A demonstration in a park in Istanbul, Turkey, escalated quickly as police moved in to clear out the protesters.
Reuters reports that tourists are among the hundred-plus injured:
Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon on Friday at protesters occupying a park in central Istanbul, wounding scores including tourists in the harshest crackdown so far on days of anti-government unrest.
The protest at Gezi Park started late on Monday after developers tore up trees but has widened into a broader demonstration against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Friday’s violence erupted after a dawn police raid on demonstrators who had camped for days in the park in anger at plans to build a shopping mall. Clouds of tear gas rose around the area in Taksim Square, long a venue for political protest.
Twitter users are passing along pictures:
View of the teargas from above. http://t.co/hlvpv3lmvo #istanbul #occupygezi
— Andy Carvin (@acarvin) May 31, 2013
wow, Turkish police men meet every prejudice of aggressive, macho, police-state attitude #occupygezi pic.twitter.com/LaAAekVeiv
— Mirko Tobias Schäfer ?? (@mirkoschaefer) May 31, 2013
https://twitter.com/sarhosadam/status/340472526213885952
https://twitter.com/_ozan_cetin/status/340499280362086401
Close up shot capturing police violence agnst protester #OccupyGezi #Turkey pic.twitter.com/uuUMJODDbD
— Rawya Rageh (@RawyaRageh) May 31, 2013
A Burger King getting teargassed RT @140journos: Polis, Taksim Burger King'in kapısını nişan alarak gaz bombası attı. pic.twitter.com/jZTTFCNnYs
— Andy Carvin (@acarvin) May 31, 2013
https://twitter.com/constantnatalie/status/340510739158671360
Police water cannon flattened the journalist standing 5 meters away (he's on the ground in the photo). #Istanbul pic.twitter.com/sx6qHAllJK
— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) May 31, 2013
https://twitter.com/infraredness/status/340393012549021696
https://twitter.com/SodaLemonSalt/status/340518389556600833
Photo Gallery: Unrest in #Istanbul http://t.co/ckyYbwDXcU pic.twitter.com/H0VtGHinGp
— RealClearPolitics (@RealClearNews) May 31, 2013
https://twitter.com/alisteaparty/status/340424986101698560
Turkish people are resisting to, and protesting against, fascism, see it! #occupygezi #occupytaksim pic.twitter.com/CIgmle4Oyo
— Ender Balci (@enderbalci) May 31, 2013
https://twitter.com/sarhosadam/status/340466344711581696
Turkish riot police facing off against teenagers hurling rocks. Didn't Istanbul bid to host 2020 Olympics this week? pic.twitter.com/4OG8qw5UVk
— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) May 31, 2013
Why, yes it did.
Video of one protester finding out the hard way that water cannons pack a wallop:
This particular revolution is apparently not being televised locally:
Its astounding how I've seen almost no coverage of protests paralyzing life in downtown Istanbul on Turkish TV, except for mayor's presser
— Ivan Watson (@IvanCNN) May 31, 2013
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