Riot police cleanse streets of Istanbul, Ankara, as Erdogan blames ‘foreign conspiracy’ for protests
Saturday, 22 June 2013
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| A protester holds the Turkish flag in front of a riot police line near Taksim Square in Istanbul June 22, 2013 (Reuters / Marko Djurica) |
After dispersing a crowd commemorating the victims of police brutality with tear gas and rubber bullets, police swept the side streets of Istanbul with water cannons to prevent people from gathering again. Similar cleansing could be witnessed in Ankara.
Scattered clashes in the streets around Istanbul’s Taksim Square were being reported for hours after police dispersed the massive rally on the square itself. At least 42 people were injured in clashes, according to Istanbul Medical Chamber.
Police used heavy-handed tactics to push protesters back from Taksim, unleashing a barrage of rubber bullets and thick clouds of tear gas. Water cannon trucks were then parked at several entry points to Taksim to prevent the demonstrators from regrouping.
Meanwhile in the streets of the Turkish capital of Ankara, police sprayed tear gas and water to break up hundreds of protesters who were planning to march to the city's main square. Ankara riot police have been patrolling the streets in such a manner over the last week, with RT’s Tom Barton having experienced himself how it feels to be suddenly attacked by water cannon.
