Israel Matzav: It's come to this: Turkish police spray tear gas into Istanbul hotel lobby

Saturday, June 15, 2013

It's come to this: Turkish police spray tear gas into Istanbul hotel lobby

The Erdogan regime in Turkey decided that tonight was the night to clear Istanbul's Taksim Square, including Gezi park. It was the wrong move. They've provoked a riot that saw police shooting teargas into the lobby of the Divan Hotel (which was letting people use its facilities) and is likely to ensure that the current round of rioting and protests continues.

Just days after protesters and the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared to reach an agreement to halt a planned mall-development project in Gezi Park and Taksim Square, the last remaining green space in central Istanbul, police cleared the park by force Thursday evening. The move — the latest reversal in approach by an administration that’s seemed unable to hold a course of action in response to the now 17-day-old protests — came after Erdogan, addressing a crowd of about 10,000 supporters at a rally in Ankara, announced:

"This state is not your plaything. It is not. I am sorry." He aimed his message at his opponents in Istanbul, the nation’s largest city: "If it is not emptied, from now on, this country's security forces will know how to empty that place."

Just moments later, at about 8 p.m. local time, police loudspeakers in Taksim Square began issuing warnings for protesters to leave Gezi: “Please vacate the park, or increasing force will be used." The park and square in one of the more affluent sections of the booming city had appeared to return to a more normal state in recent days after the government agreed to hold off on its development plans until a court ruling on them, and to allow for a city-wide referendum if the plan was found legal before proceeding. So the Park and Square were filled not only with protesters, but tourists and families milling about, shopping, eating at pricy restaurants and taking in the scene, unsure what to make of the warnings. Earlier in the day, city workers had been painting over the remaining graffiti left by the protesters. Even after the loudspeakers’ warnings, a mood of waiting prevailed for about 30 more minutes. Erdogan has issued such ultimatums in the past, only to change course.

But, the crowd-control vehicles started revving up and the police began preparing to move forward.

Protesters massed at the entrance of the park and chanted: "Everyone is Taksim. Everyone is resistance." At the front entrance of the park, protesters formed a human chain as a man with a gas mask atop his head walked up and down their line, warning them to do nothing to provoke the heavily-geared police, who minutes later began moving steadily forward. Ahead of the advancing police, a spray of tear-gas laced water fired from high-pressure hoses helped to thin the ranks of the protesters, and the front line of police, using their shields as wedges, broke the line of those who remained, which offered no violent resistance, as trailing police took down tents the protesters had pitched. This reporter saw one woman dragged from her tent, screaming, by riot police.

Another middle-aged man, a teacher, sat amid the just-wrecked canvas and poles strewn about, sobbing in anger and screaming at the swarming riot police: "Why?!"

One 22-year-old university student, who was afraid to give his name, said he and his friends had been in their tents when the raid commenced. "We opened the tents and we saw the cops immediately," he said. "The prime minister said we had 24 hours to evacuate the park, but an hour later he did it. There were little kids and old people there."

Smaller groups of protesters continued trying to form non-violent masses to slow the police, but the officers continued to spray those groups with tear-gas, and to use their shields to break them up.

...

As this report was filed, both police and protesters had massed in a standoff at the hotel’s entrance. A mother — it was unclear if she was a protester or a tourist — holding a toddler with a surgical mask burst through the crowd outside the hotel and into a taxi.

In his speech in Ankara, Erdogan said the demonstrators would not negotiate in good faith, according to CNN. "We have reached out with our hands," he said. "However, some people returned their fists in response. Can you shake hands with those who reach out with a fist?"

Still Hussein Obama's best friend forever?

Labels: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish spring