18 December 2009 / TODAY’S ZAMAN , İSTANBUL
Eighteen employees of Turkey’s former tobacco and alcohol monopoly Tekel were arrested for attempting to close a road to traffic on the third day of protests against the privatization of the company.
The protest, which started on Tuesday in Ankara, continued on Thursday at Abdi İpekçi Park. A group of employees who face unemployment due to the privatization of the company went beyond a police barricade and tried to block Atatürk Boulevard. When police intercepted the group, other workers attempt to cross the barricade while some entered the boulevard via a pool in the park. Police tried to disperse the Tekel employees and warned they would have to use force if the protest did not end. Officers also requested that the deputies participating in the protest, including Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Çetin Soysal, leave the scene. Soysal said they would not leave. While the police frequently made announcements demanding that the protestors leave and used tear gas on one group, Tekel employees played the Turkish national anthem from their vehicles. Two more buses of employees arrived in Ankara yesterday to join the protest.
