Istanbul, Turkey (CNN) — Police fired tear gas and water cannons at protesters camped out in Istanbul’s main commercial district early Friday.
Officers in riot gear entered the Taksim Gezi Park, the site of a four-day-long protest against an urbanization project that would turn the park into a shopping mall.
Demonstrators also oppose plans to rebuild historic barracks from the time of the Ottoman Empire and create a shopping arcade out of them.
Protesters trying to block the bulldozers chanted slogans before police uprooted them from the park.
Demonstrators and police clashed as they moved to the main commercial street, with protestors throwing bottles, setting up barricades and burning trash in the middle of the street.
Small groups of protestors also clashed with police in side streets.
Police also deployed tear gas in an attempt to disperse protesters on Thursday. Officers cleared out their tents and sleeping bags but failed to end to the sit-in.
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While we have heard from the Turkish government a reasonable amount in the last year, this is the first we have heard from the Turkish people… not surprising, considering that Turkey is a rather repressive regime when it comes to public protests.
But now, that repressive approach may be backfiring – there has been heavy use of water cannons by Turkish police in response to the protests over the last three days, which have already resulted in multiple injuries, and possibly a death earlier today. Additional protest activities are being planned through the evening and night tonight according to many social media sources, and the momentum and initiative are with the protesters at present. If continued on this track, Turkey may be in for a social meltdown reminiscent of Egypt.
Here is video of the alleged death by water cannon –
It’s really amazing how every US ally seems to be having economic problems and social unrest in the last 2 years… correlation?
WE HAVE BEEN WARNED
LT
~Those who abuse Liberty, sentence themselves to death!
