10 ms·

Evidence of Turkish state violence in pictures

183 points by joshcrowder 13y ago

Tomis02 13y ago
I don't think they were trying to hide it.
- danmaz74 13y ago
  Turk media almost didn't report the news. How would you call that?
  - Tomis02 13y ago
    I would call that my point. The media isn't reporting the news not because the government was hiding the facts, but because the government controls the media.
    - danmaz74 13y ago
      Ok, then I misunderstood your comment :)
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- tych0 13y ago
  Yeah, really. A lot of times in these kinds of "police brutality" pictures it's a little hard to tell what's going on -- maybe somebody was being aggressive and stuff was warranted. Here, that's obviously not the case: * wiping tear gas out of a <10 year old girl's eyes * groups of cops kicking a single person who is already on the ground * frail old man with broken nose bleeding None of these people were in any position to be a danger to the cops -- why beat them up? Makes me proud to be a human that Turkish citizens are standing up for themselves. All the best for them.
- pessimizer 13y ago
  http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/06/cnns-disgraceful-coverage-of-the-protests-in-turkey-in-one-photo/ http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/06/cnns-disgraceful-coverage-o...
swombat 13y ago
My question is, how long before the peaceful demonstrators turn hostile? If I were there, I would feel like the government has crossed the line into violence and that therefore the crowds have no choice but to defend themselves. Soon enough, Turkey won't look that different from Syria, if the police keep that up.
- ludwigvan 13y ago
  The situation has more or less calmed down, police has started to behave more carefully. The PM has gone abroad, and the deputy PM yesterday made a somewhat warmer speech, recognizing some part of their mistakes. The president has also given a speech saying the message was taken. The media has started covering the issues finally. I would say there is an air of happiness among us, protestors now. We feel strong and united. What the protestors now want in the short term, is an apology from the PM himself, but that's probably not very likely. We'll see when he returns from Algeria. (Isn't it stunning by the way that he went abroad while the protests were at their peak, in effect ignoring the protestors?)
- JamisonM 13y ago
  Saying that "Turkey won't look that different from Syria" is not really a sensible statement. My understanding is that other than the Kurds in the south Turkey does not really have "factions" in it population beyond the normal urban/rural divide. It is not primed for any kind of civil war. While one could argue that another Arab Spring nation could provide a parallel situation I do not think that any are very similar. Turkey has a history of repression by authority but it has relatively free and fair elections and it is not governed by anything resembling a brutal dictator. What it does have as I understand it is a government that has its base in the rural population and thus does not reflect the interests of the urban population very well.
  - ludwigvan 13y ago
    That's right. Turkey had its "spring" in 1920-1930s actually, what is going on is more or less trying to preserve and improve that nature.
chris_wot 13y ago
This is awful.
maeon3 13y ago
The following is a description (slightly modified) from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat. As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness. At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs [Europe, Australia, USA and Japan]. Six percent of US prison inmates are Muslim. Like any other minority, they won’t integrate, but work to build their own separate community. From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. South Africa's Muslim population is 2%, but they control 35% of the businesses, a large percentage of the banks and have five Cabinet seats while Christians (77% of the population) have none. They will push for the introduction of halaal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves (along with threats for failure to comply). At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia; Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world, but to establish Sharia law over the entire world. When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. (Ei: car-burnings in France last October.) Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats. After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning (India, Mindanao, Philippines). At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare [Indonesia]. From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya (infidel tax). (Sudan, Kosovo, Lebanon and Egypt). After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide [Western Papua (New Guinea), Iran, Biafra, Turkey and North Nigeria]. 100% will usher in the peace of "Dar-es-Salaam" - House of Peace - as in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Yemen. Islam is the main religion of the Turkish people, where the CIA World factbook states that 99.8%. It has not yet Implemented Sharia law there, you can be sure the unrest will continue there until Turkey is ruled by Sharia law.
- cateye 13y ago
mseebach 13y ago
> These photos reveal the ugly side of the Turkish economic miracle: an authoritarian neoliberal state willing to kill in order to preserve its place. It's good we've got the question of who's the boogieman settled. Nuance is too hard.
yread 13y ago
It looks like they are actually aiming the tear gas canisters at people's faces and heads. Terrible
- oskansavli 13y ago
  Here is a video that shows police aiming to head. There are people who lost one eye because of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47GDOHJm1cM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47GDOHJm1cM
ayi 13y ago
Thanks for sharing this and i'm currently in the capital city of Turkey (ankara). I'm one of those protesters. I can answer questions if someone wants to ask something. Thanks to HN community for following protests in Turkey.
- StavrosK 13y ago
  From a Greek neighbour, good luck!
  - ayi 13y ago
    Thanks :) You are our role models :)
    - StavrosK 13y ago
      You should pick better role models :P I wish you didn't have to fight so hard to get your government to respect your wishes, but I hope they'll back down soon.
  - eric_bullington 13y ago
    Very nice, StavrosK. As someone who has spent a lot of time in Turkey, I've been impressed at the generosity and goodwill from the Greek people toward the Turks in times of great need recently, like during the last two earthquakes. And vice versa, from the Turks to the Greeks. It's actions like this, and messages like StavrosK, that give me hope about the future of these two neighbors.
    - StavrosK 13y ago
      Yeah, as far as that old rivalry goes, I think our grandparents were around the last ones to really feel it (what with the wars going on). Like you said, during recent earthquakes, the two countries were among the first to send each other aid. On a personal level, I think that someone's place of birth is a poor predictor of how much I'll like them.
- maeon3 13y ago
Jun8 13y ago
I've got to say, compared to some photos I've seen on my Facebook feed, these are nothing, many people lost an eye or had concussions when the police aimed the gas canisters directly to their heads at close range (I really don't want to share these, they're gruesome). The now-famous "woman in red being tear gassed" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/03/the-photo-that-encapsulates-turkeys-protests-and-the-severe-police-crackdown/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/03...) photo, taken by a Turkish Reuters photo journalist (who later was wounded himself by a gas canister) has been used as a symbol of the brutality of the police. But wait, maybe this was manipulation on the photographer's part (know to happen) and the policeman did it by accident? Yesterday, the followup shots to that photo were released: http://fotogaleri.hurriyet.com.tr/galeridetay.aspx?cid=69735&rid=2&p=1&hid=23434809 http://fotogaleri.hurriyet.com.tr/galeridetay.aspx?cid=69735.... Note how the guy is very deliberate in his spraying, angry that this woman had the guts to stand against them. Lest you think this was just a twisted policeman, let me assure you that the violence is very common. The police has always been violent against protesters in Turkey, irregardless of who's ruling, so this is not a first with AKP. What was interesting, however, was the persistence of people against the onslaught. If you have a couple of minutes, here's a nicely done video summarizing the Gezi Protests: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=demnc4sQ0VI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=demnc4sQ0VI
- krenel 13y ago
  > But wait, maybe this was manipulation on the photographer's part (know to happen) and the policeman did it by accident? As always you can not now if this exact photo, in its context, had a reasonable explanation. The thing is that the OP shows tens of photos of people highly injured and it cannot be "just coincidence" or bad faith from the photographer. This photos remembered me the demonstrations here in Spain. Police brutality looks exactly the same. What a shame.
jacquesm 13y ago
Shocking pictures. This is converging with alarming speed on an all out confrontation. Turkey is a very beautiful country balancing on the Europe-Asia divide with a lot of internal pressure built up over a long time. If the government keeps pushing like this it will likely reap a lot more than they've bargained for. The Turks that I've known in my life are tremendously proud and very hard working people, push enough of them around for long enough and all that energy will be directed back at the one doing the pushing. I really hope that the Turkish government will read the writing on the wall and will change course, if they don't do that then I fear that a lot more lives will be lost.
- ludwigvan 13y ago
  Thanks for the compliments about Turkish people, jacquesm. I can say that things have improved in the last couple of days; violence of police has been more or less throttled, the local media has started covering the news, and members of the gov't, the deputy PM, the President and even pro-goverment journalists have started realizing the significance of this issue. I would say the main opposition is actually against the PM Erdogan himself now, who has yet to show respect for us. We will see whether he will change his mind in a few days and apologize (not very likely), when he returns from his trip to Algeria.
  - jacquesm 13y ago
    I found it absolutely incredible that Erdogan would leave for a trip to Algeria (of all places) rather than to address these obviously very urgent domestic issues. Whatever he's doing in Algeria I can't imagine that it is more important than to solve the domestic crisis first. It's almost insulting.
    - makmanalp 13y ago
      It is insulting, that's the point. Erdogan is no stranger to provoking people, and then demonizing them in the ensuing outrage. Like when he called the protestors 3-5 bandits, or when he called the founders of the constitution two drunkards (and they did drink, but so what?), or when he said "if you have 100 thousand people on the streets, I'll bring out a million" (all easily googleable, don't have time to link now). His bully-like attitude is partly why he's losing sympathy even among his own supporters and party, which contain a spectrum from conservative-moderates to ultra-conservatives.
Jun8 13y ago
Just to give you a glimpse of better things than saddening photos of police brutality, here is what people did at the Gezi Park in the past 2-3 days: * An impromptu library was built, here are some photos: http://gezikutuphanesi.blogspot.com/ http://gezikutuphanesi.blogspot.com/ (scroll down) with books donated by people and many publishers. * Women doing yoga at Gezi Park: http://imgur.com/3kubMll?tags http://imgur.com/3kubMll?tags: http://imgur.com/3kubMll?tags http://imgur.com/3kubMll?tags (FYI, it is not common to see people, let alone young women, doing yoga in public parks in Istanbul!) * A number of orchestras giving a classical concert at Gezi: https://www.facebook.com/dutchrevolution/posts/580100478677437 https://www.facebook.com/dutchrevolution/posts/5801004786774... I am left speechless by these events, never seen anything like this in any protest in Istanbul. And there has many, many really funny graffiti and signs, here's an example: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151695543624468&set=a.10150304191624468.382994.665339467&type=1&ref=nf https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151695543624468&#3...
- oddshocks 13y ago
  Thank you for these.
- kweks 13y ago
  I flew down to Istanbul this weekend to support my friends. Joined in the protests on the front lines - have some photos up: http://travel.ninjito.com/dump/2013-06-01-Istanbul-Protests/index.html http://travel.ninjito.com/dump/2013-06-01-Istanbul-Protests/...
  - sheri 13y ago
    Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing.
    - kweks 13y ago
      My pleasure. Did my best to help out the cause, and tried to remain objective in the photos I took and the text as well. I'd appreciate it if you wanted to share the link - I tried posting on the front page of HN but don't think I have enough karma (it just .. disappeared..)
stevoo 13y ago
Those picture sum up nicely to the official response from the official that only 14 people have been injured. Violence in my neighbouring country has always been high. It is just today the social media allow that to be displayed. Before, the broadcasting was always cutting it off due to goverment censorship. This is just glimpse of the gruesome image of Turkey politians that are ruled by the army. There are far worse example in Turkey that have not seen the cover or day. This is the same in there foreign policy with all the smaller states around them feeling that(armenia, cyprus, syria) Unfortunately i do not see this changing until the people in Turkey stand up and overthrow the current goverment but that is impossible with out foreign aid as Turkey is a country ruled by the militia.
netcan 13y ago
I'm still blown away by the quantity and quality of 'citizen journalism' covering these topics. Photos, video, blogs, tweets. We've gotten used to it being a big part but I think the effects are just starting to be felt. Two years later (and a more developed country) since the Libyan revolution, and the quality of photos is already so much higher. Give it five more years and we'll have gigapixel photos, live streaming POV cameras (eg glass) and who knows what else. I really think police misbehavior will be improved by it.
thehme 13y ago
Wow, we are not seeing this on TV. This cannot be happening in Turkey! This is outrageous and I hope that it encourages more sharing on the internet to educate the world and that people go out in peaceful protests to show the government that they need to be LISTENED to. These people do not look at all as "radical protesters" as the Turkish Gov has made them sound like.
whiddershins 13y ago
Imagine this clash in the Unitd States. Would the result be more violent or less?
- rooshdi 13y ago
  http://youtu.be/45VGFgiFu7Y http://youtu.be/45VGFgiFu7Y
outside1234 13y ago
I don't see the problem. This is just like China. Keep sending us cheap textiles and Nest Thermostats, human rights be damned. </sarcasm>
alan_cx 13y ago
Um.... any one remember the riots in the UK a couple of years ago? The police shot dead a black suspect, kept the family out of the loop and riots kicked off all over the place. (Yes, there was a lot more to it than that) Well.... public opinion at the time wanted the UK police to act like these Turkish police. In fact, a lot of people wanted the police to be shooting these youths with plastic bullets, not to mention calling out the army to clear it up. I wonder if the people who held those opinions are now condemning the Turks? I wonder if this is the sort of thing they had in mind?
- mseebach 13y ago
  There was a very clear break between the short lived, peaceful (if hostile) and completely legitimate march following the shooting - and then the full-on rioting that followed. That said, looking at kweks' photos, it seems there could be a similar thing going on in Istanbul: In the daytime, the protest looks great, peaceful and calm, but at night, they are charging the police in a stolen excavator? The police is definitely wrong to fire CS canisters at head level, but if you're charging against the police in a stole excavator, you've lost the high ground.
  - akiselev 13y ago
    I don't know how much the excavator was used for overall but there are quite a few times when it ran down water trucks that were actively spraying people. If the protesters were violent towards those in the water truck or were attacking police who weren't violent themselves then they lose the high ground, but destroying property that is used to inflict brutal harm to the people they're meant to protect is justifiable as long as it is done in a way that does not harm life.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- stephengillie 13y ago
  It sounds like April 29, 1992 and Occupy rolled into one.
- 13y ago
grecy 13y ago
How hard is it for civilians to buy gas masks like the police are wearing? It seems like that would negate most of the tear gas / pepper spray problems.
squidi 13y ago
It's worth looking at the timeline of the photo of the lady in the red dress. It's even more shocking when you see the policeman lurching towards her: http://lucienballard.tumblr.com/post/52220098289/all-photographs-osman-orsal-reuters-brave http://lucienballard.tumblr.com/post/52220098289/all-photogr...
fixxer 13y ago
I'm just gonna jump out there and offer a prediction: Erdogan ain't gonna be hold power till 2014. Most of those victims pictured didn't look like young anarchists/WTO protesters to me... they looked like average citizens. Even if you've got a large contingency of black bloc (I don't know if this is the case and it simply hasn't been pictured), no EU-applicant country can/should be able to get away with such behavior.
- rolleiflex 13y ago
  Turkey is not only an EU–applicant country, it's actively in the process of joining the EU.
  - fixxer 13y ago
    I know; this is shameful.
kno 13y ago
What a violence! Why can the police and other law enforcement folk be so brutal against their own people? its beyong outrage.
- Buzaga 13y ago
  Learn this and don't forget: police serves the state, not the people.
MK_Dev 13y ago
Turkey will simply deny that this ever happened but will go on to say that the a large number of the police was also injured and that the number of injured civilian protesters is vastly inflated.
zeroexzeroone 13y ago
Who in their right mind has little kids near a protest? Saw what appeared to be a man wiping a little girl's eyes. I don't condone violence on any level and I am all for protesting but I would leave the kids with someone I trust and somewhere safe (if that is at all possible). If I get even an inkling unrest is occurring I would immediately get my daughter to safety (again, if that is at all possible).
- danielharan 13y ago
  Sometimes the protest comes near you. Tourists have been kettled in Montreal just walking out of a restaurant or in a park, held for hours without charges laid. It happened quite often last spring. Also: you're rather quick to judge the parents, yet say nothing about the police that presumably fired at the child. Nice victim blaming.
  - zeroexzeroone 13y ago
    Hence the comments at each end of my sentence - if at all possible. Nice quick to judgment yourself there, sport.
rogerthis 13y ago
Al-qaeda goes crazy (Al-qaeda pira).

183 points by joshcrowder 13y ago

Tomis02 13y ago

I don't think they were trying to hide it.

danmaz74 13y ago
Turk media almost didn't report the news. How would you call that?
- Tomis02 13y ago
  I would call that my point. The media isn't reporting the news not because the government was hiding the facts, but because the government controls the media.
  - danmaz74 13y ago
    Ok, then I misunderstood your comment :)
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
tych0 13y ago
Yeah, really. A lot of times in these kinds of "police brutality" pictures it's a little hard to tell what's going on -- maybe somebody was being aggressive and stuff was warranted. Here, that's obviously not the case: * wiping tear gas out of a <10 year old girl's eyes * groups of cops kicking a single person who is already on the ground * frail old man with broken nose bleeding None of these people were in any position to be a danger to the cops -- why beat them up? Makes me proud to be a human that Turkish citizens are standing up for themselves. All the best for them.
pessimizer 13y ago
http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/06/cnns-disgraceful-coverage-of-the-protests-in-turkey-in-one-photo/ http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2013/06/cnns-disgraceful-coverage-o...

swombat 13y ago

My question is, how long before the peaceful demonstrators turn hostile? If I were there, I would feel like the government has crossed the line into violence and that therefore the crowds have no choice but to defend themselves. Soon enough, Turkey won't look that different from Syria, if the police keep that up.

ludwigvan 13y ago
The situation has more or less calmed down, police has started to behave more carefully. The PM has gone abroad, and the deputy PM yesterday made a somewhat warmer speech, recognizing some part of their mistakes. The president has also given a speech saying the message was taken. The media has started covering the issues finally. I would say there is an air of happiness among us, protestors now. We feel strong and united. What the protestors now want in the short term, is an apology from the PM himself, but that's probably not very likely. We'll see when he returns from Algeria. (Isn't it stunning by the way that he went abroad while the protests were at their peak, in effect ignoring the protestors?)
JamisonM 13y ago
Saying that "Turkey won't look that different from Syria" is not really a sensible statement. My understanding is that other than the Kurds in the south Turkey does not really have "factions" in it population beyond the normal urban/rural divide. It is not primed for any kind of civil war. While one could argue that another Arab Spring nation could provide a parallel situation I do not think that any are very similar. Turkey has a history of repression by authority but it has relatively free and fair elections and it is not governed by anything resembling a brutal dictator. What it does have as I understand it is a government that has its base in the rural population and thus does not reflect the interests of the urban population very well.
- ludwigvan 13y ago
  That's right. Turkey had its "spring" in 1920-1930s actually, what is going on is more or less trying to preserve and improve that nature.

chris_wot 13y ago

This is awful.

maeon3 13y ago

The following is a description (slightly modified) from Dr. Peter Hammond's book: Slavery, Terrorism and Islam: The Historical Roots and Contemporary Threat. As long as the Muslim population remains around 1% of any given country they will be regarded as a peace-loving minority and not as a threat to anyone. In fact, they may be featured in articles and films, stereotyped for their colorful uniqueness. At 2% and 3% they begin to proselytize from other ethnic minorities and disaffected groups with major recruiting from the jails and among street gangs [Europe, Australia, USA and Japan]. Six percent of US prison inmates are Muslim. Like any other minority, they won’t integrate, but work to build their own separate community. From 5% on they exercise an inordinate influence in proportion to their percentage of the population. South Africa's Muslim population is 2%, but they control 35% of the businesses, a large percentage of the banks and have five Cabinet seats while Christians (77% of the population) have none. They will push for the introduction of halaal (clean by Islamic standards) food, thereby securing food preparation jobs for Muslims. They will increase pressure on supermarket chains to feature it on their shelves (along with threats for failure to comply). At this point, they will work to get the ruling government to allow them to rule themselves under Sharia; Islamic Law. The ultimate goal of Islam is not to convert the world, but to establish Sharia law over the entire world. When Muslims reach 10% of the population, they will increase lawlessness as a means of complaint about their conditions. (Ei: car-burnings in France last October.) Any non-Muslim action that offends Islam will result in uprisings and threats. After reaching 20% expect hair-trigger rioting, jihad militia formations, sporadic killings and church and synagogue burning (India, Mindanao, Philippines). At 40% you will find widespread massacres, chronic terror attacks and ongoing militia warfare [Indonesia]. From 60% you may expect unfettered persecution of non-believers and other religions, sporadic ethnic cleansing (genocide), use of Sharia Law as a weapon and Jizya (infidel tax). (Sudan, Kosovo, Lebanon and Egypt). After 80% expect State run ethnic cleansing and genocide [Western Papua (New Guinea), Iran, Biafra, Turkey and North Nigeria]. 100% will usher in the peace of "Dar-es-Salaam" - House of Peace - as in Saudi Arabia, Libya and Yemen. Islam is the main religion of the Turkish people, where the CIA World factbook states that 99.8%. It has not yet Implemented Sharia law there, you can be sure the unrest will continue there until Turkey is ruled by Sharia law.

cateye 13y ago

mseebach 13y ago

> These photos reveal the ugly side of the Turkish economic miracle: an authoritarian neoliberal state willing to kill in order to preserve its place. It's good we've got the question of who's the boogieman settled. Nuance is too hard.

yread 13y ago

It looks like they are actually aiming the tear gas canisters at people's faces and heads. Terrible

oskansavli 13y ago
Here is a video that shows police aiming to head. There are people who lost one eye because of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47GDOHJm1cM http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47GDOHJm1cM

ayi 13y ago

Thanks for sharing this and i'm currently in the capital city of Turkey (ankara). I'm one of those protesters. I can answer questions if someone wants to ask something. Thanks to HN community for following protests in Turkey.

StavrosK 13y ago
From a Greek neighbour, good luck!
- ayi 13y ago
  Thanks :) You are our role models :)
  - StavrosK 13y ago
    You should pick better role models :P I wish you didn't have to fight so hard to get your government to respect your wishes, but I hope they'll back down soon.
- eric_bullington 13y ago
  Very nice, StavrosK. As someone who has spent a lot of time in Turkey, I've been impressed at the generosity and goodwill from the Greek people toward the Turks in times of great need recently, like during the last two earthquakes. And vice versa, from the Turks to the Greeks. It's actions like this, and messages like StavrosK, that give me hope about the future of these two neighbors.
  - StavrosK 13y ago
    Yeah, as far as that old rivalry goes, I think our grandparents were around the last ones to really feel it (what with the wars going on). Like you said, during recent earthquakes, the two countries were among the first to send each other aid. On a personal level, I think that someone's place of birth is a poor predictor of how much I'll like them.
maeon3 13y ago

Jun8 13y ago

I've got to say, compared to some photos I've seen on my Facebook feed, these are nothing, many people lost an eye or had concussions when the police aimed the gas canisters directly to their heads at close range (I really don't want to share these, they're gruesome). The now-famous "woman in red being tear gassed" (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/03/the-photo-that-encapsulates-turkeys-protests-and-the-severe-police-crackdown/ http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2013/06/03...) photo, taken by a Turkish Reuters photo journalist (who later was wounded himself by a gas canister) has been used as a symbol of the brutality of the police. But wait, maybe this was manipulation on the photographer's part (know to happen) and the policeman did it by accident? Yesterday, the followup shots to that photo were released: http://fotogaleri.hurriyet.com.tr/galeridetay.aspx?cid=69735&rid=2&p=1&hid=23434809 http://fotogaleri.hurriyet.com.tr/galeridetay.aspx?cid=69735.... Note how the guy is very deliberate in his spraying, angry that this woman had the guts to stand against them. Lest you think this was just a twisted policeman, let me assure you that the violence is very common. The police has always been violent against protesters in Turkey, irregardless of who's ruling, so this is not a first with AKP. What was interesting, however, was the persistence of people against the onslaught. If you have a couple of minutes, here's a nicely done video summarizing the Gezi Protests: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=demnc4sQ0VI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=demnc4sQ0VI

krenel 13y ago
> But wait, maybe this was manipulation on the photographer's part (know to happen) and the policeman did it by accident? As always you can not now if this exact photo, in its context, had a reasonable explanation. The thing is that the OP shows tens of photos of people highly injured and it cannot be "just coincidence" or bad faith from the photographer. This photos remembered me the demonstrations here in Spain. Police brutality looks exactly the same. What a shame.

jacquesm 13y ago

Shocking pictures. This is converging with alarming speed on an all out confrontation. Turkey is a very beautiful country balancing on the Europe-Asia divide with a lot of internal pressure built up over a long time. If the government keeps pushing like this it will likely reap a lot more than they've bargained for. The Turks that I've known in my life are tremendously proud and very hard working people, push enough of them around for long enough and all that energy will be directed back at the one doing the pushing. I really hope that the Turkish government will read the writing on the wall and will change course, if they don't do that then I fear that a lot more lives will be lost.

ludwigvan 13y ago
Thanks for the compliments about Turkish people, jacquesm. I can say that things have improved in the last couple of days; violence of police has been more or less throttled, the local media has started covering the news, and members of the gov't, the deputy PM, the President and even pro-goverment journalists have started realizing the significance of this issue. I would say the main opposition is actually against the PM Erdogan himself now, who has yet to show respect for us. We will see whether he will change his mind in a few days and apologize (not very likely), when he returns from his trip to Algeria.
- jacquesm 13y ago
  I found it absolutely incredible that Erdogan would leave for a trip to Algeria (of all places) rather than to address these obviously very urgent domestic issues. Whatever he's doing in Algeria I can't imagine that it is more important than to solve the domestic crisis first. It's almost insulting.
  - makmanalp 13y ago
    It is insulting, that's the point. Erdogan is no stranger to provoking people, and then demonizing them in the ensuing outrage. Like when he called the protestors 3-5 bandits, or when he called the founders of the constitution two drunkards (and they did drink, but so what?), or when he said "if you have 100 thousand people on the streets, I'll bring out a million" (all easily googleable, don't have time to link now). His bully-like attitude is partly why he's losing sympathy even among his own supporters and party, which contain a spectrum from conservative-moderates to ultra-conservatives.

Jun8 13y ago

Just to give you a glimpse of better things than saddening photos of police brutality, here is what people did at the Gezi Park in the past 2-3 days: * An impromptu library was built, here are some photos: http://gezikutuphanesi.blogspot.com/ http://gezikutuphanesi.blogspot.com/ (scroll down) with books donated by people and many publishers. * Women doing yoga at Gezi Park: http://imgur.com/3kubMll?tags http://imgur.com/3kubMll?tags: http://imgur.com/3kubMll?tags http://imgur.com/3kubMll?tags (FYI, it is not common to see people, let alone young women, doing yoga in public parks in Istanbul!) * A number of orchestras giving a classical concert at Gezi: https://www.facebook.com/dutchrevolution/posts/580100478677437 https://www.facebook.com/dutchrevolution/posts/5801004786774... I am left speechless by these events, never seen anything like this in any protest in Istanbul. And there has many, many really funny graffiti and signs, here's an example: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151695543624468&set=a.10150304191624468.382994.665339467&type=1&ref=nf https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151695543624468&#3...

oddshocks 13y ago
Thank you for these.
kweks 13y ago
I flew down to Istanbul this weekend to support my friends. Joined in the protests on the front lines - have some photos up: http://travel.ninjito.com/dump/2013-06-01-Istanbul-Protests/index.html http://travel.ninjito.com/dump/2013-06-01-Istanbul-Protests/...
- sheri 13y ago
  Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing.
  - kweks 13y ago
    My pleasure. Did my best to help out the cause, and tried to remain objective in the photos I took and the text as well. I'd appreciate it if you wanted to share the link - I tried posting on the front page of HN but don't think I have enough karma (it just .. disappeared..)

stevoo 13y ago

Those picture sum up nicely to the official response from the official that only 14 people have been injured. Violence in my neighbouring country has always been high. It is just today the social media allow that to be displayed. Before, the broadcasting was always cutting it off due to goverment censorship. This is just glimpse of the gruesome image of Turkey politians that are ruled by the army. There are far worse example in Turkey that have not seen the cover or day. This is the same in there foreign policy with all the smaller states around them feeling that(armenia, cyprus, syria) Unfortunately i do not see this changing until the people in Turkey stand up and overthrow the current goverment but that is impossible with out foreign aid as Turkey is a country ruled by the militia.

netcan 13y ago

I'm still blown away by the quantity and quality of 'citizen journalism' covering these topics. Photos, video, blogs, tweets. We've gotten used to it being a big part but I think the effects are just starting to be felt. Two years later (and a more developed country) since the Libyan revolution, and the quality of photos is already so much higher. Give it five more years and we'll have gigapixel photos, live streaming POV cameras (eg glass) and who knows what else. I really think police misbehavior will be improved by it.

thehme 13y ago

Wow, we are not seeing this on TV. This cannot be happening in Turkey! This is outrageous and I hope that it encourages more sharing on the internet to educate the world and that people go out in peaceful protests to show the government that they need to be LISTENED to. These people do not look at all as "radical protesters" as the Turkish Gov has made them sound like.

whiddershins 13y ago

Imagine this clash in the Unitd States. Would the result be more violent or less?

rooshdi 13y ago
http://youtu.be/45VGFgiFu7Y http://youtu.be/45VGFgiFu7Y

outside1234 13y ago

I don't see the problem. This is just like China. Keep sending us cheap textiles and Nest Thermostats, human rights be damned. </sarcasm>

alan_cx 13y ago

Um.... any one remember the riots in the UK a couple of years ago? The police shot dead a black suspect, kept the family out of the loop and riots kicked off all over the place. (Yes, there was a lot more to it than that) Well.... public opinion at the time wanted the UK police to act like these Turkish police. In fact, a lot of people wanted the police to be shooting these youths with plastic bullets, not to mention calling out the army to clear it up. I wonder if the people who held those opinions are now condemning the Turks? I wonder if this is the sort of thing they had in mind?

mseebach 13y ago
There was a very clear break between the short lived, peaceful (if hostile) and completely legitimate march following the shooting - and then the full-on rioting that followed. That said, looking at kweks' photos, it seems there could be a similar thing going on in Istanbul: In the daytime, the protest looks great, peaceful and calm, but at night, they are charging the police in a stolen excavator? The police is definitely wrong to fire CS canisters at head level, but if you're charging against the police in a stole excavator, you've lost the high ground.
- akiselev 13y ago
  I don't know how much the excavator was used for overall but there are quite a few times when it ran down water trucks that were actively spraying people. If the protesters were violent towards those in the water truck or were attacking police who weren't violent themselves then they lose the high ground, but destroying property that is used to inflict brutal harm to the people they're meant to protect is justifiable as long as it is done in a way that does not harm life.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
stephengillie 13y ago
It sounds like April 29, 1992 and Occupy rolled into one.
13y ago

grecy 13y ago

How hard is it for civilians to buy gas masks like the police are wearing? It seems like that would negate most of the tear gas / pepper spray problems.

squidi 13y ago

It's worth looking at the timeline of the photo of the lady in the red dress. It's even more shocking when you see the policeman lurching towards her: http://lucienballard.tumblr.com/post/52220098289/all-photographs-osman-orsal-reuters-brave http://lucienballard.tumblr.com/post/52220098289/all-photogr...

fixxer 13y ago

I'm just gonna jump out there and offer a prediction: Erdogan ain't gonna be hold power till 2014. Most of those victims pictured didn't look like young anarchists/WTO protesters to me... they looked like average citizens. Even if you've got a large contingency of black bloc (I don't know if this is the case and it simply hasn't been pictured), no EU-applicant country can/should be able to get away with such behavior.

rolleiflex 13y ago
Turkey is not only an EU–applicant country, it's actively in the process of joining the EU.
- fixxer 13y ago
  I know; this is shameful.

kno 13y ago

What a violence! Why can the police and other law enforcement folk be so brutal against their own people? its beyong outrage.

Buzaga 13y ago
Learn this and don't forget: police serves the state, not the people.

MK_Dev 13y ago

Turkey will simply deny that this ever happened but will go on to say that the a large number of the police was also injured and that the number of injured civilian protesters is vastly inflated.

zeroexzeroone 13y ago

Who in their right mind has little kids near a protest? Saw what appeared to be a man wiping a little girl's eyes. I don't condone violence on any level and I am all for protesting but I would leave the kids with someone I trust and somewhere safe (if that is at all possible). If I get even an inkling unrest is occurring I would immediately get my daughter to safety (again, if that is at all possible).

danielharan 13y ago
Sometimes the protest comes near you. Tourists have been kettled in Montreal just walking out of a restaurant or in a park, held for hours without charges laid. It happened quite often last spring. Also: you're rather quick to judge the parents, yet say nothing about the police that presumably fired at the child. Nice victim blaming.
- zeroexzeroone 13y ago
  Hence the comments at each end of my sentence - if at all possible. Nice quick to judgment yourself there, sport.

rogerthis 13y ago

Al-qaeda goes crazy (Al-qaeda pira).