Via a Turkish comrade -- some highlights of what has been happening in Turkey for the past two days (15-16 June 2013):
- Police harshly attacked everywhere and everybody with various chemical substances, rubber bullets and water cannons spraying water mixed with acidic substance in İstanbul. (15 June 2013)
- Infirmaries and hospitals were attacked and destroyed mercilessly, voluntary doctors arrested. (15 June 2013)
- Minister of EU declared everybody entering Taksim as terrorists and asked the police to treat them as terrorists. (15 June 2013)
- Media reporters were not allowed to enter Gezi Park. (15 June 2013)
- Media reporters have not been allowed to record in İstanbul and in Ankara. (15 and 16 June 2013)
- Some members of the parliament were physically attacked by police in İstanbul. (15 June 2013)
- Government figures have continued blunt lies, spreading spite and malice through the media. (15 and 16 June 2013)
- Municipality in İstanbul stops public transportation to stop people reach at Taksim. (15 and 16 June 2013)
- The families of those who have been taken into custody do not know where they have been taken in İstanbul. (15 and 16 June 2013)
- The thousands of people attending to the funeral of Ethem Sarısülük (who was killed by a police bullet) have been violently attacked by police in Ankara. (16 June 2013)
- The municipality of Ankara has stopped public transportation services to prevent people from attending the funeral. (16 June 2013)
- Almost all of the international conventions that Turkey has been a party to regarding human rights have been breached. (15 and 16 June 2013)
- Many of the public services such as public transportation and direct cash transfers have been mobilised to carry people to the AKP rallies in Ankara and İstanbul. (15 and 16 June 2013)
PEOPLE: TRY TO GET TOGETHER AND CONTINUE TO RESIST!
Last night, large parts of Istanbul were covered in clouds of tear gas in what appears to be the most violent crackdown of the authorities on the peaceful protests opposing Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian rule so far. At 9pm with only a 15 minutes warning the police attacked Gezi park which was at that time filled with peaceful protestors, among them kids, elderly and tourists as well. In less than half an hour the park was cleared from protestors after which the police started tearing down the tents, banners, infirmaries and community spaces that were set up by the protestors. A lot of people sought refuge in the hotels surrounding Gezi Park, with the Divan Hotel opening its doors to the wounded and being turned into an emergency hospital. The violence of the police last night was unprecedented, with water cannons shooting water at a hospital entrance, police firing tear gas inside buildings and apartments and attacking the Divan Hotel arresting doctors and the injured alike. Widespread rumours suggest that the water from the water cannons has been treated with some kind of chemical, causing skin and eyes to burn.
In a reaction to the violent crackdown, hundreds of thousands of Istanbullus took to the streets, marching on highways and across the bridge over the Bosporus in order to join their fellow-Capulers in the area around Taksim Square. All night long protestors tried to advance towards the centre, only to be met with more police violence. Reports of the army and military police being brought in feed fears of escalation of the conflict, especially in the light of the provocative AKP-rally that is organised by Erdogan in Istanbul today.
In Ankara the violence continued as well, with reports of dozens of protestors being hospitalized after being hit in the head or the chest by tear gas canisters, which are used as bullets and fired directly at the protestors by the police.
The Taksim Solidarity Platform called for rallies at 16:00 (IST) today, with marches being organized in the following towns across the country: Edirne, Bursa, Antep, Konya, Trabzon, Tarsus, Adana, Çaycuma, Çanakkale, Antalya, Samsun, Eskisehir, Antakya, Izmir, Mersin.#occupygezi #WeAreGezi #OccupyTurkey
