Unrest in Turkey...

The protest at Taksim's Gezi Park started late on Monday after trees were torn up under a government redevelopment plan, but has widened into a broader demonstration against what protesters say is the authoritarianism of prime minister Tayyip Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Medics said close to 1,000 people were injured in the clashes in Istanbul on Friday, the fiercest anti-government demonstrations for years.

Half a dozen lost eyes after being hit by gas canisters, the Turkish Doctors' Association said.

The US State Department said it was concerned by the number of injuries while Amnesty International and the European parliament raised concern about excessive use of police force.

In one of the biggest challenges to the 10-year rule of the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, demonstrators took to the streets of Ankara, Izmir, Bodrum and several other cities as well as Istanbul to vent their frustration at what is seen to be an increasingly authoritarian administration.

The air of government nervousness was reinforced by the relative lack of mainstream media coverage of the drama in central Istanbul, fuelling speculation that the Erdogan government was leaning on the main television stations to impose a blackout on the ugly scenes.

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Police went on the rampage against protesters who had been sitting reading books and singing songs.

There was widespread criticism of the heavy-handed intervention and of the government, which is committed to demolishing the park to erect a shopping centre.

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What started at the beginning of the week as an environmental protest aimed at saving an Istanbul city centre park from shopping centre developers backed by the government appeared to be snowballing into a national display of anger at the perceived high-handedness of the Erdogan government.

"They have declared war on us," said an Istanbul shopkeeper in a back street, as he handed out lemon juice to counter the teargas to protesters. "This is out of all proportion."
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The protests started late on Monday after developers tore up trees to make way for the controversial construction project featuring a shopping centre in nostalgic Ottoman style and building a replica of an old military barracks.

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There were reports of a woman having died. In a sign of the tension, amateur video footage showed Turkish military personnel refusing to help the riot police, as well as handing out gas masks to demonstrators. There were also reports that some of the police had switched sides and joined the protests.
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"We all know how starved Istanbul is for green space. It needs this park so much more than yet another shopping mall."

Several retailers announced they would not open stores in the planned shopping centre. "I would not open a store in a place where blood has been shed," businessman Selami Sari told the Turkish press.

Spoiler:

MEGA MILK wrote:An increase in the amount of American military personnel stationed there would not be surprising.

sheep wrote:No kidding. Let them sort it out for themselves. Its none of our damn business.

chunckylover53 wrote:It's not that the U.S. forcibly involves its self with countries, they ask for it.

Shotgun Dismemberment wrote:These are the images that the Turkish media refused to broadcast.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT (three people in the video have been reported dead)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10j02y_turkish-spring-police-brutality_news

Police brutality off the scales...
Sad and enraging...

sheep wrote:

Shotgun Dismemberment wrote:These are the images that the Turkish media refused to broadcast.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT (three people in the video have been reported dead)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10j02y_turkish-spring-police-brutality_news

Police brutality off the scales...
Sad and enraging...

Jesus fucking Christ.

I'm just as upset with the people who walked right on by others who were curled up on the ground like oh, hey, a leaf. And citizens helping the police drag people away to be beaten (and taking part in that beating).

Rioting generally does bring on a strong police reaction (you are destroying property at this point) but damn.

The Ankara-based Human Rights Association says up to 1,000 people have been injured and more than 3,300 people have been detained over five days of protests.

Turkey's state-run news agency said police have detained 25 people for "spreading untrue information" on social media and provoking protests.

The Anadolu Agency says Wednesday the people were detained in the city of Izmir for allegedly "inciting the people to enmity and hate." It said police were still looking for 13 others.

Turkey's main broadcast media have been criticized for shunning the coverage of police brutality at the protest onset on Friday. Many people turned to social media to keep up to date with the developments.