Turkish police have fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse a massive demonstration against the demolition of a park in central Istanbul. The rally grew into a wider anti-government protest and is spreading across the country. Prime Minister Erdogan seems to be acting the Mubarak he once cricitised in Egypt.
More than 1,700 people have been detained since a harsh police crackdown against activists staging a sit-in protest at Gezi Park near Taksim Square spiraled out of control on Friday. Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Guler said "a large majority of the detainees were released after being questioned and identified," the state-run Anatolia news agency cites him as saying.Officials claimed that 53 civilians and 26 police officers had been hurt in the clashes, though Amnesty International alleges that hundreds have been wounded and two have been killed.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that a mosque, and not a shopping mall will be built in the Artillery Barracks project intended to replace Taksim Gezi Park, the Turkish daily Hurriyet reports. Erdogan added that he did not need permission from the political opposition or a “few marauders” for such projects, as the authority had already been granted by the people who voted his ruling Justice and Development Party into power.
Police have fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse around 1,000 protesters who were attempting to march to the Prime Minister’s office in the Turkish capital of Ankara, AFP reports.
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