Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch condemn Turkey's crackdown on protesters

Tehran Times

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch on Tuesday condemned the Turkish police for using brutal force against anti-government protesters.

Violent clashes between the police and the protesters continued throughout Tuesday, and both sides took and lost control of Istanbul's Taksim Square several times.

On Tuesday night, thousands of protesters returned to the square. Special police forces used tear gas, rubber bullets, and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators.

Turkish riot police fought running battles with pockets of protesters Tuesday night, clearing the central Istanbul square that has been the focus of nearly two weeks of protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

By Wednesday morning, Taksim Square, strewn with wreckage from bulldozed barricades, was largely deserted and taxis crossed it for the first time since the troubles started. Several hundred remained in an encampment of tents in Gezi Park abutting the square.

Andrew Gardner, Turkey researcher at the London-based Amnesty International, in a statement censured Turkey for the recent acts of police brutality.

“Instead of continuing to repress peaceful activists, the Turkish authorities should start to look at the actions of their own police and bring to justice those responsible for the shocking abuse we have seen over the past two weeks,” he said.

“The protests in Taksim Square and Gezi Park have been entirely peaceful and have a right to continue,” added Gardner, who is currently in Istanbul.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement, saying Tuesday's police attack on “tens of thousands of peaceful protesters has all but destroyed efforts to foster a peaceful dialogue between the government and protesters.”

“Tear-gassing tens of thousands of protesters in Taksim Square won't end this crisis,” said Emma Sinclair-Webb, Turkey researcher at the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

“If Turkey is to be counted among rights-respecting countries, the police brutality has to stop and the government should talk to the protesters.”

Also on Tuesday, in a televised speech to parliament, Erdogan said the government would not show “any more tolerance” for the violent demonstrations.

“They say the prime minister is rough. So what was going to happen? Were we going to kneel down in front of these [people]? If you call this roughness, I'm sorry, but this Tayyip Erdogan won't change,” he declared.

“To those who… are at Taksim and elsewhere taking part in the demonstrations with sincere feelings: I call on you to leave those places and to end these incidents and I send you my love. But for those who want to continue with the incidents I say: 'It's over.' As of now we have no tolerance for them,” Erdogan stated.

“Not only will we end the actions, we will be at the necks of the provocateurs and terrorists and no one will get away with it,” he added.

The unrest began on May 31 after police broke up a sit-in held at Istanbul's Taksim Square to protest against the proposal to demolish Gezi Park.

Over the next 12 days, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters held demonstrations in 78 cities across the country.

According to the Turkish Human Rights Foundation, four people have died, including a policeman, and about 5,000 people have been injured in the protests.

The protesters say Gezi Park, which is a traditional gathering point for rallies and demonstrations as well as a popular tourist destination, is Istanbul's last green public space.

Erdogan has been harshly criticized for the way he has handled the crisis.

According to a number of political analysts, the popularity of the ruling AK Party -- which has won three straight elections -- could decline if Erdogan does not resolve the crisis in a way acceptable to the general public.