Turkey: 6th night of clashes

At least the cities of Antakya and Istanbul have witnessed protests and (once again) brutal police repression. 

→ Euronews (video & transcript).

Turkey: protests and repression continue for third night

Obviously the Turkish socio-political conflict is far from solved. Repression is once again not any solution and only feeds more and more anger. 

Large protests took place in Ankara, Antalya and Antakya (Antioch) in anger for the latest mortal victim of Islamo-Fascist repression, Ahmet Atakan, hit by a gas canister. They were once again brutally repressed by a government that does not know how to get out of their own trap of ultra-violence and dogmatic totalitarianism.

There are local elections in 6 months and state ones in a year. At least that's the schedule. But meanwhile the regime continues with the most brutal repression it can fathom. 

Source: WG[es].

Turkey: renewed protests and repression after young man killed in Antakya

A man aged 22 was murdered on Monday by police forces in Antakya (Antioch, near Syria) upon being hit by a gas canister thrown by police forces in the context of yet another anti-Islamist demonstration, incidentally in memory of another victim of police brutality in the same town earlier in the year. 

As reaction, yesterday there were new demonstrations in central Istanbul, which were repressed by police forces by means of water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets among others. People who were not taking part in the demo were also attacked.

There were also demonstration on Monday in the bicontinental metropolis, demanding punishment for those responsible of the injuries against a minor who has been in coma since he was hit by a gas canister months ago. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].


Update: photos and video of the clashes now also at WG. 

Turkey: more repression against students in Ankara

The police forces of Islamist ruler Erdogan brutally charged with loads of tear gas and other violence against students protesting the deforestation of their campus to build a highway. 

The also Islamist mayor of Ankara, Melih Gökçek, recently announced that the works for the highway to be built right through the Technical University of the Middle East would begin this week. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Turkey: the Islamist regime continues with repression as the masses march against war in Syria

At least 40 people were arrested in a journey of renewed protests, this time with the cause of peace. Again Gezi Park and Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul were the epicenter of protests and brutal fascist repression by police forces. The protest in Istanbul was not the only one, in the last weeks concentrations and marches have been spreading again through Turkey after a summer downtime, all them have been met with the brutal repression of a regime that calls itself "democratic" but obviously does not want to know what the word means. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Update: short video of some of the protests and police deployment:

Gladio: NATO's shadow state (II)

I continue here synthesizing the most important historical data provided by Daniele Ganser at Voltaire Network in Spanish and French on NATO's secret army, popularly known by its Italian codename Gladio. 

As we saw in the previous entry, Andreotti's confessional discourse revealed that Gladio existed in all other NATO member states and that it was a NATO organization under US ultimate control. His discourse took place however on August 2nd 1990, the very same day in which Saddam Hussein's Army (baited by Washington, who winked to him implying that it was a well earned prize for its efforts against Iran) invaded Kuwait.

The non-free European media saw in that developing conflict the perfect excuse to ignore, as much as possible, the murky story of Gladio. However some investigations did took place, notably in Belgium. 

Most governments tried to avoid the matter altogether or at least minimize its relevance. The most notorious were the British, whose ministers declined again and again to make any comment "on security issues". The Parliament also avoided pushing any investigation.

France explicitly denied the existence of such network in its soil, claiming that it had been disbanded in the 1950s. Andreotti replied that France was present in the latest meeting of the Allied Clandestine Committee (ACC), the command of the stay-behind network, in 1990, what forced the authorities to argue that it was just a preemptive force which played not active role.

Portuguese authorities also stepped in to deny that the local Gladio branch was used in defense of the Fascist regime of Salazar. However a retired general contradicted them. 

In Spain, Minister Oliart laughed at the questions by journalists as naive: "here the government itself was Gladio", he said, meaning the fascist government of Franco. However the incipient investigation on the continuity of the Spanish Gladio after 1978 were curtailed by simply firing the journalists researching the matter, as I recall clearly. 

In Denmark the minister in charge was contradictory, appealing to the confidentiality of the matter, while denying the existence of the secret state in the most vague terms. 

In Norway, the authorities acknowledged the existence of the local Gladio but rejected to discuss its details on the grounds of being top secret. 

Luxembourg also acknowledged the existence of the stay-behind network but denied that it had any other activity than being prepared for the event of a hypothetical Soviet invasion. 

In the Netherlands the Prime Minister assumed all the responsibility and denied that the network was under NATO command. 

Greece was the first state to be splashed by the Gladio scandal after Italy. The Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou claimed with his characteristic cold blood that, as soon as he discovered the existence of such secret army in 1984, he commanded its elimination. Some MPs demanded an investigation to find out the role played by the Greek Gladio in the fascist dictatorship but the government ignored them. 

In Germany there was some investigation on demand of the Green Party, while the media revealed that former members of the SS took part in the secret army. Not just in Germany: in other countries also extreme right activists had been recruited into Gladio.

Hans Klein, Speaker of Helmut Kohl's government appealed to military secrecy in order not to reveal any details. The opposition used the scandal for the upcoming elections, being a clear case of unconstitutional structure, which was even compared to the Ku Klux Klan.

A parliamentary commission was created. In it Burkhard Hirsch, on charge of the secret services in Kohl's government, recognized he was very unease with the matter, claiming that he had never heard of it before. He said with unusual sincerity for a spy chief:

If something can remain secret for so long, and you can trust my long experience, is because there is something rotten. 

As soon as the conservative government declared that the socialdemocrat ministers of past governments were also privy to those secrets, the SPD abandoned all belligerence. Therefore the commission met in secret in spite of the protests of Die Grünen. 

One wonders what role played this secret organization in the murder of Petra Kelly and Gert Bastian just a couple of years later. Back in the day it was rumored that they were in the course of investigating something big, possibly this very imperial secret army.

The biggest investigation took place in Belgium, where PM Wilfried Martens declared to ignore everything about it. He said with apparent worry:

I have been Prime Minister for the last eleven years but I have always ignored the existence of a network in our country. 

The investigation revealed that the actual commander of the Belgian Gladio was the secret service boss General Raymond Van Calster. Van Calster initially denied everything but later he admitted that it existed with a mere intelligence goal for the hypothetical event of a Soviet invasion. 

There was great worry because, as in Italy, indiscriminate terrorist attacks had been performed against the civilian population. In 1980, mysterious men dressed in black opened fire against supermarket customers in Brabant, killing many.

But maybe the most striking case with repercussions reaching to this very day was the Turkish one. Ankara admitted that Gladio existed in the country and pretended, as in other states, that it was a mere passive network in preparation of a Soviet invasion. 

However it soon became known by mouth of former PM Bülent Ecevit that the Turkish network, eventually known as Ergenekon, was deeply involved in tortures, terrorist attacks and murders.

In 1996 a car accident at Susurluk killed three not-so-unlikely buddies: a member of the anti-Kurdish terrorist groups, a top police officer and a member of Parliament. Thousands protested against the "deep state".

Two years later, PM Mesut Ylmaz had to acknowledge the existence of a death squad at the very heart of the state with full knowledge of the authorities. The Ergenekon case was only brought to trial recently, but it seems that only some of those involved have been prosecuted, those against whom Erdogan's Islamists wanted revenge. The bulk are probably still at large.

Main source[es]: Daniele Ganser "Cuando se descubrió el Gladio en los Estados europeos…" (also available in French).

Turkey: student loans to be denied to those who join protests

The fascist Turkish state is again showing its true colors: people who take part in protests will become legally ineligible for student loans.

The new norm, to be applied from 2014 on, has been approved by the Institution of Loans for Superior Education and University Residences on the grounds that such activities are "a violation of the right to education".

The banned activities include painting graffiti, chanting slogans, occupying buildings or taking part in any boycott, be it individually or collectively, inside or outside the university precinct.

The banned activities are described as "acts of anarchism and terrorism".

Hitler himself could not have thought something more twisted. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Turkey: police attacks yet another peaceful demonstration.

On August 30th, hundreds concentrated in Istiklal Avenue to pay homage to a young victim of police violence, who is nearing death. The absolutely peaceful concentration was violently repressed by police forces in yet another show of the fascist style of Erdogan, who does not allow any sort of dissidence (and yet wonders why he's considered a dictator).

Video (in Spanish):

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Turkey: Erdogan to consolidate police state by promoting anonymous snatching at local level

The beleaguered Erdogan government looks to consolidate totalitarianism in Turkey by creating mechanisms that will allow anonymous and diffuse accusations based on mere ideological dissidence. 

Also he is demagogically equating protesters with "enemies of Islam", attempting to rally as many religious citizens around his own figure as possible, in a state where 99% are officially Muslim. For that he is making up false accusations: like a false case of a woman wearing the hijab and carrying a baby that was supposedly attacked by anti-fundamentalist protesters, which is absolutely false (not a single police report backs that made-up myth, and the police work for Erdogan, you know). 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Turkey: clashes in Adana tonight

From Occupied Taksim (reversed order to fit chronological sequence):

Clashes broke out in Adana between the protestors who are determined to commemorate the martyrs of the resistance and the police.

Police attacked the crowd with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. The protestors do not knuckle under the vulgar and brutal police attacks.

23.25 Protestors re-build the broken barricades after police attacked and failed to disperse the crowd.

23.30 The police water cannons the houses in Adana. People of Adana out on the streets on the 7th day of Ali Ismail's murder.

00.10 The police is forced out of the Akkapi Quarter, Adana by the people.

Turkey: new police crackdown

From Contra Info:

Turkey: Police crackdown and mass detentions in İstanbul

In the early hours of July 16th, 2013 police raided 100 different places in İstanbul.

At around 5.30am, police stormed many houses simultaneously. According to initial reports, 12 members of Öğrenci Kolektifleri (Students’ Collective) and Liseli Genç Umut (Highschool Young Hope) were detained. 26 persons in the district of Sancaktepe were detained, including readers of magazines such as Özgür Gelecek (Free Future) and Devrimci Demokrasi (Revolutionary Democracy), and members of AKA-DER (Anatolian Cultural and Research Foundation) and HKP (People’s Liberation Party). It’s being reported that managers’ and members’ houses of the TGB (Turkey Youth Union) were also searched. Lawyers informed that the State took the decision of house searches and arrest of 60 people for a 72-hour period (including members of Halkevleri, Öğrenci Kolektifleri, Özgür Gelecek, Devrimci Demokrasi, Aka-Der, HKP and TGB). 56 people are accused for encouraging people to revolt and damaging public property. The case file was classified as confidential, so people still in custody (30 so far) are not allowed to speak with their lawyers for 24 hours. Cops also decided to take saliva samples of detainees.

sources: a, b

Turkey: protests and repression continue in Antioch, Ankara and Istanbul

From Occupied Taksim:

* TMMOB (Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects) members held large protests against the unlawful budget cuts and de facto disabling of the chamber in Ankara and Istanbul.
* Without any substantial reason the police attacked the protestors in Istiklal Avenue with water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets. Clashes continue in the side streets.
* The people of Antioch started gathering in the Ugur Mumcu square to commemorate the martyrs of the resistance. Antioch was the hometown of Ali Ismail Korkmaz and Abdullah Comert.

Webguerrillero[es] also mentions the repression in Istanbul and provides this image:

It mentions that this particular protest was partly triggered by the decision of Erdogan's government to remove authority in urban planning to the Engineers and Architects Association, which was also involved in protests against the government.

Turkey: another night of clashes in Antioch

As mentioned yesterday, the city of Antioch has become another focus of the Turkish uprising. This is the chronicle of the night as told by Occupied Taksim (just changed the chronological order and corrected some typos):

22.40 The police attacked the rally organized for Ali Ismail Korkmaz with water cannons (TOMAs), tear gas and stun grenades.

23.00 One protester is arrested. Police is forcing its way through the side streets with scorpions (armed army vehicles).

23.10 The police threatens the people watching the clashes from their rooftops with going up there, they shoot gas cannisters to the rooftops.

23.25 The police and armed vehicles cannot get through the barricades erected by the people of Armutlu. Inhabitants of Armutlu and the protesters throw balloons filled with olive oil to water cannons. Protesters shoot fireworks to the police.

00.35 1 water cannon vehicle (TOMA) is destroyed by a water tank thrown from a rooftop.

01.00 As clashes continue, barricades are being set ablaze.

01.20 Inhabitants of Armutlu throw their furniture out from the windows to help the protesters build barricades.

04.00 Clashes seem to be over in Antioch. 10 slightly wounded, no arrests after one of the fiercest nights.

Turkey: clashes with police in Antioch and Ankara - fascists attack popular assembly in Istanbul

Protesters clashed with police in Armutlu, Antioch, tonight. Many resulted injured, at least one in critical condition.

Antioch tonight

In Ankara the police failed in its repressive attempt. After some three hours of fierce struggle, police was driven out. Here also several reported injured: one blinded and another one in critical condition after being hit on the head by a gas canister. 

→ Occupied Taksim (includes video of Antioch). 

In the centric neighborhood of Samatya (Fatih = historical Constantinople), largely inhabited by Armenians and Kurds, a fascist squad armed with iron bars attacked the people holding an assembly.

→ Occupied Taksim (video).

The same blog recommends us another new blog (by the same editors) in English with opinion articles on the Turkish Revolution. 

→  Gezi Park Articles.

Turkey: 50 political prisoners beging hunger strike

50 people arrested in the context of the Taksim uprising have begun a hunger strike in protest for what they denounce as a witch hunt. 

Erdogan and the Turkish police-military apparatus are persecuting people for just being members of the Taksim Solidarity platform, arresting them and searching their homes. 

Taksim Solidarity demands the immediate release of all those arrested for merely exerting their right to demonstration. 

Source: Webguerrillero[es].

Turkey: protester attacked by fascists died after week in coma

From Occupied Taksim:

Ali Ismail Korkmaz, a 19 year old university student was attacked by "unidentified" perpetrators on 2nd of June, after running away from the police attack to a peaceful protest in Eskisehir. From that day to this he was in coma. 

We lost him today.

He was killed by the "heroes of the Prime Minister", as Erdogan chooses to define the "unidentified".

Whether the police or the "White Youth" of Erdogan killed him, the peoples of Turkey know who the real murderers are.

"Those who died,
                        died in fight;
                                        were buried to the sun.
We have no time to mourn for them!

                        There is a raid
                                         a raid to the sun!
                        We will conquer the sun
                                        seizure is imminent!

                                                                               Nâzim Hikmet

Turkey: dozens arrested, many injured in yet another Taksim Square battle

According to Gara[es], at least 59 people have been arrested by police in Istanbul, including two journalists and one foreign citizen, as well as a physician and a student of medicine who were giving first aid to demonstrators. 

The battle between Erdogan's repression dogs and the popular march began at Taksim Square and Gazi Park, when the latter made the Nth attempt to liberate the public space from the hands of police and the corrupt authoritarian governmen, under the slogan "give back the park to the people", after a judge ruled that the commercial center project was illegal and null. 

The clashes continued in Istiklal Avenue, the main commercial artery of Northern Istanbul.

According to Webguerrillero[es], the march could not even reach Taksim Square, as police had blocked the end of Istiklal Av. with armored vehicles, quickly proceeding to repress with water cannons and tear gas. 

The march intended to symbolically bring the judicial sentence to the authorities in Gezi Park itself but the governor of Istanbul declared it illegal and proceeded to, once again, bring violence to the streets of the bicontinental metropolis.

Kurdistan: PKK cell kidnaps a Turkish police agent

The massacre of Lice, on Friday 28th, in which Turkish police forces opened live fire against civilian protesters who attempted to impede the construction of a new police station, killing one and injuring many, has not just caused widespread protests in Kurdistan and Turkey proper, but also has triggered an incident that puts in jeopardy the recently initiated "peace process" between the Ankara government and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

According to Gara newspaper[es], citing Turkish news agency Dogan:

PKK guerrillas kidnapped a Turkish military police sergeant in Lice hours after the killing of the young Kurd. The guerrillas argued with the gendarme, a member of the special operations unit, and they finally decided to capture him.

The kidnapping seems to be independent of the PKK command structure, which so far has not made any statement in the direction of ending the cease-fire but it illustrates very well how the arrogant stand of Erdogan also in the Kurdish case, building new military sites and ordering to shoot to kill, instead of taking steps to ensure a long-lasting and democratic peace, is undermining all the peace process just weeks after it began. 

In this sense Kurdish MP Sirri Sureyya Önder declared that:

The Government must reconcile itself with the People, not build new military outposts, it must have a true will for peace. This is not the road that will bring us to peace. 

Turkey and Kurdistan: massive protests for the murder of Medeni Yildirim

Some 10,000 people demonstrated in Istanbul in solidarity with Kurdistan and repulse of the murder of Medeni Yildirim, killed on Friday by the Army. 

The protesters in Istanbul, which hosts a very large Kurdish minority, could not reach the iconic Taksim Square, still heavily guarded by police, but they remained in the nearby streets chanting slogans in Turkish and Kurdish with messages like "police murderers, out of Kurdistan", "this is just the beginning, the struggle continues, the murderer state will pay" and "long live the fraternity of the People".

In Diyarbakir (Northern Kurdistan) the thousands attending to the funeral demanded from the government: "Erdogan behave, don't make us go to the mountains", in reference to the guerrilla camps. 

This murder and the injuring of dozens is the worst incident in Northern Kurdistan since the PKK signed a ceasefire with Ankara two months ago.

Source: Gara[es].

Kurdistan: Turkish Army fires against protesters near Diyarbakir: one killed, many wounded

A road blockade to protest against the opening of a new Turkish military station at Lice (Diyarbakir province, Northern Kurdistan) was brutally quelled by the Army of the Islamist and Imperialist regime with live fire, killing Salih Bedirxan Medeni Yildirim and injuring at least seven others. 

There have been protests in Istanbul in solidarity with the massacred Kurds. 

Source: Occupied Taksim.

Update (Jun 29): 

The funeral for the mortal victim has been held today at a Diyarbakir cementery. 

A popular assembly has been called in Beksitas for 5pm in order to march to Taksim Square. Similarly the Democratic Congress of the Peoples (HDK) has called for a concentration at 6pm at the Galatasaray Lisesi in protest for the Lice massacre with the intention to march to Taksim Square as well. Taksim Solidarity will also held a demonstration at Taksim Square at 7pm with in homage to Sarisuluk (a worker murdered in Ankara weeks ago), in demand of justice against police and in solidarity with the imprisoned comrades. 

Source: Occupied Taksim.