2024-05-02 18:35:00
A total of 150 people had been arrested by midday, according to local media, although the number has yet to be officially confirmed.
At the city administration building, police used tear gas against people who tried to break through the barriers, AFP journalists said. It is not allowed to continue on March 31. to the re-elected opposition mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and the chairman of his Republican People’s Party (CHP) Özgür Özel, who called people to a rally at the town hall. Ö. Özel declared that he would not surrender until Taksim Square was “liberated”. Taksim belongs to the workers, he emphasized.
Demonstrators shouted: “You can’t take Taksim Square away from us. Taksim is everywhere, resistance is everywhere.”
Taksim Square has been surrounded by a high metal fence since 2013. demonstrations against the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began here, demonstrations in the square are prohibited. Many city streets were closed on Wednesday, and public transport, including ferries across the Bosphorus, was suspended.
Police arrested at least 30 leftist demonstrators in the Besiktas district. Another 30 detainees were in the Sisli district.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on Tuesday that over 42,000 police officers would be deployed in the city on Wednesday. He also warned about “terrorist organizations” who want to use May 1 for their actions and propaganda.
Last year, Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled that fencing off Taksim Square to prevent demonstrations was an illegal measure.
2024-05-02 18:35:00