After nearly two weeks of peaceful anti-government protests in Turkey, riot police have stormed the focal point of the demonstrations – Istanbul’s Taksim Square.

With the support of armoured vehicles and water cannons, riot police carrying shields surrounded Taksim Square this morning before moving in to pull down barricades erected by protesters. They also removed protest banners from overlooking buildings, and replaced them with the national flag and a portrait of Kemal Atatürk, the father of the modern Turkish state.

Turkish riot police, who have previously been criticized for their violence and heavy-handed tactics, again fired tear gas, “sound bombs”, and rubber bullets at the crowds causing caused many of the protesters to flee the square into the adjoining Gezi Park. A small group of protesters, although “no body knows who they are“, have responded by throwing fireworks and stones at police. Some protesters believe that these handful of protesters using molotov cocktails are working with the government to make the protesters appear violent, with the Turkish media following the protests for the first time after a self-censored media blackout up until this point.

Speaking about the small group throwing molotov cocktails at police, one protester told us:

About 30 provocateurs who are NOT among us, NOT activists, NOT among the people who resist started attacking the police with molotov cocktails. Curiously enough the “Tomas” (water cannon vehicles) that are able to push away and separate hundreds of people within seconds (as we have seen many times in the two weeks) could not get rid of this group of provocateurs for over an hour now. Why? This is all a planned game to be played in front of the international media. The resisting people are still peaceful, they do not throw stones or molotov cocktails!

The majority peaceful protesters stood arm in arm as the riot police moved in with riot gas and water cannons

Protestors forming line in front of water cannon trucks. #occupygezi pic.twitter.com/L64NmBJ1m7 — Jenna Pope (@BatmanWI) June 11, 2013

Taksimde polisi eylemciden,eylemciyi polisten insan zinciriyle koruyan Gezi Parkının bu çocukları bu ülkenin umududur pic.twitter.com/AMb4Xm17QE — Metehan Demir (@metehan_demir) June 11, 2013



https://twitter.com/ILoveArctic/status/344403476308164608

Protesters chain link down towards Tarlabasi side of Taksim, loud bangs in the distance #occupygezi #occupygezi pic.twitter.com/Zi0NhxOoYk — rabble (@wearerabble) June 11, 2013

Tear gas in Taksim Square during the clashes earlier this morning in Istanbul. #OccupyGezi pic.twitter.com/UylQdfTdTs — Jenna Pope (@BatmanWI) June 11, 2013

Five violent protesters and a huge non-violent human chain. This is how much tear gas police used on them #occupygezi pic.twitter.com/QlN4H6F0gc — Emre KIZILKAYA (@ekizilkaya) June 11, 2013

This move came in contrast to the comments of Istanbul Governer Huseyin Avni Mutlu who had previously said the police had no intention of breaking up the protest. Nevertheless, Erdogan defended the police intervention in the Turkish Parliament today saying:

“What did the protesters expect? That we would kneel down before them?”

Coinciding with the move on protesters in Taksim Square, police also moved on the courthouse, attempting to arrest the lawyers who were working with the protesters. Some reports are stating that up to 50 lawyers have been arrested.

Police continue arresting and beating up the lawyers! No of arrested lawyers may be as high as 50! @cnn @bbcturkce pic.twitter.com/4kJmnDVexK — Mehmet Karlı (@MhmtKarli) June 11, 2013

This video shows the lawyers being forcibly removed from the courthouse:



The demonstrations began to protest against the building of a shopping mall on one of Istanbul’s last green spaces, Gezi Park.. As police attempted to suppress the protesters with violence, tear gas, and pepper spray, the protests evolved to oppose Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government’s authoritarian style, the perceived Islamisation of the secular country, and the crackdown on free speech. These renewed protests spreading to many other towns and cities across the country, most notably the capital Ankara.

Vice journalist Tim Pool is broadcasting live from the protests:

