Posted on February 18, 2013 by Libya 360°
Hundreds of protesters clash with police in Turkey amid mass trial
Police used water cannon and pepper spray to disperse a crowd of
demonstrators outside a prison complex on the edge of Istanbul where the mass
trial of hundreds of people accused of scheming to topple the elected Turkish
government was postponed.
Over a thousand protesters, including many relatives of the accused as well as army supporters, tried to breach the security cordon outside the court compound but were repelled by police, as the trial was again postponed until 11th March. It had already been postponed since December. Some of the demonstrators were injured in the scuffle.
The defendants of the four-year-long trial are accused of trying to start an uprising against the Islamic leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and having ties to an alleged ultranationalist terrorist network known as Ergenekon.
Many of the protesters were supporters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). A CHP deputy, Lihan Cihaner called for restraint and said that the police were trying to pit the protesters against the military.
“There are old people here, people who cannot even stand up, they surrounded up with pepper gas and soldiers. They want to pit us against the military; they want to portray us as violent people. Let’s not fall into this trap,” Cihancer said, it was reported by Hurriyet Daily News.
Turkish gendarmerie fire water cannon and tear gas as they clash with hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse in Silivri near Istanbul on February 18, 2013. (AFP Photo)
The trial involved top military personnel, army officers, academics,
journalists and lawyers, and the verdict is expected within weeks.
Pro-government groups have praised the trial as a step towards democracy that
will end a tradition of political interference in Turkey.
But critics said the case is based on shaky evidence, and is an act of revenge against the powerful Turkish army, which is the second-biggest in NATO after the US and is openly hostile towards Islamist Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish army has overthrown or subdued four governments in the past 50 years.
The indictment accused alleged members of Ergenekon of a number of attacks over several decades, including a grenade attack against the center-left newspaper Cumhuriyet’s Istanbul headquarters in 2008, and a shooting at a court in 2006 that killed a judge.
Islamists were initially blamed for both attacks, but prosecutors believe the attacks were actually instigated by the army command with the eventual aim of toppling the AKP government, and restoring nationalist leadership in Turkey.
Turkish gendarmerie fire water cannon and tear gas as they clash with hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse in Silivri near Istanbul on February 18, 2013. (AFP Photo)
Prosecutors in Turkey have insisted that Ergenekon are responsible for
virtually every act of political violence, and are in control of every terrorist
group in Turkey from the past 30 years.
In a separate case in the same court last September, more than 300 active and retired army officers and three former generals received prison sentences of up to 20 years for their involvement in a military-led coup plot in 2003 dubbed ‘Sledgehammer.’
Turkish gendarmerie fire water cannon and tear gas as they clash with hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse in Silivri near Istanbul on February 18, 2013. (AFP Photo)
Turkish gendarmerie fire water cannon and tear gas as they clash with hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse in Silivri near Istanbul on February 18, 2013. (AFP Photo)
Over a thousand protesters, including many relatives of the accused as well as army supporters, tried to breach the security cordon outside the court compound but were repelled by police, as the trial was again postponed until 11th March. It had already been postponed since December. Some of the demonstrators were injured in the scuffle.
The defendants of the four-year-long trial are accused of trying to start an uprising against the Islamic leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and having ties to an alleged ultranationalist terrorist network known as Ergenekon.
Many of the protesters were supporters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). A CHP deputy, Lihan Cihaner called for restraint and said that the police were trying to pit the protesters against the military.
“There are old people here, people who cannot even stand up, they surrounded up with pepper gas and soldiers. They want to pit us against the military; they want to portray us as violent people. Let’s not fall into this trap,” Cihancer said, it was reported by Hurriyet Daily News.
Turkish gendarmerie fire water cannon and tear gas as they clash with hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse in Silivri near Istanbul on February 18, 2013. (AFP Photo)
But critics said the case is based on shaky evidence, and is an act of revenge against the powerful Turkish army, which is the second-biggest in NATO after the US and is openly hostile towards Islamist Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The Turkish army has overthrown or subdued four governments in the past 50 years.
The indictment accused alleged members of Ergenekon of a number of attacks over several decades, including a grenade attack against the center-left newspaper Cumhuriyet’s Istanbul headquarters in 2008, and a shooting at a court in 2006 that killed a judge.
Islamists were initially blamed for both attacks, but prosecutors believe the attacks were actually instigated by the army command with the eventual aim of toppling the AKP government, and restoring nationalist leadership in Turkey.
Turkish gendarmerie fire water cannon and tear gas as they clash with hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse in Silivri near Istanbul on February 18, 2013. (AFP Photo)
The
investigation has lasted more than 5 years and has multiplied into various
inquiries, reflecting the deep hostility in Turkey between the army and the AKP
government.
Turkey’s military elite see themselves as guardians of the country’s secular
constitution. Some fear that moves towards restricting alcohol and lifting the
partial ban on women wearing headscarves could be the first steps towards an
Islamic state.In a separate case in the same court last September, more than 300 active and retired army officers and three former generals received prison sentences of up to 20 years for their involvement in a military-led coup plot in 2003 dubbed ‘Sledgehammer.’
Turkish gendarmerie fire water cannon and tear gas as they clash with hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse in Silivri near Istanbul on February 18, 2013. (AFP Photo)
Turkish gendarmerie fire water cannon and tear gas as they clash with hundreds of protesters trying to enter a courthouse in Silivri near Istanbul on February 18, 2013. (AFP Photo)
Protest in Ankara against Deployment of Patriot Missiles
Posted on February 18, 2013 by Libya 360°
River to SeaPosted on February 18, 2013 by Libya 360°
Feb 16, 2013
 |
ANKARA, (SANA)- Tens of protesters gathered on
Saturday in the Turkish capital, Ankara, to express their opposition of the
deployment of Patriot missile batteries on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Reuters reported that around 150
Turks gathered in the middle of the Turkish capital to denounce the deployment
of the Patriot missiles, chanting slogans which call for “expelling” the US and
the NATO from Turkey.
Late January, angry Turkish
youths attacked German soldiers who arrived in Turkey to operate the Patriot
missile batteries in south Turkey in protest against their deployment by the
NATO on the Turkish territories.
Massive protests also went out
in Iskenderun and Adana in opposition of the Patriot missile deployment.
H. Said
Turkey: All Six NATO Interceptor Missile Batteries Operational
Uprooted Palestinian
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