Turkish Protesters Say They're Fighting for Freedom
Being democratically elected doesn't give the prime minister a free pass from public outrage
Several protesters in Turkey provided their account of events in the country so far to the BBC, as well as their goals for what started as a demonstration against the demolition of a local park in Istanbul but has spread into nationwide protests against the government of three-term prime minister Recep Erdogan. Among the most common complaints is that there's been a complete local media blackout of the protests. A student in Istanbul explains:
The only source of real information have been social media sites and people like myself have become more determined to join forces with protesters.
It's clear that the police's intention was to hurt people who are against the government. They've been throwing gas bombs not just in open spaces, but inside buildings too.
They haven't been letting ambulances reach Taksim Square to treat injured people.
But despite all of this, the crowds are getting bigger and bigger. The government has no right to tell us how much to drink, to use Islam to manipulate us, or to harm us during peaceful protests.
This is no longer a fight for trees. The people of Turkey are fighting for their freedom.
Read the rest of her account and several others here. I explained how the Taksim protest wasn't just about uprooting trees here on Friday.
More Reason on Turkey.