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Turkey Marks Anniversary of Major Protests By Tear-Gassing Demonstrators

It was an event day in Turkey's one-year anniversary of the Taksim Square protests. In Istanbul, CNN's Ivan Watson was detained in the middle of a broadcast and police fired tear gas and water cannons at protestors.

By Adam Chandler
This article is from the archive of our partner .

Update

Well, the detainment of Ivan Watson was just the aperitif for the anniversary of the Taksim Square protests.  At the site of last year's protests, as many as 25,000 policemen amassed to enforce a ban on demonstrations at the square, which set off sustained protests in which thousands were injured and a number of people were killed.

This time around, hundreds of demonstrators attempted to march on the square despite the ban and were met by police who used water cannons and tear gas to clear the crowds. Here's a (n unpleasant) video of the happenings from AFP:

Here's something surreal from the mayhem:
Adding literal insult to injury if you're a Turkish protestor, the day ended with news that, according to an Erdogan aide, the Turkish prime minister will pursue a ten-year term as president. That is, after Turkish parliament changes the constitution "to bestow more powers on the office."

Original Post

During an on-air CNN report about how Turkey was stifling dissent on the one-year anniversary of the Taksim Square protests in Istanbul, Turkey proved its point by detaining reporter Ivan Watson in the middle of a broadcast.

Watch the video here:

The Taksim Square protests kicked off what has been a particularly difficult year for Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Elected in 2003, Erdogan has faced unprecedented protests against his rule, the volume of which increased dramatically last crowds gathered last year to demonstrate against plans to develop Istanbul's last public park.

Support for Erdogan has waned as his administration continues to be plagued by corruption allegations. After corruption was first exposed by Twitter, the Turkish government responded by banning the social media network and arrested dozens of users. Erdogan has also reshuffled his cabinet.

The crackdown we seem to be witnessing today could been seen as evidence that Erdogan is nervous, especially on the anniversary of last year's galvanizing protests.

Following his detainment, Watson later took to Twitter to explain what happened in the aftermath.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.