Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannons at hundreds of May Day protestors, after they defied a ban and tried to march into the capital’s Taksim Square, which saw weeks of unrest in 2013.
Thousands of police with barricades closed streets to stop demonstrations from progressing to the square, resulting in at least 140 people being detained, reports Reuters.
At least 18 protestors and 6 police officers were injured in the clashes.
An opposition politician, Mahmut Tanal, speaking to Reuters, said,
“People want to express their problems but the government doesn’t want those problems to be heard ahead of elections.”
The current president Tayyip Erdogan has been criticised for an increasingly authoritarian presidency. The 2013 protests in Taksim square, which were initially against redevelopment plans of green spaces, spiralled into nationwide protests against authoritarian rule after violent crackdowns on the initial protests.
Thousands of police with barricades closed streets to stop demonstrations from progressing to the square, resulting in at least 140 people being detained, reports Reuters.
At least 18 protestors and 6 police officers were injured in the clashes.
An opposition politician, Mahmut Tanal, speaking to Reuters, said,
“People want to express their problems but the government doesn’t want those problems to be heard ahead of elections.”
The current president Tayyip Erdogan has been criticised for an increasingly authoritarian presidency. The 2013 protests in Taksim square, which were initially against redevelopment plans of green spaces, spiralled into nationwide protests against authoritarian rule after violent crackdowns on the initial protests.