Timeline of Gezi Protests
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Timeline of Gezi Protests (Source: Gezi Park Protests: Brutal Denial of the Right to Peace- ful Assembly in Turkey. London: Amnesty International, 2013, pp. 54–58.) Monday, 27 May A number of representatives from Taksim Solidarity – a coalition of NGOs, political groups and professional bod- ies who had been actively speaking out against the regen- eration plans in Taksim – start gathering in Gezi Park after bulldozers arrive. Tuesday, 28 May A group of environmental protesters stage a peaceful sit-in at Gezi Park. Police use excessive force (tear gas and pep- per spray) in attempts to clear the park. Wednesday, 29 May The number of protesters in Istanbul grows following public outrage at the excessive force used against the Gezi Park protesters. Thursday, 30 May Footage shared on social media and news outlets shows police setting fire in the early hours to the tents of DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Timeline of Gezi Protests protesters occupying Gezi Park. Police use pepper spray and water cannon to disperse the protesters. By evening, the number of protesters increases significantly. Friday, 31 May Police move in to Gezi Park in the early hours, using excessive force, including tear gas and water cannon, to clear peaceful protesters from the area. Violent interventions by police continue across central Istanbul and into the evening. Mass protests spread to Ankara and Izmir as well as other cities including Antakya, Eskişehir, Edirne, Bursa, Kocaeli, Samsun and Adana. Saturday, 1 June Police withdraw from Taksim Square at around 5 pm but police interven- tions carry on in other parts of the city. Protests continue to spread to other cities, as does the excessive use of force by police against protesters. Police clash with tens of thousands of demonstrators in Ankara, Izmir and Eskişehir and thousands of protesters in cities across Turkey including Adana, Edirne, Samsun, Antakya, Trabzon, Bursa and Kocaeli. Sunday, 2 June The abusive use of force by the police continues across Turkey. Police intervention with tear gas and water cannon against protests continues in Ankara and Izmir. Police are reported to have attacked makeshift health clinics treating injured protestors in Ankara and Izmir. In a public statement, Interior Minister Muammer Güler says that in the six days of protest, 1,730 people had been detained in 235 protests held in 67 provinces. Tuesday, 4 June Abdullah Cömert (22 years old) dies having sustained multiple head injuries during police intervention at a demonstration in Antakya on 3 June. Witnesses say he was hit with a tear gas canister fired by police; 38 DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Timeline of Gezi Protests people are detained in Izmir for messages they posted about the protests on Twitter. Wednesday, 5 June Turkish Medical Association reports that 4,355 people have been injured across 12 cities with the majority of injuries registered in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Eskişehir. Friday, 7 June Having returned from a four-day trip to North Africa, Prime Minister Erdoğan addresses a crowd of supporters in Istanbul. He refers to the pro- tests as being illegal; he says that around 1,000 people have been injured, most of whom are police, and that the protests must end. He also says that there may have been cases of excessive use of force by the police. Tuesday, 11 June In the morning, police carry out an intervention in Taksim Square, using tear gas and water cannon, ending the 11-day occupation of the square. Clashes between the police and demonstrators continue through the day and into the night. In the afternoon, Istanbul governor justifies police intervention into Taksim Square on the grounds that “banners of terrorist organizations” had been placed on the statue in the center of the square and surrounding buildings. He pledges that there will not be a police interven- tion in Gezi Park. From early evening, police intervene in the Gezi Park protest, using tear gas, water cannon and plastic bullets; 45 lawyers are detained for protesting the detention of another, smaller group of lawyers for attempting to make a press statement condemning police violence against Gezi Park protestors at the Çağlayan Courthouse in Istanbul. Wednesday, 12 June Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issues a “final warning” to pro- testers to leave Gezi Park. Police fire tear gas in and around the Taksim Gezi Park makeshift health clinic in the early hours. DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Timeline of Gezi Protests Friday, 14 June Ethem Sarısülük (26 years old) dies having been shot in the head by a police officer during protests in Ankara on 1 June. Saturday, 15 June Police use tear gas, water cannon and plastic bullets to clear protestors who had been peacefully occupying Gezi Park. Protesters are prevented from re-entering the park. Police use water cannon and tear gas at the entrance of the Divan Hotel, filling the lobby with tear gas, where a makeshift health clinic had been established to treat injured protestors. Sunday, 16 June Police used excessive force to intervene in the funeral procession of Ethem Sarısülük in Ankara. Monday, 17 June A silent stationary protest – the “standing man” – begins in the evening, with many others joining in soon after. At least 16 solitary protestors are detained on Istanbul’s Taksim Square, and subsequently released after 8 hours. Turkish Medical Association reports that 7,478 people have been injured across 12 cities with the majority of injuries registered in Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Saturday, 22 June Police fire tear gas in and around a makeshift health clinic at the Chamber of Architects and Engineers. Sunday, 23 June The Ministry of the Interior reports that almost 2.5 million people have taken part in demonstrations in 79 of Turkey’s 81 provinces. During this DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Timeline of Gezi Protests time, approximately 4,900 people had been detained for various periods of time. Monday, 24 June Turkey’s prime minister addresses a police academy graduation cer- emony, praising the police for their brave, heroic actions during the Gezi Park protests. Turkish Medical Association statistics show that since the start of the protests 8,038 people have sustained injuries in 13 cities. Monday, 8 July Gezi Park is opened to the public by Istanbul governor Hüseyin Avni Mutlu. The park is quickly filled with activists and the public. After two hours police, tell the people in the park that they have to leave, and shortly after, the police use force including tear gas and plastic bullets. Police operation moves into the surrounding area and continues into the early hours; 50 individuals, including representatives of Taksim Solidarity, are detained when they attempt to enter Gezi Park peacefully. Wednesday, 10 July Ali Ismail Korkmaz (19 years old) is pronounced dead after having been brutally beaten by individuals in civilian clothes as he was running away from police intervention at a protest in Eskişehir on 3 June. Five people including one police officer were later arrested and charged with his murder. Friday, 12 July All of the representatives of Taksim Solidarity who had been detained on 8 July are released. Monday, 22 July Sevgi Park in Antakya, which had been occupied by peaceful protesters, is cleared by police in the early hours. Police use excessive force against protesters in Taksim Square. DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Timeline of Gezi Protests Friday, 26 July Prosecutors complete the indictment to commence the first prosecution against Gezi Park protests in Ankara. The prosecution is brought against 73 people for attending the funeral procession of Ethem Sarısülük, a protestor shot dead by the police. Thursday, 1 August The Union of Turkish Journalists reports that 81 journalists have been forced out of their jobs as a result of their coverage of the Gezi Park events. Saturday, 3 August Police use excessive force (water cannon, tear gas and plastic bullets) against peaceful protesters who wanted to stage a protest in and around Gezi Park. Police intervention continues through the night. Monday, 19 August Police in Antakya use tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators commemorating the 40th day since the death of Ali Ismail Korkmaz. Tuesday, 20 August Police use tear gas and excessive force against participants and support- ers of “walk for justice”, a group of four people who walked from Antalya to Istanbul to highlight the lack of justice for the victims of the police violence in the context of the Gezi Park protests. DOI: 10.1057/9781137413789.0014 Index 28 February process, 67–9, 102 Atatürk, M. K., 51, 81, 123 Atay, F. R., 81, 82 Africans authoritarianism, 2, 5, 9, 17, 19, racial discrimination in 26, 39 Turkey, 84 Aydın, B., 104 and religion, 83 settlement plans for Bağış, E., 30, 38 emancipated, 83 Baykal, D., 69 slavery in the Ottoman Black Turks, 5, 78, 79, 86 Empire, 83 Bloch, E., 97 social history of, 82–3 bodies, kinesis of, 90 Africans Culture and Solidarity body politic, see politics, of the Society, 85 body Afro-Turks, 83, 84, 86 Brand Finance, 36 Agamben, G., 40, 97 brand Turkey Akit, 62 a model of democracy in the Alevis, 94 Middle East, 32, 37 Anatolia, 19, 84 as a product, 35, 36 Ankara, 8, 72, 74, 80, 124, 125 Brazilian protests, 13 Ankara subway kissing Brown, W., 33 protests, 138 Bush, G. W., 38, 39 anti-capitalism, 61, 62 anti-imperialism, 61 Calf Festival (Dana Bayramı), anti-terror laws, 26, 29–30 84, 85 Arab revolts, 14 capitalism, 15, 62, 106, 107, 137 Arab Spring, 32, 33 Chamber of Engineers and Arendt, H., 66 Architects, 28, 29 Arınç, B., 20, 28, 54 Chile, 13 Armenian cemetery, 96, China, 13 106, 126 chromatism, 81 artillery barracks, see Ottoman Cleric, see Gülen, F.