Police fired tear gas and water cannons at thousands of people attempting to enter Taksim Square’s Gezi Park in Istanbul on Saturday, despite warnings from the city’s governor.
In an attempt to revitalize the anti-government protests that shook the country in June, protesters attempted to reoccupy Gezi Park on Saturday, according to the Associated Press. The governor had warned that the demonstration was illegal and that protesters would be dispersed.
The park has been closed to visitors since June 15, when Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan — the very man against whom they were protesting — evicted the protesters from the park.
Using tear gas and water cannons, officers dispersed demonstrators on İstiklal Ave., a main junction in Taksim Square. Approximately 30 were detained, reports Hurriyet Daily News.
Protesters’ plans reportedly included a peaceful “water fight” event to symbolically show their disapproval of officers’ frequent use of water cannons, which sometimes contain harmful chemicals that damage the skin, such as pepper spray.
A pedestrianization project that would fill the park with a shopping mall and Ottoman-era barracks was the motivation for the original peaceful sit-in in Gezi Park in late May.
Police officers’ violence against these demonstrators sparked massive anti-government protests across Turkey, specifically aimed at Erdogan for his religious and conservative authoritarian tendencies.
The project to pedestrianize the park was cancelled by the Istanbul 1st Regional Court on June 8, according to Hurriyet Daily News.
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