| Submit your comments on this article |
| The Grand Turk |
| Clashes erupt in Turkey over death of teenager |
| 2014-03-12 |
| [ABC.NET.AU] Clashes have erupted in Turkey after the death of a 15-year-old boy who has become a symbol of the protests that gripped the country last year. Berkin Elvan, then 14, was on his way to buy bread in Istanbul when he got caught up in street battles between police and protesters on June 16. He was hit in the head by a tear gas canister fired by police. He slipped into a coma and became a rallying point for government opponents, who held regular vigils at the hospital where he lay in intensive care. He died early on Tuesday morning, sparking festivities at the hospital, which police dispersed with pepper spray. The death has also ignited new demonstrations across Turkey, another pre-election headache for prime minister Tayyip Erdogan, already battling a graft scandal which has become one of the biggest challenges of his decade in power. Overnight police fired water cannon and tear gas in Ankara's central Kizilay square to scatter several thousand protesters who chanted: "Government of Erdogan, government of corruption, resign resign". The police pursued the protesters into side-streets, where small festivities continued. There was similar police intervention against thousands of protesters in Istanbul's central Istiklal street. In the southern city of Adana, protesters threw stones and aimed fireworks at police lines as water cannon vehicles advanced against them, spraying water. Large numbers also protested in the western cities of Izmir and Eskisehir in the most extensive protests since last summer's unrest. Residents in some Istanbul districts banged pots and pans with spoons from the windows of their apartment blocks, reviving a form of protest popular last year. |
| Posted by:Fred |