Protesters in Turkey stress continued resistance against injustice
Jun 15, 2013
Turkish people who have been protesting against the policies of the Justice and Development Party and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan for more than two weeks said they are determined to continue protests until their demands are met.
“We will continue the resistance against every injustice in our country…This is just the beginning and we will continue the struggle,” the AFP quoted ‘Taksim Solidarity’, a group supporting the protest movement, as saying in a statement Saturday.
The group affirmed that the protesters are today stronger and more organized and optimistic than they were 16 days ago, when the spark of the protest broke out with a group of environment activists gathering in Gezi Park in Istanbul to protest a government’s project that would lead to the Park’s demolition.
No sooner had the protests begun that they spread to the capital Ankara and other Turkish cities with the protesters demanding the release of their comrades who were arrested by the Turkish police in its crackdown on the protests.
The police used tear gas bombs and water cannons to disperse the protesters, during which the operation, five people were killed and more than 7500 were injured, in addition to the arrest of hundreds.
The protesters however continued to go out to the streets demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Erdogan and his government, holding Erdogan responsible for how things ended up in Turkey.
Leader of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, said his party, which is represented by over 100 MPs, supports all the demands of the Turkish protesters, warning of the consequences of the police’s use of violence in an attempt to suppress the protests.
In a press conference for foreign reporters, Kılıçdaroğlu highlighted the absence of freedom of journalism and the politicization of the judiciary in Turkey.
He criticized the Turkish government’s intervention in Syria, particularly in terms of hosting and funding the terrorist groups.
H. Said
Latest News Syria 