Park demolition protest snowballs into massive unrest

Now on its third day, what began as a small sit-in to protest the demolition of a park in Taksim Square has snowballed into the biggest protest movement against Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Violence broke out Friday spilling into Saturday. Police withdrew Saturday night following 36 hours of clashes. Demonstrators built barricades in the square entrance. On Sunday, protester who are still in control of the square chant “Tayyip resign” as they hurl rocks and police fired back with tear gas. Turkey’s news agency reports around 700 people have been detained since Tuesday, and most have been released. Andalou News Agency says 58 people are in the hospital and 115 government forces have been injured. Over the past four days, protests in 67 of Turkey’s 81 provinces also broke out. Erdogan admitted on the second day that police action in the Istanbul protests may have been “extreme.” Many demonstrators say their fury is not just about the plan to demolish the last green space in central Istanbul. They say it’s about freedom of speech and the government’s dictatorial tendencies. Erdogan was elected 10 years ago. He is accused of trying to make the predominantly Muslim but staunchly secular country more conservative.

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