have continued for nearly two weeks.

The meeting between Mr Erdogan and the delegation from Gezi Park has been described as a "last-ditch" attempt to defuse the situation.

Activists have said they will not leave until the government abandons plans to redevelop the park. Mr Erdogan's party has proposed a referendum on the issue.

Such a vote would not be legally binding but Mr Erdogan implied he would honour its outcome.

"I say to the mothers and fathers, please take your children in hand and bring them out," Mr Erdogan declared.

"We cannot wait any more because Gezi Park does not belong to occupying forces but to the people."

His speech at a meeting of his ruling AK Party (AKP) in the capital, Ankara, received a standing ovation.

'Extremists'
Gezi Park is a rare patch of green in Turkey's biggest city, and has been the focus of public anger.

Plans to redevelop it into a shopping centre were the initial spark for the protests.

The prime minister has previously branded the protesters there "extremists" and "looters", and said the demonstrations have been encouraged by foreign forces to undermine Turkey and its economy.

The suggestion of a public vote on the park's future is unlikely to appease many of the protesters still encamped there.

"There is already a court decision which orders the suspension of work in Gezi Park," said Tayfun Kahraman from Taksim Solidarity, one of the environmentalist groups fighting to save the area.

It was not even legal to consider a referendum on such an issue, since such votes could only be held on constitutional matters, he added.

"Are they going to ask us whether we approve of chopping down trees? What would the result change anyway?" 22-year-old student Arzu told AFP news agency.



It is not yet clear what failing to heed Prime Minister Erdogan's "final" warning would mean for the protesters.

Some of those camped in the park have been waiting for news from city governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu, who has been assuring them for several days that police will not intervene, while urging them to leave so that "police can tackle marginal groups".

Several riot vehicles are still on standby in Taksim - a sign that police have no intention of abandoning the square they stormed on Tuesday.

Protesters fought back then, using stones and Molotov cocktails in reply to the police's tear gas and water cannons.

'Who do you think you are?'
The police crackdown on protesters has drawn international concern, especially from Europe.

On Thursday, the European Parliament passed a non-binding resolution that "deplores the reactions of the Turkish Government and of Prime Minister Erdogan, whose unwillingness to take steps towards reconciliation, to apologise or to understand the reactions of a segment of the Turkish population have only contributed to further polarisation".

The resolution also "warns the Turkish Government against taking harsh measures against the peaceful protesters, and urges the prime minister to take a unifying and conciliatory position so as to avoid any further escalation".

Mr Erdogan reacted angrily shortly before the resolution was passed.

"I won't recognise the decision that the European Union parliament is going to take about us... Who do you think you are by taking such a decision?''

Five people have died and thousands injured since the protests began on 31 May.

[Tangri]

I hold my self for long time not to involve this subject. Now I feel I have to do.

Recent Government of Turkey is a religious party. It founded 12 years ago with the help of CIA handler Fetullah Gulen (He is still lives in Philadelphia with USA protection and private army.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fethullah_G%C3%BClen

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/dont-underestimate-the-invasion-of-ants-says-islamic-scholar-gulen-over-protests.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48374&NewsCatID=341

Before this government there was a shadow government (Deep state). For them doesn't matter which party comes to government by majority's vote, deep state interfere the rulings. They Socially engineered the mass by Media, thread and conspiracy. They were off springs of NATO's gladio. Recent government tried to clean these dinosaurs and suppressed them and also had gained their lesson from them.

Now power changed the hand to the other team but game is same. Dis-inform the mass and scare them with old tactics for sake of the power.
Turkey is a very important country even though is not mentioned by both sides.
Think about Vatican . Which country can declare the war to Catholic world center?
If Turkey wants to become center of the Islamic world it has all necessary tools in his possession(holy artifacts and deposit of profit Mohammed) It is very dangerous water of sailing. No one wants to give such power to the such big and developing country.
These demonstrations are not only for a park. People from different cities are protesting government for using unnecessary police force.
But now game's rules are changing and this is very dangerous for that part of geography.

This is from today's article

I saw evil!

Travel violent suppression of demonstrations spread across Turkey tried to Taksim Park, the fourth day, exactly on June 2 "important" dropped e-mail in my mailbox a message is provided.

I did not know a reader, Assad Hezbollah militants who fought against Turkey, " Back Home " is doing and is distributed to cities, as claimed. Unsupported concrete evidence for this assertion, stating that share a social media reader, remove the Hezbollah militants out of hand, and the suppression of demonstrations in order to make way for the assumption that the use was expressed.
It's Word so that the probability that was very horable who exactly is wrong and how reliable anonymous the reader the "intelligence" reputation information I did not.
Then on June 9, Ismet Pasha Gazi neighborhood of Istanbul Street demonstrators who had gathered on the third day of events at the time of the hard, the camera records the police command appeared in English.


***

Turkish police record, apparently do not speak Turkish, but Turkish police pepper spray on the demonstrators, who is disguised as a group of Turkish accent: "Hey guys, move back, move back!" he addressed to, and even one of the same group, "Yalla!" he effort brought clearly heard! (See http://www.izlesene.com/video/gazi-mahallesinde-yabanci-polis-mi-mudahale-etti/6972492 )
probability of well-intentioned people first come to mind, bad faith can not.
Believe me, I got on June 2 message, I have not been interested before in these images taken on June 9, was unable to. However, after watching several times in the records, Hezbollah or not, the order did not speak Turkish to English of "security" elements, With "Yalla!" his encouragement , bringing to mind are of Arab origin. Under such circumstances, it was not difficult to infer from Syria came or were brought.
Moreover, why such a relationship as one of the geopolitical espionage novels just have not been able to, so why not see the fact that the first time?


***

Because I didn't want to believe it
AKP government, even if it is a national government, its own citizens, its own people on the foreign and the possibility of a false police is not normal . I said to myself this is just too much. I do not do it.
then I thought. 11-year process of the AKP government, what happened, this is not that there has not been what?
Libya, Gaddafi overthrew exceed five thousand Arab çapulcuyu (*) Insert hospitals in Turkey and hotels Bashar al-Assad in Syria secretly shipped at the beginning of the uprising against the referees Says who?
fighting against Bashar al-Assad of all types and ideology "mercenaries" opened its doors camped, nourish, support, and who is handlers?
specially authorized courts remove and driving charges, counterfeit CDs, contained no evidence that the TAF fake testimonies switch to the command that liquidated 'Sledgehammer' and imprisoned for five years yönderlerini public opposition tried the 'Ergenekon' Who touched ÖYM'ler seen cases?
Salt to power their homes in the morning he stepped into the opposition, the most valuable academicians age, per se, regardless of disease who was handcuffing?
Hundreds of Kurdish was the work of intellectuals who were arrested in KCK operations?


***

Al Capone ' is likened to the tax case digested and newspapers media owners, forced to sell channels, seven newspapers across the ignominy of the cuff can throw in a smarmy Who were the creators of the media I wonder? Flushed intervention from outer space, was finished digesting the press, publication, or even the whole society, freedom of expression?
only ' free education ' banner opened or detained for throwing eggs respectable elites, take too ambitious for over a year and a half years on trial detention mercy college students, even if the number of hidden Who are the takers?
Here's all these Whoever, today Ceberut authority rebelled against oppression and tyranny, "I'm in, Count me in!" said the youth, incites hatred, is already a wonderful place even bow to the will of the people, enemies and those who have theirs.
And all of them without exception, every evil re-used on its own citizen bandits, foreign and false police also expected to continue.
(*) Irregular military, spoiler.


G POINT

Democracy is a compromise regime. The overwhelming majority of those living in the Beyoglu district of Istanbul, Taksim Trip Park in the years since the construction does not want a variety of events and protests. The construction of the barracks without any requirement that the Prime Minister does not mind the insistence of the square; inevitably poses questions the rationale for this emphasis. Prime Minister boasted of removing military tutelage, he steered the barracks What a strange contradiction in the barracks? It can not be taken back to the barracks, to whom the tender may be given, or?
http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/?hn=422268&kn=896&ka=4&kb=5&kc=896

Maybe it help to clear out the event
Love and Hope

[Padmé]

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[Tangri]

Tangri... I'm curious... Why have you

Have I ? what?

[Padmé]

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[Tangri]

Tangri... I'm curious... Why did you feel you wanted to stay out of this topic, until now?

and certainly not dismissing anything you said, but the whole 'yalla' thing... as a Turk, you know that it is, be it an old fashioned term, one that is still used in Turkey. It was a curious point to make. Anyway, its great to have some more voices heard on this topic. I will read again and check out your links :)

Turks do not use word of yallah. We instead use yuruyun(lets walk). First I felt this thread doesn't need to become a specific country interest for people, avalonians, this is a Earth's issue New world order is not only at USA.
Last week Turkey pass the bill No selling alcohol after 10 pm( which I have 8 pm in Toronto yet)
and another bill for no smoking cigarette while driving( even Canada doesn't have this law yet)

[Padmé]

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[kreagle]

Bump,....sorry for post in wrong section

[InCiDeR]

Turkey protesters say PM vows to respect courts on park plans (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/14/us-turkey-protests-idUSBRE9590QA20130614)

http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20130614&t=2&i=741155280&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=700&pl=300&r=CBRE95C1RBI00

(Reuters) - Turkish protesters said on Friday Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan had pledged hold off on plans to redevelop an Istanbul park until a court ruled on the project, a move they said was a positive sign after two weeks of protest.

Erdogan met a delegation overnight mostly made up of actors and artists but also including two members of the umbrella protest group Taksim Solidarity, hours after saying his patience had run out and warning protesters occupying Gezi Park to leave.

Taksim Solidarity said Erdogan had promised to abide by the outcome of a court case filed in an effort to stop the redevelopment and would hold a referendum on the plans if the court found in the government's favor.

"The prime minister said that if the results of the public vote turned out in a way which would leave this area as a park, they will abide by it," Tayfun Kahraman of the protest group told reporters following the meeting.

"His comments that the project will not be executed until the judiciary makes its decision is tonight's positive result."

Taksim Solidarity said in a subsequent statement the group would decide as a whole what course of action to take after consulting on the results of the overnight meeting, leaving it unclear whether they would continue their protest.

A police crackdown on the park nearly two weeks ago triggered an unprecedented wave of protest against Erdogan and his AK Party - an association of centrists and conservative religious elements - drawing in secularists, nationalists, professionals, unionists and students.

Police fired teargas and water cannon day after day in cities including the capital of Ankara last week, while youths threw stones and petrol bombs in Turkey's worst unrest in years. Three people, including a police officer, died and about 5,000 were injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association.


CAFE TALKS

Huseyin Celik, deputy chairman of the ruling AK Party who was also in the talks, said the meeting had been positive but he reiterated Erdogan's position that the occupation had to end.

"Our government has been very tolerant, as tolerant as it goes in a democracy, but I don't think the government will leave that place under occupation for long," he said.

In Istanbul, the city's governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu held five hours of talks with protesters from Taksim Square, the epicenter of the protests, at a cafe by the Bosphorus strait.

After listening to their demands that the government abandon plans to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks on the park at Taksim, Mutlu said he sensed flexibility among the protesters.

"We felt they showed sensitivity...and did not have an unyielding stance regarding staying there (in the park)," Mutlu told reporters.

Erdogan has already discussed the plans to build over the park with various people who support the protesters, but had initially refused to meet with Taksim Solidarity, which is at the heart of the campaign to protect it.

Late on Thursday, he appeared to suggest that hundreds of protesters, camped out in a ramshackle settlement of tents in Gezi Park, could be forcibly evicted, although Mutlu said later there were no such immediate plans.

"Our patience is at an end. I am making my warning for the last time. I say to the mothers and fathers, please take your children in hand and bring them out ... Gezi Park does not belong to occupying forces but to the people," Erdogan said.


TAKSIM CALM

Taksim, where police fired teargas and sent thousands scurrying into side streets two nights ago, was crowded but calm overnight. Some of the assembled masses chanted and danced, while others listened to a concert pianist who played through the night amid the protesters as riot police looked on.

The government proposed a referendum on the plans to build on the park, one of the only concessions Erdogan has offered, after he met a group who back the protests on Wednesday.

The park protesters were skeptical after that meeting, rejecting the referendum idea and saying their demands - primarily a halt to the construction plans - were already clear.

The United States has voiced concern about reports of excessive use of police force, while the European Parliament on Thursday warned the government against using harsh measures against peaceful protestors and urged Erdogan to take a "unifying and conciliatory" stance.

The comments were not welcomed by Ankara.

"Turkey is not a nation that needs to be taught a lesson in any way on these topics by any country or by any group of countries," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

Erdogan, who has accused foreign forces, international media and market speculators of stoking unrest and trying to undermine the economy, said he would reveal on Friday details of what he called a "game being played with Turkey."

"It is as if the whole of Turkey is on fire, as if the whole of Turkey is collapsing," he said of some media coverage, describing it as "deceptive and unethical."

(Additional reporting by Ece Toksabay in Istanbul and Jonathon Burch in Ankara; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Jon Boyle)

---

In my opinion, I am not sure this will help anything. Yes Erdogan withold the plans until the court have made a decision. But then what? And who owns the court and can easily steer its decision in the "right" way.

[InCiDeR]

Turkey 'wants names' of volunteer doctors aiding protesters (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/afp/130614/turkey-wants-names-volunteer-doctors-aiding-protesters)

The Turkish health ministry has opened an inquiry into the volunteers who provided first aid to protesters injured in two weeks of anti-government unrest, the national doctors' association said Friday, vowing not to cooperate.

"We were notified that an investigation has been launched into the improvised clinics that treated the protesters," Osman Ozturk from the Turkish Medical Association (TBB) said at a press conference in Istanbul.

The body was told to "immediately" give up the names of the medical workers and their patients, he added.

Hundreds of medics have set up temporary clinics across Turkish cities to help protesters hurt in clashes with police.

Nearly 7,500 people have been injured and four have died in the unrest so far, according to the TBB.

Speaking on behalf of the medical group, Ozturk said they would give "not a single name" to the ministry.

"All our brothers who have been working day and night to look after the (demonstrators) without fear of the tear gas grenades and water cannons are our honour," he said.

The health ministry was not immediately available for comment.

A peaceful sit-in to save an Istanbul park from being razed prompted a brutal police response on May 31, spiralling into mass outpourings of anger against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seen as increasingly authoritarian.

In demos across the country, riot police have used tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets against demonstrators who have at times hurled back fireworks, rocks and Molotov cocktails.

Turkeys' Western allies have widely condemned what they described as excessive police force in the clashes.

---

They actually after people that helped and cared for other human beings?!... This is just insane and makes me sad.

[TheFlashRon]

Meanwhile, the Divine Feminine in Action...

by Stephen Cook

goldenageofgaia

06/14/2013

URGENT! Dear Friends, Dear Lightworkers, Tonight we reached a critical point in Turkish protests. There is imminent danger and final ‘illegal’ warning has been issued to the protesters by the PM (Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan). Police with live ammo have been observed around the protesters for the first time since the protests began and they are in thousands! Please add us to your prayers and send any healing, calming energy you can to us. Thank you!

And within 2 hours or so this has happened:

Dear Friends, Miracles do happen! Tonight after 9 PM, after hearing all the warnings and threats, mothers came!

All the mothers of all ages whose children are protesting in Gezi Park surrounded the park with a human chain.

Tonight there won’t be an attack. Mothers are there to protect their cubs. Thank you for your prayers, thanks to all tiger mums!

And as I posted the above, more was happening: Suddenly the PM wanted to talk to real representatives of the protests. They urgently flew out to Ankara. I do not expect much from the negotiations but what the mothers did brings tears to my eyes. They did not plan this, they did not know each other, they just came with their homemade cookies and cinnamon cakes in their hundreds, if not thousands.

And now they are on night watch. There is a wonderful piano concert within the park tonight. The police are also just hanging around and sitting on the floor, waiting and poor guys, what else can they do, except feel the love.

No one can tell me now that ascension is a myth. It is happening everywhere right in front of us. If this is not the divine feminine I don’t know what is.

I thought this would cheer you up as well! ‘

Lots of love, ‘Z’

[InCiDeR]

Turkish government says it may use army to end protests (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22938860)

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/68208000/jpg/_68208276_68208275.jpg
Anti-government protests continued in Istanbul and Ankara on Sunday night

The Turkish government has said it could use the army to end nearly three weeks of unrest by protesters in Istanbul and other cities.

The government would use "all its powers" and the armed forces if necessary, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on state-run television.

It is the first time the Islamist-rooted ruling party has raised the prospect of deploying the armed forces.

The issue is sensitive as the army is seen as a bastion of secularism.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told hundreds of thousands of supporters at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday that the protesters were manipulated by "terrorists".

Trade unions have called a strike to protest against the police crackdown on demonstrators which has seen some 500 people arrested.

Medical officials estimate that 5,000 people have been injured and at least four killed in the unrest.

The protests began on 28 May against a plan to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park, on the city's central Taksim Square, but it snowballed into nationwide anti-government protests after the perceived high-handed response of the authorities under their three-term prime minister.

Gendarmes
Mr Arinc told state-run TV that "the innocent demonstrations that began 20 days ago" had "completely ended".

Any further demonstrations would be "immediately suppressed", he added.


"Our police, our security forces are doing their jobs," he said. "If it's not enough then the gendarmes will do their jobs. If that's not enough... we could even use elements of the Turkish armed forces."

The deployment of gendarmes - a military unit under control of the interior ministry in peacetime - shocked some protesters in Istanbul this weekend.

In a separate interview, Interior Minister Muammer Guler stressed that he had not called on the army to help police the protests.

But he argued that the use of the gendarmerie was "quite normal", the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports.

Bloggers reacted with scepticism to news that the army might be deployed. "And this coming from the same people who always claim they liberated Turkish democracy from army intervention," one wrote.

In the capital, Ankara, riot police could be seen facing off with trade union activists on Monday.

Police officers used megaphones to order workers to stop their march towards the central Kizilay district, reports Reuters news agency.

"Those of you on the streets must stop blocking the streets," they said. "Do not be provoked. The police will use force."

Union marches were also being planned for Istanbul, where police evicted protesters from their camp in Gezi park over the weekend.

The Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) and Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DISK), along with three professional organisations, announced a one-day work stoppage to demand an end to "police violence".

[InCiDeR]

Could Protests in Turkey Hurt U.S. Effort to Arm Syrian Rebels? (http://www.nationaljournal.com/nationalsecurity/could-protests-in-turkey-hurt-u-s-effort-to-arm-syrian-rebels-20130614)

http://cdn-media.nationaljournal.com/?controllerName=image&action=get&id=29024&format=homepage_fullwidth
Hundreds of police in riot gear forced through barricades in Istanbul's central Taksim Square early Tuesday, pushing many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week into a nearby park. (AP Photo/Kostas Tsironis)


Now that the U.S. is moving toward arming the Syrian rebels, American allies in the region will play an increasingly important role in the coming months. But some of those countries have their own security issues that could hamper that effort.

Turkey is currently dealing with violent protests in Istanbul that have grabbed international attention and disrupted daily life, while Jordan continues to face a burgeoning number of refugees from Syria. Both of those conflicts could present roadblocks to U.S. plans.

After weeks of violent protests in Istanbul, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his government would halt redevelopment plans opposed by anti-government protesters, hoping that the demonstrations that have claimed five lives will calm down.

Tony Badran, a research fellow at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said these protests are not likely to harm the Turkish effort in Syria.
"Clearly the stuff that's happening in Turkey is taking up a lot of time and attention of the government there, but at the same time, the Syria situation is a high priority for them," he said.

During the protests, Turkey continued to host meetings between Western countries and leaders of the rebel Free Syria Army. And though the Erdogan administration had to mobilize its military to combat the violent protests, Badran said that any Turkish effort in Syria would primarily be providing logistics and intelligence information to rebels across the border.

The Turks have also been able to secure several border crossings for Saudi and French weaponry to cross into Syria.

Although the White House has yet to confirm reports, the U.S. is also expected to heavily rely on Jordan as the base for any military training and equipping of rebel fighters. Additionally, if there is to be a limited no-fly zone, the U.S. would base operations in Jordan.

Western leaders, though, have concerns that King Abdullah II of Jordan is at risk of political upheaval because of refugee camps that have swollen to hundreds of thousands of people.

The primary thing to watch out for in the coming weeks is the backlash that these two countries will face—either from Iran or Hesbollah—for helping the U.S. provide weapons to Syrian rebels.

Already, cross-border shelling and car-bombings have caused significant damage in the region. But despite the political and military backing from the U.S., Jordan and Turkey are at risk for more attacks on their borders.

[Octavusprime]

It is amazing how silence and non-violence can be so powerful. From Ghandi, MLK, Thich Quang Duc
to the unknown protester at Tiananmen Square . The world has been moved by these lone acts of bravery and selfless sacrifices that can change the course of history.

See the Turkish protester that has inspired those around him to a more powerful method of defiance. Don't fight harder fight smarter!

http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3458390

[InCiDeR]

Government working on draft to restrict social media in Turkey (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/governement-working-on-draft-to-restrict-social-media-in-turkey.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48982&NewsCatID=338)

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/images/news/201306/n_48982_4.jpg
A regulation for social media crimes are needed, Güler says. DHA photo

The Turkish government launched yesterday a study to restrict social media, an attempt that has been inspired by the Gezi protests that have spread across the country.

The Justice Ministry has started working on a draft on crimes over the Internet, ministry sources told the Hürriyet Daily News yesterday. “International implementations regarding the issue are being inspected,” the source said.

Yesterday’s remarks by Interior Minister Muammer Güler also confirmed that social media websites are on the government’s radar, as the protesters who have been shaking the country for nearly 20 days have widely used social media as a tool to organize demonstrations. The police are making efforts on this issue, Güler told a group of journalists in Ankara, noting that some people had been detained in İzmir because of their allegedly provocative tweets during the protests.


Search for senders

“We have a study on those who provoke the public via manipulations with false news and lead them to actions that would threaten the security of life and property by using Twitter, Facebook or other tools of the social media,” Güler said. “Still, we think that the issue needs a separate regulation,” he said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has already taken a bold stance against Twitter, calling the micro-blogging site a “troublemaker” on June 2.

Citizens cannot be permitted to conduct a “witch hunt” over Twitter, President Abdullah Gül said June 7, according to Turkish Bar Association head Metin Feyzioğlu, who met with the head of state over the Gezi Park protests. “In this process, everyone needs to act responsibly and with restraint. I will not allow a witch hunt over Twitter. I will be following the judicial and executive investigation,” Gül said, according to Feyzioğlu.

A state department working against cyber crimes has already started to investigate some 5 million tweets about the Gezi Park protests.