Turkey Protest

 

Turkey
by F Guzzardi

There was very little coverage of the protests on television channels in Turkey, reflecting the environment of self-censorship by the media, which has, among other things, been pressured into dismissing staff too critical of the government.
The protest grew out of anger at heavy-handed tactics by police to break up a peaceful sit-in to protect a park in Istanbul's main Taksim square on Friday.

It turned into a wider protest against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is seen as becoming increasingly authoritarian.

The protest that started in Istanbul spread during Friday to the nation's capital where protesters were still throwing missiles at police and dodging the spray of water cannon long after darkness fell.

The protesters in Ankara chanted anti-government slogans in solidarity with those in Istanbul.

Turkish protesters 

Protesters lit fires and scuffled with police in parts of Istanbul and Ankara early on Sunday, but the streets were generally quieter after two days of Turkey's fiercest anti-government demonstrations for years.