On Saturday, police beat, tear-gassed, and detained protesters as they gathered at Istanbul’s Gezi Park on the first anniversary of the mass demonstrations against the Erdoğan Government.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan warned just before the clashes, “You will not be able to come to those places like you did last year. Because the police have taken absolute orders, they will do everything.”

The Turkish newspaper Hurriyet’s live coverage of the day:


Turkey was on alert on the first anniversary of the massive Gezi protests on May 31. Calls were made for street action in the flashpoint area of Istanbul’s Taksim Square, which was the heart of last year’s demonstrations.

But officials signaled that no demonstration would be allowed in Taksim or any other part of Istanbul, as the police ordered a sweeping deployment to crush any attempt of protest. Tensions ran high as some 25,000 police officers, 50 water cannon trucks (TOMAs), a large number of armored vehicles, as well as helicopters, were dispatched to prevent any gathering at Taksim Square and its environs.

The Istanbul police canceled all holidays and increased the shifts of officers to 12 hours until a second order. Additional policemen from 11 other provinces were deployed to the city as part of measures against possible protests.

“You will not be able to come to those places like you did last year. Because the police have taken absolute orders, they will do all,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said during the opening ceremony of a local municipal building in Istanbul hours before the rallies, which were suppressed with characteristic brutality by his police forces.

Despite the government’s calls, demonstrators gathered in Istanbul and other cities after a calm morning. The police started to use tear gas and water cannons at 7 p.m. in Istanbul and Ankara, at the same time that protests were held in several cities. Scores of civilians and many policemen were injured.

Here are the live updates as shared throughout the day:

23.00: Although minor clashes continue in a few locations in Istanbul and Ankara, most demonstrations died out after Taksim Solidarity announced that it ended the protests. Officials are expected to announce the number of people who were detained or injured early tomorrow.

22.44: Several people have been arrested in the Beşiktaş neighborhood of Istanbul. Nine demonstrators have been injured in Ankara, two of them were hit by tear gas canisters. Three policemen were injured due to fireworks aimed at them. (Click here for today’s 10 scenes of horror)

22.20: In Ankara, 17 demonstrators have reportedly been detained today.

21.45: The Human Rights Association (İHD) has announced that 76 people were detained and 11 were injured during today’s demonstrations.

21.25: Most protests have ended in Taksim due to the police brutality. A group of demonstrators staged a sit-in near İstiklal Avenue. Taksim Solidarity left the sit-in without any statement.

21.10: Several residents have been banging their pots and pans on their windows to protest the police particularly in Istanbul neighborhoods of Beşiktaş and Kadıköy since 9 p.m., following the call of Taksim Solidarity.

20.54: Police prevent a group who attempted to cross the Bosphorus Bridge on foot from Istanbul’s Asian side to Taksim in the European side. Cihangir (below) and Beşiktaş are among European neighborhoods where police intervention continues. Plainclothes officers deal out more beatings with batons carried in their black backpacks.

TURKEY PROTESTS

 

20.51: Even journalists with official press cards issued by Turkey’s Prime Ministry are not allowed to enter İstiklal Avenue, which looks desolate except the police presence.

20.40: A man plays flute in the middle of a busy road in Tarlabaşı neighborhood of Istanbul to protest authorities, while police pursued a group of demonstrators. Several people applauded the unnamed man who walked away after finishing his song, according to Doğan News Agency.

TURKEY PROTESTS 2

 

20.36: Police have started to intervene in Istanbul’s Asian-side district of Kadıköy for the first time today. Riot police dispersed a group of demonstrators who attempted to close a highway to traffic.

20.30: Several people around İstiklal Avenue in Istanbul have been affected by tear gas. Hürriyet reporters observe that almost no civilians are left on the avenue. “Police aren’t using as much tear gas as in the past, but there are more beatings and the number of people whom they have detained is more than usual,” a demonstrator told Hürriyet Daily News reporter Özgün Özçer.

Taksim gezi olaylari yildonumu

19.54: Taksim Solidarity said on its Twitter account that it will not make a statement “until the police violence ends.” The group said it will not leave the area, either.

Taksim gezi olaylari yildonumu

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