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Riots in Turkey

Eddie Dane said:
Yeah, I'm also curious what this case will uncover.

I guess some intelligence agencies have been paying a bunch of Neo-Nazi "infiltrators", whilst these guys just fed them useless info.
Or worse, they got information about some of the murders, but decided not to act as to not blow covers, or maybe wait until something (even) more serious would occur.
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That seems likely, however, I think we can not discount a certain right wing tendency in German law enforcement agencies.
 
Ts4EVER said:
That seems likely, however, I think we can not discount a certain right wing tendency in German law enforcement agencies.
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I seriously hope they didn't look away from a god-damned murder spree, because they didn't like the victim's ethnic background.

There is huge spotlight on this case, so we're likely to find out.
 
The armoured crowd control vehicles with water cannons have arrived downtown in the capital and people are gathering.
 
The PM is back but defiant, calling the protests bordering on illegality. He also had 10,000 supporters meet him at the airport. Some chanting "Let's go, crush Taksim [district the focus of protests]." I worry that this could devolve into the bad old days of gang violence on the street between left and right as was seen in the late '70s. I have little to no confidence in the PM's ability to manage this situation. I hope his fellow party members, especially the president and deputy PM, continue to come to the fore as voices of reason.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22809430
 
Sideroxylon said:
The PM is back but defiant, calling the protests bordering on illegality.
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I wonder what he is hinting at with words like this. From what I understand, and I know very little so please don't hammer me if I am wrong, Erdoğan is not on great terms with the military, but is it possible he could call for martial law? And if so, will the military comply?


Sideroxylon said:
He also had 10,000 supporters meet him at the airport. Some chanting "Let's go, crush Taksim [district the focus of protests]." I worry that this could devolve into the bad old days of gang violence on the street between left and right as was seen in the late '70s. I have little to no confidence in the PM's ability to manage this situation. I hope his fellow party members, especially the president and deputy PM, continue to come to the fore as voices of reason.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22809430
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There was a teaching forum that I used to frequent where one of the residents got put in jail (or arrested, if I remember rightly) for sticking a picture of Erdoğan on a dog. Other teachers in Turkey thought his arrest was quite amusing as they considered him a bit of a loon, but the actual fact he was arrested for it seemed quite disturbing to me.

On the other hand, a Turkish friend of mine (who is also Kurdish) actually quite likes the ruling party, presumably for the reasons you pointed out that the party has been not too bad in its dealings with the Kurds.
 
I notice a lot of tweets coming out about the protests in Turkey are using the tag #occupygezi.

That tends to be a very literal use of the "occupy" meme. :)
 
Orphia Nay said:
I notice a lot of tweets coming out about the protests in Turkey are using the tag #occupygezi.

That tends to be a very literal use of the "occupy" meme. :)
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I am not sure whether the comparisons are local or foreign in origin but its a better one than Arab spring.
 
Sideroxylon said:
I am not sure whether the comparisons are local or foreign in origin but its a better one than Arab spring.
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Here is an assessment which avoids using simple labels by retelling a bit of Turkish history. The topic has been covered quite well on that site in a couple of articles, and I linked to one earlier, but this one taught me the most. His look forward after examining the past:

Kerem Öktem said:
[...] Whether Taksim Square will enter the annals of Turkey’s long struggle for freedom, justice and solidarity as the place, where a new social contract was made now depends, above all, on the government. This time Taksim is not about revolution, but about the possibility of a mature democracy that restraints the extremes of the neoliberal growth machine and that curtails the concentration of power in the hands of a delusional Prime Minister. It is also about the possibility of bridging the many fault lines of Turkey’s complex society. In the park and the square, Kurdish activists, Kemalists, Turkish nationalists, Socialists, and “Anti-capitalist Muslims” have been able to fight and celebrate together, despite occasional confrontations, which were resolved by immediate intervention of bystanders.

There are reasons to believe that members of the government and the experienced elder statesman like President Abdullah Gül will find a way out of the current impasse together with the representatives of the protestors on Taksim Square. They are well aware that prolonged unrest will harm the country’s highly globalized economy and the reputation of its government. Should they fail, and should the Prime Minister return to his politics of hubris, Turkey will once again enter a period of sadness, of which it has experienced so many already. Yet the events today in Istanbul, and throughout Turkey and the outpouring of international solidarity will not be unmade, and nor will the sense of social solidarity and the moment of empowerment, which has changed everybody, who has joined the protests.
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Turkey protests continue despite Erdogan threats

AFP said:
[...] As riot police doused of thousands of protesters in the capital Ankara with tear gas and jets of water for a second straight night, Erdogan went on the offensive, firing up supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) with combative rhetoric in rallies across the country.

"Those who do not respect this nation's party in power will pay a price," he told thousands of cheering loyalists in Ankara, just a few kilometers away from the clashes in downtown Kizilay Square, the latest violence in a second week of mass civil unrest.

"We remained patient, we are still patient but there's a limit to our patience," Erdogan said.

His fans relished the show of strength, frequently interrupting his remarks with bursts of applause and chanting: "Turkey is proud of you." [...]
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Just a lull. On again.

The wind is just blowing the gas back towards the police.

ETA: My take on the cleaning up debris was they were dropping large blocks off that ledge to smash for rubble to throw. Note how they moved in to pick up after that happened.
 
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