Recep Tayyip Erodgan crush mass demonstration

12062013

The demonstrators retreated from an Istanbul protest square Wednesday after a night of running battles with riot police as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan moved to crush mass demos against his Islamic-rooted government.

By midday, hundreds of officers armed with riot shields and backed by water cannon trucks lined up along the eastern side of the square. Just a stone’s throw away, weary demonstrators huddled up in Gezi Park.

Small crowds, mainly commuters and curious passers-by, milled around the area after a large clean-up operation removed all evidence of the unrest, clearing the square of stray tear gas canisters, anti-Erdogan banners and makeshift barricades.

The premier was to hold talks with some protest leaders on Wednesday, but many protesters said the unexpected crackdown on Taksim Square, which had seen no police presence since June 1, had made them lose faith in any dialogue.

“We don’t accept it,” said Anessa, a 29-year-old photographer, complaining that the government had cherry-picked the groups invited to the meeting..

Anessa walking around a subdued Gezi Park in the rain, she said the violence only made protesters more determined. “We are not afraid. We are very angry and we will not stop.” The nationwide unrest first erupted after police cracked down heavily on May 31 on a campaign to save the park from redevelopment, spiralling into mass displays of anger against Erdogan.

Four people, including a policeman, have died in the unrest. Nearly 5,000 demonstrators have been injured, tarnishing Turkey’s image as a model of Islamic democracy.

Erdogan, now  increasingly authoritarian, has taken a tough line on the demonstrators, many of whom are young and middle-class. On Tuesday, he warned his patience had run out.

“We won’t show any more tolerance,” he told cheering lawmakers of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in a speech broadcast live on television.

Hours later, Taksim Square resembled a battle scene, police firing volleys of tear gas to disperse tens of thousands chanting “Erdogan, resign!” and “Resistance!”

Cat-and-mouse games continued into the night, with police firing gas, jets of water and rubber bullets at demonstrators who hurled back fireworks, bottles and molotov cocktails. The capital Ankara also saw renewed clashes overnight as riot police used gas, pepper spray and water cannon against thousands of protesters near the US embassy. Some threw rocks in response.

President Abdullah Gul on Wednesday said Erdogan’s meeting with demonstrators was a sign of the country’s “democratic maturity”.