Protesters occupy Istanbul square as 1,700 held

Yahoo – AFP, June 3, 2013

(AFP)

ISTANBUL (AFP) - Thousands of people were on Sunday occupying Istanbul's Taksim Square, the epicentre of the biggest demonstrations in a decade against Turkey's Islamist-rooted government which have seen more than 1,700 people detained and scores wounded.

A sea of protesters from across Turkey's political spectrum were camping out in the iconic square, chanting "Government, Resign!" and "Istanbul is ours, Taksim is ours!" as they celebrated after the police pulled out of the site on Saturday.

More than 1,700 people have been arrested but "a large majority of the detainees were released after being questioned and identified," Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler said in remarks carried by the state-run Anatolia news agency.

Taksim has been at the heart of a wave of more than 90 demonstrations in 48 cities nationwide, the biggest public outcry against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government since it assumed power in 2002.

In Ankara, police fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse some 1,000 protesters who were attempting to march on the prime minister's office.

The unrest began as a local outcry against plans to redevelop Gezi Park near Taksim Square, but after a heavy-handed police response quickly snowballed into broader protests against what critics say is the government's increasingly conservative and authoritarian agenda.

"They call me a dictator," Erdogan said in a speech on Sunday, a day after he called for an immediate end to the protests. "If they liken a humble servant to a dictator, then I am at a loss for words."

After two days of violent protests and appeals by Turkey's Western allies for restraint, the situation appeared to have calmed in Istanbul on Sunday after police pulled out of Taksim and officials took on a more conciliatory tone.

Interior Minister Muammer Guler said police had detained 939 people as of Saturday evening, but many have been released.

Officials said 53 civilians and 26 police officers were hurt during the violence, while Amnesty International put the number of wounded in the hundreds and said there had been two deaths.

Erdogan on Saturday insisted his government would press ahead with the controversial redevelopment though he said the project may not include a shopping mall, as feared by protesters.

He also admitted "some mistakes" in the police response to the protest.

Eylem Yildirim, a 36-year-old housewife and protester in Taksim, said she expected the crowds to die down after the weekend but said the people had made their point and the government knew they were "bitter and at the limits of their patience."

Amnesty said some protesters had been left blinded by the massive quantities of tear gas and pepper spray used by police over two days while at least two people were hit in the head with gas canisters.

Turkey's Western allies Britain, France and the United States had earlier called for the Erdogan government to exercise restraint.

"We have learnt our lesson," Istanbul mayor Kadir Topbas told NTV on Saturday.

He said he regretted "not informing the people enough" about the details of the construction project in Taksim.

Mass circulation newspaper Milliyet meanwhile plastered a picture of the packed square on its front page with the headline "Freedom Park".

Turkish officials said a dozen people hurt in the protests were being treated in hospitals, and that one of them was in intensive care after brain surgery.

Amnesty's Europe director John Dalhuisen said police excesses had become routine in Turkey "but the excessively heavy-handed response to the entirely peaceful protests in Taksim has been truly disgraceful."

Human Rights Watch said the number of injured was higher than official figures suggested and said one protester had lost an eye after police shot him with a plastic bullet.

The US State Department had called on NATO-member Turkey to uphold "fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association, which is what it seems these individuals were doing".

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius told local media that Paris was calling for "moving towards a peaceful solution". But he rejected comparisons with the Arab Spring uprisings, saying: "We are dealing (in Turkey) with a government that was democratically elected."

Some 1,800 people also rallied in Vienna on Saturday to criticise the Erdogan government and show their support for the protesters in Istanbul.

The Turkey protests also follow a controversial new law introduced by Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that will restrict the sale and advertising of alcohol, a move that has sparked complaints that the government is trying to impose an Islamic agenda.

Erdogan's populist government is often accused of trying to make the predominantly Muslim but staunchly secular country more conservative and has also been criticised for its crackdown on opponents including Kurds, journalists and the military.

Related Articles:

Powerful selection of Turkey protest pics - New

Turkey Deputy PM apologises to Gezi Park protesters

Turkey protests continue as US voices concern about police use of force

Turkey clashes: Erdogan says protests 'are not Turkish Spring'

Turkish protesters have long list of complaints

Solidarity with Istanbul protesters grows in Turkey and abroad

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“…  Government

Let us speak of government. We're not speaking of your government, but of any government - the way it works, how it survives, how it has survived, the way it campaigns, and how it elects leaders. It's going to change.

Years ago, I told you, "When everybody can talk to everybody, there can be no secrets." Up to this point on this planet, government has counted on one thing - that the people can't easily talk to each other on a global scale. They have to get their information through government or official channels. Even mass media isn't always free enough, for it reports that which the government reports. Even a free society tends to bias itself according to the bias of the times. However, when you can have Human Beings talking to each other all at once, all over the planet without government control, it all changes, for there is open revelation of truth.

Democracy itself will change and you're going to see it soon. The hold-outs, the few countries I have mentioned in the past, are doomed unless they recalibrate. They're doomed to be the same as they have been and won't be able to exist as they are now with everyone changing around them.

I mentioned North Korea in the past. Give it time. Right now, the young man is under the control of his father's advisors. But when they're gone, you will see something different, should he survive. Don't judge him yet, for he is being controlled.

In government, if you're entire voting base has the ability to talk to itself without restriction and comes up with opinions by itself without restriction, it behooves a politician to be aware and listen to them. This will change what politicians will do. It will change the way things work in government. Don't be surprised when some day a whole nation can vote all at once in a very unusual way. Gone will be the old systems where you used to count on horseback riders to report in from faraway places. Some of you know what I am talking about. Government will change. The systems around you, both dark and light, will change. You're going to start seeing something else, too, so let's change the subject and turn the page. …”