First victim in Turkish anti-government protests

Source: Beta, Tanjug

ISTANBUL -- On the fourth day of the big anti-government demonstrations in Turkey the situation is still not calming down, while reports said there was the first victim.

(Tanjug)

A 20 year old man was killed when a taxi ran into a group of protesters on a road in Istanbul during the protests, said the association of Turkish doctors TBB, stating also that this was the first recorded death related to the demonstrations.
On the fourth day of the biggest protests against the regime in Ankara, which began peacefully, the police again used tear gas.

The protesters are demanding the resignation of the entire government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The prime minister today told the citizens not to be provoked by the demonstrations which, according to him, were organized by "extremist elements."

Before heading off to visit Morocco, Erdogan said the protest was "an organized event with connections in Turkey and abroad" and that "those who call these events the Turkish Spring do not know Turkey."

In his speech on Sunday, Erdogan rejected claims that he was a "dictator", dubbing at the same time the social networking site Twitter "the worst menace to society", that "spreads lies."

Overnight, the demonstrators set fire to Turkey's ruling AK Party HQs, but the streets were quiet this morning.

In the western port of Izmir protesters last night threw firebombs at the party's headquarters. Video footage showed a part of the building on fire before firefighters put out the blaze.

Protesters dismantled bus stops, took rocks from sidewalks and pulled out street signs to make barricades on the main street next to the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, which was the scene of some of the heaviest clashes.

The streets around the office of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul were closed, and police this morning at dawn used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators, reports Reuters.

In the main street close to Erdogan's office one protester drove a small mechanical digger to the police, as others walked behind him. In a nearby mosque doctors were providing help to the injured.

Police raided a shopping center in downtown Ankara where demonstrators sought refuge and detained hundreds of people.

Interior Minister Muammar Guler said that more than 1,700 people have been arrested across the country since the protests began, but that most had been set free, the AFP reported.

Guler added that 58 civilians and 115 members of the security forces were injured during several days of demonstrations.