link to pictures of police brutality

Here the only crowds we’d see would be the people running, yes running, to be first into the completed shopping centre.

Turkey, a staunch NATO ally in the cause of freedom. And they want to join the EU as well…

Ye gods, they don’t mess about do they? 😯

Is that a copper doing a drive by shooting in a bus that i see there?

Looks like an 80’s football match.

Bloody hell!

I’m not sure I’d call it brutality. Excessive yes, violent yes but brutal no. Given that there are significantly more protestors than police, that the protestors (the majority) seem to be using the original reason as an excuse to cause trouble and that the police are getting bricked, glassed etc. IMHO.

Oh and most of the protestors are EDL racist/anti islam (just to be accurate and stop this going OT) type people.

Correspondents say that what was initially a local issue has spiralled into widespread anti-government unrest and anger over the perceived “Islamisation” of Turkey.

One woman told Agence France-Presse: “They want to turn this country into an Islamist state, they want to impose their vision all the while pretending to respect democracy.” From BBC news.

Wrong. The protests against a mall being built on the only green space in Istanbul were absolutely peaceful for three days. The police came in with tear gas and water cannons. This is an escalation of the Islamic state that the moderate Turkish public are not happy about. The police overreaction was the straw that broke the camels back.

JCL: You either missed my point or ignored it. I said that the majority are NOW using the ORIGINAL protest as a reason to protest. Not that the original one was against Islam etc.

The original protest is still peaceful

The scene in the central square appeared to be peaceful, with protesters chanting slogans, dancing and waving banners, some calling for the government to resign.

BBC News

The new protest is getting more and more violent:

However clashes continued in the Besiktas district of the city to the east.

The BBC’s Ben Thompson in the city said police were using tear gas and water cannon to hold back protesters near the Shangri-la hotel. BBC News

So the people who are protesting are all members of the English Defence League?? Eh? Jesus wept youth get a grip of yourself and at least comnent on whats happening.

Did I say that they were actually EDL or did I write “EDL type people”? Or have you not bothered to read any of the news reports? Where people say they don’t like Islam and how its changing their culture. Thats what THEY are saying, not me.

Why do our leaders endure turkey’s brutal suppression of free speech, ethnic cleansing of the kurds and unwarranted interventions in Iraq? Oil and Water. I’m so glad people I elect do deals with war criminals on my behalf, and all in my best interests too.

How thoroughly uplifting

Why do our leaders endure turkey’s brutal suppression of free speech, ethnic cleansing of the kurds and unwarranted interventions in Iraq? Oil and Water. I’m so glad people I elect do deals with war criminals on my behalf, and all in my best interests too.

How thoughtful

And don’t forget that Turkey is pressing for greater support of those upstanding Syrian rebels…

It’s interesting that, much like in Egypt in recent times, police brutality against peaceful demonstrators has had the complete opposite desired effect. Far from dissuading them their numbers have grown vastly. I hear now that they are in the process of busing them in from various parts of Turkey. And the police have been forced to withdraw. What’s stacked against the demonstrators is that the government, which has been power for a while, easily won reelection.

And it was the statioing of Thor IRBMs in Turkey that began the process that led to the Cuban Missile Crisis…

I would like the U.K. police to adopt this kind of a action against protestors who riot whether they be EDL or extremists

I would like the U.K. police to adopt this kind of a action against protestors who riot whether they be EDL or extremists

Hmmm, im not so sure you want that! There has to be a balanced approach to Police action, peaceful demonstrations are fine, they are the bedrock of a good democratic society. If they get violent, the police have to act strategically and intelligently, isolate the violent protesters and control the situation. NOT go gung hoo with tear gas and water cannons (oh and batons!)

I’m all for peaceful demos.

What’s wrong with stopping a thug smashing windows of hard working owners when a swift batton on the head will persuade them otherwise?

Going too soft on the country sends a weak message to the working class 😉

Looks like the aftermath of any European riot. The Turks would fit in well.

I’m so glad people I elect do deals with war criminals on my behalf, and all in my best interests too.

I’d like to see a list of governments, both current and historical. That haven’t done deals with with scumbags somewhere along the line. Both UK and foreign.

I can’t imagine there are many.

Frankenstein you do realise that the Turkish police have completely failed in their objectives – don’t you ?

What started off on monday a small peaceful demonstration involving about 50 people has now escalated to involve tens of thousands in two locations in Turkey, and has forced the police to withdraw.

Why would you want simular policing in Britain ?

I’d like to see a list of governments, both current and historical. That haven’t done deals with with scumbags somewhere along the line. Both UK and foreign.
I can’t imagine there are many.

There are few as disgusting as Richard Caborn and the ECGD. Not an ongoing problem though….have a look for ilisu dam campaign. And perhaps Balfour Beatty and Mark Thomas

Here the only crowds we’d see would be the people running, yes running, to be first into the completed shopping centre.

surely that’s preferable to rioting?

surely that’s preferable to rioting?

Even if the shopping centre was being built on one of the last public parks in, say, London ?

I think probably not.

Just nine acres in size, Gezi Park would be but a blip on the map in cities such as New York, with its 843-acre Central Park. But in Istanbul, where only 1.5 percent of land area is devoted to public green space — less than in crowded Tokyo or Shanghai, but far behind New York (14 percent) or London (38.4 percent) — it is a rare oasis.

Violence, Tear Gas Greet Protests to Save One of the Last Public Parks in Istanbul

EDIT : To be fair the “rioting”, is in response to police brutality, it’s not in response to plans to build a shopping centre in one of Istanbul’s last remaining parks, that protest was apparently peaceful.

ernie_lynch – Member

Frankenstein you do realise that the Turkish police have completely failed in their objectives – don’t you ?

Depends, eh. Crowd control doesn’t mean what folk thinks it means.

I’m looking forward to the guy from my team getting back from there. He’s Turkish and was back home for a holiday but it looks like he has managed to get caught up in all.

Oh and most of the protestors are EDL racist/anti islam (just to be accurate and stop this going OT) type people.

Sorry? Protesters who want their country to stay secular are racist?

Interesting blog:

http://defnesumanblogs.com/2013/06/01/what-is-happenning-in-istanbul/

Also read that the woman hit in the head by the gas canister died. Probably the woman in the red top from the photos. But no-one knows and I don’t think the Turkish government are gonna be very open.

I’m not sure I’d call it brutality

Love to know what your idea of brutality actually is?

http://vimeo.com/67523930

Early 21st century, post advent of social media and smartphones, not a good time to be an autocrat IMO – impossible to control the message that reaches the people and the outside world.
Unsettling for us all whilst the change comes through, but surely better for everyone in the end. Will hopefully lead to poor and developing nations no longer being held hostage to autocratic leaders nicking all their natural wealth…
Interesting times

Sadly not. You can be connected, informed, networked… and still beaten down by brute force. He who has the arms, wins.

Turkey is a really conflicted country, places like Istanbul want to be very western and the youth want to embrace for better or worse the MTV kind of lifestyle, in the counrtyside it is a lot more conservative and religious. Would put a pound on it that the coppers handing out the violence will of been brought in to the city for just this kind of action. They do like a good scrap though, the football rivalry is evidence of that.

Met a couple of Turkish guys when studying one was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet, the other was just evil a really unpleasant individual. He was one of those guys who would mouth off when he was with a gang. He mouthed off at the wrong Finn in the end.