In a sign that there is no turning back from the police brutality witnessed over the weekend, protesters are seen on a recent video driving a large bulldozer towards the Prime Ministers office.
Protesters charged towards Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Dolmabahce office on Sunday night on a bulldozer.
Chasing police through the streets followed by crowds from the north side of Besiktas Stadium, the bulldozer pushed back lines of riot police until it reached within 500 metres of the office of Erdogan, who is currently on a trip to North Africa.
On Dolmabahce Road, police hit back firing rounds of teargas grenades causing injured protesters to flee to the nearby Bezmialem Mosque. The mosque has become a centre for treating protesters in Besiktas, which has seen the most intense clashes over the weekend in Istanbul.
The following video was also posted:
In another video protesters can be seen building a barricade to protect themselves from riot tanks and water cannons:
J.G. Vibes is the author of an 87 chapter counter-culture textbook called Alchemy of the Modern Renaissance, a staff writer, reporter for Intellihub.com and Executive Producer of the Bob Tuskin Radio Show. You can keep up with his work, which includes free podcasts, free e-books & free audiobooks at his website www.aotmr.com
Christof Lehmann (nsnbc),- As more fatalities and thousands of injured are reported, the violent police crack-down on protesters throughout Turkey continues. After the arrest of 600 military officers and dozens of civilians in the Ergenkonen espionage case, described by critics of the AKP and Erdogan administration as coup d’état, the militarization of Turkey´s police forces, and the entrance of thousands of terrorists and shiploads of weapons into Turkey since the beginning of the proxy-war against Syria in 2011, Turkey risks descending into a civil war.
Fatalities have been reported, since the onset of the violent police crack-down on protesters in Istanbul on Friday morning caused 200.000 in more than 35 cities to mobilize on Friday evening, and mass protests and violent clashes erupted. Yesterday eyewitnesses from Istanbul reported of several fatalities and at least 1.700 injured.
Abdullah Cömert, photo from facebook
Today, as the protests are in their fifth day, a second fatality could be positively confirmed and identified while latest casualty reports mention several thousand of injured. The figures are vague, because many of the injured are treated in makeshift emergency facilities as protesters fear arrest if they are seeking medical attention at hospitals, and as police and clashes often prevent emergency evacuations. Since Sunday the police has begun literal man-hunts for protesters in bars, restaurants and shops. Arrests are reported to be extraordinarily brutal and some 1.700, most likely more are under arrest.
The Bar Association of Istanbul´s lawyers has held a meeting and prepares to defend the many detainees.
On Monday the Turkish Medical Doctors Union confirmed the death of 20-year-old Mehmed Ayvalitas, who was hit by a car on Sunday, when a civilian car drove into a crowd of protesters.
According to the Foreign Secretary of the Workers´Party – Turkey two persons were seriously injured in the incident and transported to the hospital immediately afterwards. So far, there are no reports available about the identity or the condition of the other victim.
The Turkish Union of Medical Doctors has confirmed the death of the 22-year-old Abdullah Cömert who died in the city of Antakya in Hatay province near the Syrian border. Turkish media report that Cömert died after being shot by unidentified gunmen. According to reports on social media however, Cömert was shot by police forces. Cömert was, according to BBC reports a member of the Republican Peoples´Party, which is in opposition to the AKP (Muslim Brotherhood) led government of Prime Minister Erdogan.
According to casualty figures published by the Turkish Medical Association 3.195 people have sustained injuries during the protests so far. 26 of the injured are in critical condition. Because many are treated in makeshift medical facilities and the “fog of war” however, the actual number of casualties could be significantly higher, and it is probable that there have been more death than have been reported so far.
The majority of injured are reported from Istanbul, although the protests have spread to Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Antakya and many other cities. On Monday protests were reported from 48 cities.
Militarization of Turkey´s Police after AKP / Erdogan Came to Power and after Ergenkonen Arrests.
After the AKP (Muslim Brotherhood) -led government of R. Tayyip Erdogan came to power, the Turkish police forces have undergone a militarization process. The militarization process is according to some analysts a security measure implemented by the Erdogan administration, to prepare the country against the eventual repercussions of the Ergenkonen Case arrests.
The Ergenkonen case is one of the most contentious issues in Turkish domestic politics. 300 military officers were arrested under espionage charges. 300 more officers were arrested under minor espionage charges, along with dozens of opposition members. Among the many arrested and imprisoned opposition members is the Chairman of the Workers´Party – Turkey, Dr. Dogun Perencek.
Many opposition members describe the Ergenkonen arrests as a de facto coup d’état by the AKP / Muslim Brotherhood. The Turkish military has traditionally been one of the primary guarantors for protecting the secular constitution and Turkey´s integrity as a secular, democratic republic based on Kemalist principles.
According to Turkish media reports, Turkey has over the past 12 years imported USD 21 million worth of pepper spray, predominantly from the USA and Brazil. In total, the Turkish newspaper Sozcu reports, Turkey has imported 62 tons of tear gas and pepper spray between 2000 and 2012.
Police forces, who are cracking down on Turkish protesters are dressed in military style riot gear. The protests and the police crack-down are the largest and most violent the Turkish people have witnessed for decades.
The leader of the Nationalist Movement Party Devlet Bahceli, along with all other opposition leaders strongly condemns the excessive use of police force. Bahceli, a member of parliament, stated: “It is true that the ruling party AKP has established gas chambers similar to the Nazis, it is true that the AKP pokes its nose into everybody´s private lives”.
The United Nations Human Rights Office has urged Turkey to conduct an independent investigation into the security forces treatment of anti-government protesters. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Cecile Pouilly said: We are concerned about reports of excessive use of force by law-enforcement officers against protesters in Turkey”.
Condemnations of the brutal crack-down have also been issued by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other Human Rights Organizations.
Mixed Signals from Erdogan and His Administration and Demands that the Government has to Step Down.
On Tuesday the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc apologized for the harsh treatment of the initial protesters, who were protesting the planned demolition of Gezi Park near Taksim Square to build a mall and to reestablish military barracks from the Ottoman era. Bulen Arinc admitted that the police actions were wrong and said that security forces have been ordered not to use teargas except in cases of self-defense. “The excessive violence that was used in the first instance against those who were behaving with respect for the environment is wrong and unfair. I apologize to those citizens,” Arinc said at a news conference.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan however, blasted the protests as the work of secular enemies who have failed to come to terms with the election victory of the AKP. Erdogan stated, that the police would be working yesterday, and they will be working today, and continued by stating that he would not allow extremists to prevent the building of the mall or the military barracks.
Neither Erdogan nor officials from his administration have so far commented on the protesters demand that the AKP government has to step down, while the protesters and opposition become ever more
Turkey may Descend into Chaos – Civil War Risk is High.
Protests in Turkey are likely to continue throughout the week and are likely to culminate in renewed mass protests throughout Turkey on Friday and throughout the weekend. The participation of prominent members of opposition parties will, if protests continue, likely draw trade unions and other mass organizations into the protests. Turkey could face a general strike.
If the strike develops into a protracted stand-off between protesters and the government, to such a degree that the national security of Turkey is threatened, it is not unlikely that the military could intervene.
Under given circumstances the possibility of a counter-coup within the military could arise. The 600 detained military officers who are charged with trumped-up espionage charges is a fertile ground for a possible internal stand-off within the military that could result with the military siding with either the government or with the protesters.
Turkey is currently hosting thousands of al-Qaeda associated terrorists. The borders to Syria are porous, weapons are entering Turkey by the ship-load. Peace negotiations between the Turkish government and the PKK have not progressed as much as was expected from both sides and over the past two weeks there have been renewed clashes between the Turkish military and PKK fighters.
The situation in Turkey is as volatile as it is complicated and the country could erupt into a civil war faster than anyone would have anticipated it to be possible just one week ago.
Christof Lehmann – Dr. Christof Lehmann is the founder and editor of nsnbc. He is a psychologist and independent political consultant on conflict and conflict resolution and a wide range of other political issues. His work with traumatized victims of conflict has led him to also pursue the work as political consultant. He is a lifelong activist for peace and justice, human rights, Palestinians rights to self-determination in Palestine, and he is working on the establishment of international institutions for the prosecution of all war crimes, also those committed by privileged nations. On 28 August 2011 he started his blog nsnbc, appalled by misrepresentations of the aggression against Libya and Syria. In March 2013 he turned nsnbc into a daily, independent, international on-line newspaper.
Over 70% of the foods on the Canadian shelves contain GMO foods. The main ones are corn, soy, oil from canola and cottonseed, sugar from sugar beets, and a small amount of zucchini and crook neck squash. Livestock feeds are GMO too so it’s having an effect on the animals we eat.
So GMOs are not good for our health. They can cause food allergies. Some plants produce toxins but the levels are too low to damage humans. GMO can increase toxicity in plants and studies have shown that by consuming GMO plants people are risking Antibiotic resistance. I have also read that GMO food makes people gain weight and gives people cancer. Studies on rats 100% verify the dangers of ingesting GMO foods.
On Saturday May 25th 2013 The March Against Monsanto saw millions in 436 cities in 52 countries challenging biotech corporations and protesting against genetically modified foods.
This video records the events at city Hall Saturday May 25th 2013, here are some words from the people that attended the March Against Monsanto in Hamilton Ontario:
This video gives a quick over view of Monsanto’s dark history in the involvement of producing an abundant of commercial toxic chemicals to being involved with environmental warfare in Vietnam by producing Agent Orange which has left the country with children still being born deformed to this day. Their fertilizers, their herbicides and GMO foods are nothing but trash for the human body and is causing bodily harm to anyone who eats it for long periods of time:
In Canada, by law, grocery stores and producers have the free will choice to inform the consumer or to not to inform the consumer if it’s GMO. Other words GMO’s don’t have to be labeled. So unless you’re getting organic , you honestly will never know if you’re consuming GMO or not.
How do you know what’s organic and what’s not?
“Many people are left wondering if the food they are buying has been genetically modified or not. Mainly because there is no law or regulation stating that the foods need to be labeled as such.
The way to find out is surprisingly easy. By reading the PLU code, you can tell if the fruit was genetically modified, organically grown or produced with chemical fertilizers, fungicides, or herbicides.
I am going to use bananas as an example. A banana that has been regularly grown with pesticides and other chemicals has the PLU # 4011.
Many people believe that a 5 digit PLU means that it is gm produce. Which is only 50% correct. I will explain.
An organic banana will. have the PLU 94011. All organic produce has a 5 digit PLU code that always starts with the number 9.
But gmo produce also has a 5 digit PLU. A genetically modified banana would have the PLU code 84011. All gm produce .starts with the number 8.”
click above to enlarge
It seems like a lot of effort by political parties such as the NDP are trying to put legislation for mandatory GMO labeling but I don’t really feel like there is enough effort being put into banning them. The GMO crop’s pollen can travel far distances and it can cross contaminate with organic crops and ultimately is a huge risk at making organic food go extinct because once it cross contaminates the organic crop is no longer organic because it contains the DNA of the GMO crop.
Our government and farmers should be taking a bigger stance on this like the way they did in European Union in the country of Hungary in 2011 when they burned the fields of GMO crops to ashes. One can not fight the new world order if they are sick and have diseases. Get involved in raising awareness, research where to get organic foods and stop giving into corporatism. First step to change is action and awareness. Act upon yourself to incorporate more healthy food in your diet and raise awareness in hopes of bringing change to eventually ban these poisonous foods.
The combined Americanisation and Islamisation of Turkey is failing. Foreigners have seen his arrogant foreign policy in Libya and Syria, now we are reminded the AKP has an arrogant internal policy too.
Four days ago a group of people who did not belong to any specific organization or ideology got together in Istanbul’s Gezi Park. Among them there were many of my friends and students. Their reason was simple: To prevent and protest the upcoming demolishing of the park for the sake of building yet another shopping mall at very center of the city. There are numerous shopping malls in Istanbul, at least one in every neighborhood! The tearing down of the trees was supposed to begin early Thursday morning. People went to the park with their blankets, books and children. They put their tents down and spent the night under the trees. Early in the morning when the bulldozers started to pull the hundred-year-old trees out of the ground, they stood up against them to stop the operation.
They did nothing other than standing in front of the machines.
No newspaper, no television channel was there to report the protest. It was a complete media black out.
But the police arrived with water cannon vehicles and pepper spray. They chased the crowds out of the park.
In the evening the number of protesters multiplied. So did the number of police forces around the park. Meanwhile local government of Istanbul shut down all the ways leading up to Taksim square where the Gezi Park is located. The metro was shut down, ferries were cancelled, roads were blocked.
Over 900 people have been arrested across Turkey for what the authorities called a security measure.
The first photo below was taken from a CNN IReport that CNN themselves have not vetted.
Blood in streets near Taksim Turkey
A shocking video report from RT shows violent clashes between police and protesters:
An RT article covered various aspects of the protests including how they started and what they stand for:
Police in Istanbul have withdrawn from Taksim Square, allowing the mass protest to continue unabated, Turkish media report. Istanbul and Ankara are entering the third day of violent protests, with tear gas and water cannon deployed and over 900 arrested.
Minor scuffles broke out after protesters lobbed fireworks at officers as they were drawing back, the state-run Anadolu Agency reports. Police removed barricades around the square, located in the heart of the city, which had previously been erected to prevent the anti-government protests, Private Dogan news agency said.
Despite the authorities decision to allow tens of thousands to flood onto the square, the main subway gateway to Taksim, the central station in the city’s metro network, has reportedly been shut down in an effort to keep more people from reaching the ongoing protests.
In the capital, Ankara, security forces battled with demonstrators who had amassed at a park near Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office. Rallies have also been staged in the cities of Bodrum, Konya and Izmir.
Protestors take care of an injured demonstrator during a demonstration in support of protests in Istanbul and against the Turkish Prime Minister and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), in Ankara, on June 1, 2013 (AFP Photo / Adem Altan)
Confronted with the growing street opposition, Erdogan remained defiant, demanding that protesters “stop their demonstrations immediately.”
“Police were there yesterday, they’ll be on duty today and also tomorrow because Taksim Square cannot be an area where extremists are running wild,” the PM warned.
In two days about 939 people have been detained across the Turkey as part of “necessary security measures,” Turkish Interior Minister Muammer Güler said.
Police use a water cannon to disperse protestors near the Taksim Gezi park in Istanbul after clashes with riot police, on June 1, 2013, during a demonstration against the demolition of the park (AFP Photo / Gurcan Ozturk)
Many have wondered how the protests originally erupted and the answer to that question is that it apparently started after dozens of activists decided to attempt a sit in at a park that was set to be destroyed for commercial use.
After the police became overzealous and clearly attacked peaceful protesters, many other people within Turkish society joined their ranks.
On Monday, several dozen activists tried to stage a sit-in in Gezi Park, the last area of green space left on Taksim Square, after several trees were torn up to make way for a commercial redevelopment.
Erdogan dismissed the small protest on Wednesday, saying authorities would go ahead with the plan, which entails the construction of a replica Ottoman-era barracks that could house a shopping mall or apartments.
Following three days of police pressure, which saw officers douse peaceful protesters with pepper spray and tear gas, the sit-in attracted support from broad sections of Turkish society.
Protestors run away from tear gas at the Taksim Gezi park in Istanbul after clashes with riot police, on June 1, 2013, during a demonstration against the demolition of the park (AFP Photo / Gurcan Ozturk)
The heavy-handed tactics deployed by police have been viewed by demonstrators as a sign of the government’s increasingly authoritarian bent, with the park demonstration turning into a broader, nationwide protest against Erdogan’s government.
The security situation has been deteriorating in Egypt with few positive changes and some of the worst cases of vigilante justice since the 2011 uprising. Officials have been encouraging citizens to arrest lawbreakers and hand them over to authorities but angry mobs have increasingly become the judge and jury on the streets. RT’s Bel Trew examines the brutal trend.
RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
Over 70% of the foods on the Canadian shelves contain GMO foods. The main ones are corn, soy, oil from canola and cottonseed, sugar from sugar beets, and a small amount of zucchini and crook neck squash. Livestock feeds are GMO too so it’s having an effect on the animals we eat.
An organic banana will. have the PLU 94011. All organic produce has a 5 digit PLU code that always starts with the number 9.
Protestors take care of an injured demonstrator during a demonstration in support of protests in Istanbul and against the Turkish Prime Minister and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), in Ankara, on June 1, 2013 (AFP Photo / Adem Altan)
Police use a water cannon to disperse protestors near the Taksim Gezi park in Istanbul after clashes with riot police, on June 1, 2013, during a demonstration against the demolition of the park (AFP Photo / Gurcan Ozturk)
Protestors run away from tear gas at the Taksim Gezi park in Istanbul after clashes with riot police, on June 1, 2013, during a demonstration against the demolition of the park (AFP Photo / Gurcan Ozturk)
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