Above” Turkey ‘Our underwears are cleaner than your politics’ from twitter GURKAN KILICASLAN@KILICASLAN
RT crew caught up in tear gas in Istanbul
An RT crew has been caught up in tear gas while reporting on a mass anti-government rally in Istanbul’s Taksim Square. Police have started dispersing the protesters, reports RT’s Sarah Firth.
Clashes started at around 17:30 GMT on Friday, with police using water cannons to disperse the crowd which gathered to voice their anger against the government’s actions, Firth reports from the site. This comes amid an ongoing high-profile corruption scandal.
“It’s very symbolic of the anger we’ve seen that has been building over the last couple of days,” she says.“Bits of rock and marble are everywhere you look,” with protesters throwing them at law enforcement officers.
Turkish policemen fire rubber bullets against protestors on the Istiklal Avenue on December 27, 2013, during clashes between the Turkish police and protestors. (AFP Photo / Bulent Kilic)
According to posts on Twitter, police followed protesters into side streets and fired rubber bullets, prompting them to respond with empty glasses. A reporter for Turkey’s liberal Radikal newspaper “was shot by a rubber bullet,” but despite being hurt “bravely keeps on reporting” from Taksim Square.
Many ambulances and fire trucks were seen entering the pedestrian road following the crackdown, according to Hurriyet Daily News. Some of the protesters hurled fireworks at riot police.
Hurriyet says that protesters gathered on Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square “upon a call that spread via social media.”
They chanted “Everywhere bribery, everywhere corruption,” which is reminiscent of the motto of the Gezi Park protests earlier this year. The slogan of those protests was “Everywhere Taksim, everywhere resistance.”
“Numbers wise for protestors, we are so far seeing a much smaller crowd than what was seen in the summer,” reports RT’s Firth.
Around two hours after the clashes erupted, police cleared Taksim Square. Officers are currently prohibiting entrance into the Square, according to reports on Twitter. However, protesters have begun building barricades on nearby Istiklal Street.
According to reports on social media, clashes have also erupted in Ankara, with police using water cannons to disperse protesters.
Protesters run from a water cannon on the Istiklal Avenue on December 27, 2013, during clashes between the Turkish police and protestors. (AFP Photo / Bulent Kilic)
The crisis erupted over the major graft probe on December 17, which led to the resignation of three ministers and the detention of their sons – who were allegedly involved in corruption schemes. It was followed by a major government reshuffle. On Wednesday, Tayyip Erdogan replaced ten out of 26 ministers in his cabinet.
As a result of the scandal, the Turkish lira reached its lowest value in more than three months, achieving record lows against the euro and the dollar. Meanwhile, the Istanbul stock market fell by 2.3 percent.
A protestor protects himself as fireworks explode on the Istiklal Avenue on December 27, 2013, during clashes between the Turkish police and protestors. (AFP Photo / Bulent Kilic)