Turkish Spring... perhaps

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Glad u brought that up. Was a mistake based on colour of canisters and smoke. There are all sorts of rumour and accusations but I can put that one firmly to bed. Just good old CS gas

 

[The Fifth Column]

Glad u brought that up. Was a mistake based on colour of canisters and smoke. There are all sorts of rumour and accusations but I can put that one firmly to bed. Just good old CS gas

Yes , I can see it was the result of someones over active imagination now. The CS gas is deliberately coloured orange so it can be seen and create a psychological effect on those near it. Actual agent orange was a chemical defoliant used by the US in the Vietnam war, absolutely no connection but as is typical in these situations the rumour mill takes over and next thing the mainstream media get hold of it and next thing you know the turks are using chemical weapons!!

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Somehow found myself to the side of the barricades about 300 metres from the square where I started. Was goinng to take a picture of the fallen lampposts but was immediately Approached by masked youths shouting 'video cekme !' (Don't take videos!') backed off immediately! Think that's me done. Try to put up some stuff later

 

[The Fifth Column]

Good time to bug out Sully, situations like that can change rapidly and you could be easily be mistaken as the opposition to the protestors and on the end of a good shoeing, retreat to safety mate!

Edit, looking at some of the police response online you look more likely to be treated as a protestor and get a good shoeing from the police!

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

On my way to metro now. Did actually pass through the space between police and protester(the main one) about 200 police I reckon all gas masked up and a Toma 4 (one of those truck/tank types) in the lead. Was a good time to leave methinks. And this is only little Izmir. Istanb and Ankara must be at least twenty times greater.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Bizarre little footnote. On way to metro was accosted by two French journalists who had lost their way to the demo Walked them back and as I did so all 200 police + tanks went on food break! I kid u not. All now camped outside McDonald's! Wld have taken a picture if I wasn't such a wuss !

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Personally I recommend doing this....

 

[glasfryn]

having looked at the video's and pictures it looks pretty bad, worse than it looked on the BBC news, lets hope things do not escalate out of control.
we loved Turkey and the people and its sad to see whats happening there.

SULLY
look after yourself and your family and be careful

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Things now really kicking off in Izmir while Istanbul and Ankara relatively quiet.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

IMHO the events in Turkey are a positive thing in that the people are taking steps to safeguard their democracy against a government clampdown. Post-Arab-Spring Egyptians have recently done the exact same thing to keep their president in check.

 

[unklbrian]

Stay safe Fella , and whatever you do DONT go around flashing a camera about .
by the looks of your posts you are taking a detached view of whats happening [ good thing probably] , but the protesters dont know that , and being well twitchy - being jailed or worse based on some photographic evidence it wouldnt take much to get into a heap of bother ..

yep - been there , i got caught up in a coup in west Africa some years back

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

You're right about the camera...... around the barricades I got seriously spooked by the protester's response. Tonight seems like Mr Erdogan is losing his patience as police seem to be out in force. All over Turkey there were twenty odd minutes of people on their balconies banging their pots and pans and flashing their lights and tomorrow an all-black clothing demonstration is expected. Think the next 24 hours will decide whether this dissipates or explodes.

p.s. Im not sure if its safe to post pics and videos of what I saw today so waiting on advice.

 

[unklbrian]

You're right about the camera...... around the barricades I got seriously spooked by the protester's response. Tonight seems like Mr Erdogan is losing his patience as police seem to be out in force. All over Turkey there were twenty odd minutes of people on their balconies banging their pots and pans and flashing their lights and tomorrow an all-black clothing demonstration is expected. Think the next 24 hours will decide whether this dissipates or explodes.

p.s. Im not sure if its safe to post pics and videos of what I saw today so waiting on advice.

I guess the best way to think of the situation is - imagine yourself as an American tourist caught up in the middle of a seagulls/palarce fracas - fascinating from an outsider perspective , but potentialy dangerous ... Shift+R improves the quality of this image. CTRL+F5 reloads the whole page.

 

[dougdeep]

More worrying developments overnight. One killed and dozens more injured. I see the boss man visited Algeria and told them it was just squabbles in the major cities and not affecting the rest of the country. He also said that it was organized by the opposition parties and will probably be all over by the time he returns. Wishful thinking I reckon.

 

[Bakero]

I read this blog on the situation a couple of days ago: http://defnesumanblogs.com/2013/06/01/what-is-happenning-in-istanbul/

A friend in Istanbul posted this pic:

And this:

 

[knocky1]

Today the protests move up a gear. It will no longer be just a middle class protest. The union Kesk has announced a 2 day strike of its 240,000 members. The support of the workers to the protests put even more pressure on the Prime Minister, who wants to be President.

Are you OK Sully? No news for a while.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Hi All!

Just too busy to write much and as the thread had gone quiet...

Anyway... its now two deaths. One of the major unions has also gone on strike today. The Guardian has finally set up a live update to follow which is pretty good and its also worth watching the Christine Amanpour reports on CNN.

Protests have spread to more cities and although the president and deputy PM have been moderate, the PM still insists that there will ne no compromise and the protesters are all marginals and radicals who are also alcoholics. Every nigth at 21.00 the cities reverberate to the clashing of tins in portest.
Feel free to check my FB page (Grant Kempton). I update when I can there.

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Dont know if this will work but this is last night, four different parts of the city Im living in:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?...7017649.101689.396907433729914&type=1&theater

 

[SULLY COULDNT SHOOT]

Again, hope this works, but this is the most comprehensive video of what has happened. Watch it! Its 7 minutes but worth it.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=472402239509898