Fierce Clashes Erupt Across Turkey
Featured image: protesters clash with riot police near the city hall of Istanbul on March 21. Source: Yasin AKGUL / AFP.
Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested in a dawn raid on his residence on Wednesday over alleged corruption and terror links. Hundreds of police officers participated in the raid and arresting warrants were issued for 100 people. İmamoğlu Construction Trade and Industry Joint Stock Company, owned by Imamoglu was seized. Other secondary officers were also detained, for example two district mayors, were also detained. Imamoglu is part of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Imamoglu’s arrest came just days before he was expected to be nominated as the opposition CHP presidential candidate.
Partizan has issued a statement about these developments:
After this arrest, Erdogan warned that he would not allow any kind of street protest. Protests were banned for several days in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Many streets of Istanbul were blocked by hundreds of police officers, armored vehicles and barricades.
Despite this threats, from the beginning the students clashes with police at the Universities and their surroundings and marched together:
They also marched massively towards the blocked streets and confronted there the police:
Many of them chanted slogans honoring Ali Ismaol Korkmaz, student murdered by police forces on 2013:
The streets of Istanbul have been completely flooded. And these streets also became battlefield were fierce clashes erupted between the masses and the police forces. In Istanbul, police used water cannons, pepper spray, tear gas and rubber bullets to push back hundreds of protesters.
Massive mobilizations, clashes and police brutality are also recorded in many other cities such as Ankara, the capital, as well as in Izmir and many others. There are at least 343 people detained, according to data released by the Turkish State on Saturday morning. According to this same data, demonstrations took place in more than a dozen cities. Fierce clashes also took place in Ankara, were police brutally attacked the students of the Middle East Technical University (METU):
The students bravely responded to those attacks:
The resistance and clashes there continue:
We hereby share some videos of some of the demonstrations and clashes from several cities:
Izmir:
In this city combative students are marching with a banner which reads: “Liberation is on the street, not in the ballot box”:
Mersin:
Dersim:
Kocaeli:
Adana:
