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Turkish police, protesters clash in Taksim Square
Nearly 6,000 people gathered starting at 10 a.m. in İstanbul's Taksim Square, including members and representatives of public unions and civil society organizations including the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers' Unions (DİSK), the Confederation of Public Sector Trade Unions (KESK), the Turkish Doctors Union (TTB) and the Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects' Chambers (TMMOB). The protestors planned to walk from Taksim to the Harbiye Congress Center, where the IMF-World Bank meetings are taking place, in a protest that started somewhat peacefully in the morning.
However, police intervened during the release of a press statement by the unions in the morning, when some of the groups started walking toward Harbiye. Police acted as soon as the protestors decided to march to the area, turning the scene into a battlefield within minutes.
Riot police, armed with shields, fired tear gas canisters and rushed to disperse protesters in Taksim Square, only a few hundred meters from the IMF-World Bank meetings. "Long live freedom. IMF, get out of our city," protesters chanted.
Police detained around 100 people, some for throwing Molotov cocktails near the convention center.
The protestors were determined, repeatedly returning to the main square, throwing Molotov cocktails at police and attacking water cannons, after retreating into the back alleys of Taksim every time police used water cannons. Some protestors attacked police with iron marbles fired by slingshots, weapons that can potentially be deadly.
For the first time, each officer had a number on his/her helmet that can be used to identify the officer.
Foreign protestors from international anti-globalization groups also participated in the demonstration.
The main square and surrounding streets returned to normal by midday, although police were still pursuing small groups of protesters, who appeared to be largely Turkish, in side streets.
Hundreds of area residents and commuters using the Taksim metro were also negatively affected by the tear gas.
Shopkeepers, acting on recommendations from the police, did not let protestors or innocent passersby in buildings, closing their shutters. A large number of stores in the area were also damaged during yesterday's clashes.
The front windows of several banks were smashed. Police later led out staff and customers who had been hiding on the first floor of a bank building. The screens of cash machines at several banks were also smashed.
This was the biggest protest that has occurred since Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın took over.
KESK President Sami Evren, TTB President Gencay Gürsoy and head of TMMOB Mehmet Soğancı made a statement at noon, strongly condemning what they called premeditated “attacks” by the police.
One student-journalist was temporarily detained last week after throwing his shoe at IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn during a speech at an Istanbul university. The shoe missed its target.
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