Police teargas activists marking Taksim protests anniversary
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Saturday that police had orders to disperse any new protests taking place in Istanbul's Taksim Square as defiant activists rallied to mark the launch of a deadly May 2013 crackdown on demonstrators.
A government ban on protests in the park remains in place.
"If you go there, our security forces have received clear-cut instructions and will do whatever is necessary from A to Z," Erdogan told thousands of supporters at an Istanbul rally.
"You will not be able to take to [Taksim] like you did last year because you are obliged to abide by the laws... If you do not, the state will do whatever is necessary for its security."
What began as a campaign last year to save Istanbul’s Gezi Park from being turned into a shopping mall spiralled into weeks of anti-government protests that eventually threatened to bring down Erdogan's administration.
Melissa spent 15 days camped out in Gezi Park, part of central Istanbul's Taksim Square, with other activists last year. She has no hesitations about going back.
"People died protecting it, people died during the protests all over Turkey, so there is no turning back,” she told FRANCE 24.
“If they are trying to demolish it again, we're going to be there, again and again."
Deadly crackdown
On May 31 last year police attempted to break up the Gezi Park protest camp with batons, tear gas and rubber bullets.
Anger over their heavy-handedness and anti-government feeling caused three million Turks to hit the streets across the country.
Over a dozen people died and thousands were injured in clashes with the police over the following months.
Erdogan's 11-year grip on power was then further tested by a series of corruption scandals, to which he responded by placing controversial restrictions on the Internet, including bans on Twitter and Facebook.
Despite the scandals, Erdogan continued to enjoy a large following particularly amongst poorer voters and those in favour of his Islamic-rooted AKP, which scored a crushing victory in local elections in March.
But May’s disaster at the Soma mine in eastern Turkey, which saw 301 people killed, renewed outrage against Erdogan's his leadership, his handling of the tragedy severely criticised.
With Taksim Solidarity, an umbrella group of labour unions, civil society groups and opposition parties, promising a turnout of millions for Saturday’s anniversary demonstrations, Erdogan’s troubles show no sign of abating.
"The ghost of Gezi continues to hover over Erdogan," said Soli Ozel, a political scientist at the Istanbul-based Kadir Has University. "The protests may have been quelled, but the discontent is still there and will spread."
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
