Nevin Oztop of KAOS GL – Turkey’s magazine for the LGBT community – gave us the run down on what you need to survive Turkey’s street protests. 1: Anti-acid, milk and lemon are useful for burns on skin. 2: Baby Shampoo is also good for washing out your eyes (by the way, contrary to how they advertise it, I experienced it myself that baby shampoo does burn your eyes … Read More
Turkish Protests: Sixth Death as Struggle Renews
On Monday the mass protest movement in Turkey was given another martyr. 22-year-old Ahmet Atakan died in a confrontation with police in the Armutlu district of Antakya in the southern Hatay province. Protestors and witnesses say he died after being shot in the head with a gas canister. The local governor’s office and state TV deny this, saying he fell from a building. Selim Matkap, head of Hatay’s chamber of … Read More
New video emerges of Turkish protestor shot dead by Police in Ankara
New video has emerged showing the moment when activist Ethem Sarısülük was fatally shot by Police in Ankara on June 1st. The 27 yr old was hit with a shot to the head when one policeman fired a handgun first into the air. At the 4 second mark just before the policeman turns to run his gun appears to drop to horizontal and simultaneously the victim collapses. Ethem … Read More
Battle for the Banliyö
The explosions of flash-bangs echo around concrete towers of flats. Police fire tear gas and water cannon into crowds. The crowds reply with rocks and molotov cocktails. Plumes of smoke rise from bonfires as young men march with shields to the barricades. Saturday night in Gazi Mahellesi couldn’t feel farther from the festive atmosphere of Gezi Park. Reuben & Gielty investigate: This suburb in the north of Istanbul has seen … Read More
Fortress Taksim
Fortress Taksim. Reflection and reenforcement after days of chaos and drama. Our reporters Reuben & Gielty take to the streets of Istanbul to find out more about the protestors and their supporters. Monday in Gezi Park saw the protestors fortify the camp and evaluate the progress of the Taksim Uprising. Internally, measures were put in place to strengthen the autonomous structures of the liberated space while on the outside … Read More
Turkish Protests Escalate: A day of action begins
The Erdoğan government’s dictatorial approach to town planning has awakened a sleeping giant. In the space of 24 hours a simple protest over a park’s future has become a nationwide rebellion against authoritarian government, violent police and creeping Islamisation of a famously secular society. rabble’s men on the ground, Reuben and Gielty, report. Yesterday saw one of the biggest protests in Istanbul’s history. At 1pm the commercial centre of the cosmopolitan … Read More
A Tale From The Taksim Anti-Mall Mobilisations
Bellowing foggy clouds of tear gas choked the early Istanbul morning of the 30th of May, as police clad in paramilitary riotgear stormed Gezi park in Taksim. Reuben & Gielty have this report from the front lines. (This article was written pseudonymously by Irish journalists Ronan Burtenshaw and Tommy Gavin because of safety concerns.) Using a signal dampener to limit internet use and accompanied by a heavily armoured “Mass Incident Intervention … Read More
No more emo-bashing in Manchester
A teenage emo has become the first to report an assault to the Greater Manchester Police under a new category of hate crime against ‘subcultures’. The 16-year-old boy was assaulted on Monday in the centre of Ashton-under-Lyne, east of Manchester. A 14-year-old boy and a 44-year-old man from Manchester were arrested and released on police bail until 7 May pending further enquiries. Assistant Chief Constable Garry Shewan said: “Officers will be … Read More
Footbrawl
Bizarre finale to the Atlético Mineiro vs Arsenal (Argentina) Copa Libertadores game sees players and police in a barely contained brawl. With Police lashing out at players and even pulling a gun on them. Authorities said the players will likely be charged after throwing punches and kicking the officers who were trying to protect the referees as the final whistle blew at the Independência Stadium. The Argentines were in Brazil for … Read More
New York’s Finest
NYPD officers pepper-sprayed three little children, including 2-year- and 5-month old babies, because they thought the kids’ mother jumped a subway fare. The NYPD has been snatching disgrace from the jaws of respect at every turn in the last year or two, especially with their well documented abuses of the Occupy movement. This most recent case really takes the biscuit. Marilyn Taylor sued New York City, the NYPD and Officers … Read More