Rallies Continue In Turkey , One Dead
By Countercurrents.org
29 June, 2013
Countercurrents.org
Gezi protests. DAILY NEWS photo
Gezi protests now continue with relatively peaceful rallies in many cities across Turkey .
The governor of the southeastern province of Diyarbakir confirmed that one person had been killed and nine injured as a group of villagers trying to prevent the construction of a gendarmerie facility in Diyarbakir 's Lice clashed with security forces.
The victim was identified as Medeni Yildirim, 18.
As the group held a demonstration to halt the construction of an additional building for the patrol in the village of Kayacik , it reportedly set some tents on fire there.
The gendarmerie used tear gas against the protesters who wanted to break into the construction site. Protesters threw stones at workers and also used Molotov cocktails, as the gendarmerie fired warning shots.
The incidents in Lice were marked at the forums in Istanbul parks, which emerged in the aftermath the Gezi Park protests that shook the city for more than three weeks.
Participants in the forums at city parks both on the Asian and European sides of Istanbul chanted slogans today in support of the people in Lice and condemning the violence there.
Greenpeace hits out at Erdogan
Meanwhile, Kumi Naidoo, Greenpeace International Executive Director said: Democratization demands overlapped with environmental concerns for the first time during the Gezi protests. He criticized Turkish prime minister's seeing of foreign plots behind the rallies.
Greenpeace officials said: Demands for democratization have for the first time overlapped with demands for environmentally sensitive policies, during the mass demonstrations that have shaken the country.
What started as the protest of a small group over the demolition of Gezi Park has turned into mass demonstrations and as such the activism of the civil society in Turkey has attracted the attention of not only the Turkish ruling class but the whole world, said Kumi Naidoo on June 27.
Naidoo will participate in a rally in Istanbul to raise awareness about global warming.
Naidoo said: Turkey 's environmental statistics are very disturbing with more than 80 projects planned for fossil fuels energy, Turkey ranks number four in terms of posing a threat to the world, coming after China , India and Russia .
Naidoo mentioned that demonstrations similar to the ones for Gezi Park have taken place previously all over the country.
“We know that many local communities have stood up largely on their own to protest an irrigation project or the construction of a coal power plant,” Naidoo said.
Naido criticized Turkish prime minister Erdogan's stance of seeing a foreign plot behind protests and accusing foreign groups of provoking people in Turkey .
Naido said: “If Mr. Erdogan believes that people in Turkey are told what to do by foreigners; then he really does not understand what's going on. It seems I have more faith in Turkish people's conscience than Mr. Erdogan.”
Comments are moderated
