Turkey protests resume in Istanbul after apology
BBC News online -- 4 June 2013
The atmosphere in Taksim Square is "almost celebratory"
Thousands of Turks have gathered in Taksim Square in Istanbul for a fifth night of anti-government protests.
BBC correspondents on the scene say the demonstration is peaceful with no sign of tear gas, whose use by police has become one of the main grievances.
Protests over the demolition of a park grew into days of unrest across Turkey.
The atmosphere on Taksim Square is almost celebratory as the protesters realise the government is trying to conciliate, the BBC's Paul Mason reports from the scene.
The crowd is massive, ranging from football fans to well-heeled professionals, our correspondent adds.
People have been chanting "Have you heard us?" in the hope the government is listening to their demands.
Crowds gathered for a fifth night hours after deputy PM Bulent Arinc apologised to protesters injured in demonstrations opposing the redevelopment of Gezi Park.
He said the original protests were "just and legitimate" and the "excessive use of force" by police was wrong.
Turkey's Deputy PM Bulent Arinc: "The use of
excessive force shown against the people who initially started this
protest... was wrong and it was unfair"
But Mr Arinc also called for the demonstrations to end, saying they had been taken over by "terrorist elements".
Mr Arinc's conciliatory remarks contrast with the tougher line taken by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who says the protests are undemocratic.
Speaking during a trip to Morocco, Mr Erdogan told reporters: "On my return from this visit, the problems will be solved."
Meanwhile Turkish television station NTV has apologised for failing to cover the initial protests.
The chief executive of the conglomerate that owns NTV, Cem Aydin of Dogus, said criticism of the channel was "fair to a large extent".
"Our audience feels like they were betrayed," he said after a meeting with staff, some of whom resigned in protest at the lack of coverage.
Protesters have turned to social
media to spread their message and coordinate demonstrations, the BBC's
Sophie Hutchinson reports from Istanbul.
Another trade union confederation, Disk, has said it will join the strike on Wednesday.
The protests began on 28 May over plans to redevelop Gezi Park near Taksim Square in Istanbul.
They soon mushroomed, engulfing several cities and including political demands.
Gezi Park
- The demolition of Gezi Park - the issue which sparked the protests - is a part of a wider urban redevelopment project in Istanbul
- The government wants to pedestrianise and ease traffic around Taksim Square; Kalyon Group, a company which has close ties with the government, has been contracted to carry out the project
- The project also includes building a shopping centre which PM Erdogan says would not be "a traditional mall", but rather would include cultural centres, an opera house and a mosque
- The plan also includes rebuilding an Ottoman-era military barracks near the site and demolishing the historic Ataturk Cultural Centre
- The government has been making ambiguous and inconsistent statements about the project, which is causing concern among protesters who oppose replacing the green city park with grey concrete
Officials have confirmed two
deaths in the protests. One man died after being shot by an unidentified
gunman in the southern city of Antakya.
The Turkish Human Rights Association, an NGO, said more than 2,800 protesters had been injured across the country, many of them seriously, and that 791 had been detained, of whom "around 500" have since been released.
Mr Arinc said that 244 police officers and 64 protesters had been injured, and more than 70m Turkish lira (£24m; $37m) worth of public damage had been caused.
Protesters accuse the Turkish government of becoming increasingly authoritarian.
Mr Erdogan is still the most popular politician in the country, but he is discovering that a ruling style that his opponents say is autocratic has its limits, the BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen reports from Istanbul.
Mr Erdogan's Turkey was seen as a runaway success by many in Europe and the Middle East; now it is looking tarnished, with deeper problems than its allies - and enemies - realised, he adds.
Turks turn to Twitter for news
Turks have turned to social media to fill gaps left by TV stations and to show support for anti-government protesters. Labels: Chaos, Crisis Politics, Human Relations, Islamism, Turkey
posted by Pieface @ Tuesday, June 04, 2013
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