Tear gas, fire, stun grenades: Chaos in Istanbul as police, protesters clash

From Nick Paton Walsh and Gul Tuysuz, CNN

June 11, 2013 -- Updated 2154 GMT (0554 HKT)

Fireworks amid protests in Taksim Square

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: Fire engines, bulldozers, armored vehicles move into Istanbul's Taksim Square
• Clashes between police, protesters in Istanbul follow days of political unrest
• "We want to be heard, respected," a demonstrator says
• An adviser to Turkey's leader says there's a "clear distinction" between types of protesters

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Istanbul (CNN) -- A central square in Istanbul erupted Tuesday night in an unsettling, chaotic chorus, with tear gas canisters and water cannons from police met by fireworks, metal banging and defiant chanting from protesters.

The nighttime drama followed an ebb and flow of demonstrators all day from the Turkish city's Taksim Square and the abutting Gezi Park, where they've camped out for days.

Time and again, once the situation appeared to settle down, it would flare up again. A new round began in the early hours of Wednesday, when government forces fired water cannons toward the park and toward streets adjacent to the square, and boom after boom of tear gas being fired could be heard.

By then, the government clearly controlled the square. Bulldozers rolled in to clear debris, and fire engines put out flames from an excavator that had been set ablaze.

Yet there was little suggestion that authorities will manage to douse the fury of protesters anytime soon. Deep into the night, the demonstrators -- young and old, from various classes of Turkish society -- chanted and dug in for a standoff.

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Tuesday's dramatics are a continuation of demonstrations that first focused on the environment -- opposition to a plan to build a mall at the park -- but evolved into a crusade against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's democratically elected government. They have been going on for days in Istanbul and other cities around the country that bridges Europe and Asia.

"We want to be heard, respected ..." a woman in Gezi Park told CNN on Tuesday night, explaining what she and other protesters are asking for. "We're not vandals, we're not criminals."

Erdogan hasn't hinted that his government will alter its approach anytime soon. While he announced plans Tuesday to meet with some protest organizers Wednesday, he also insisted, "we will never allow people to push things to us."

In these same remarks -- which came at a gathering of his own Justice and Development Party in parliament, during which he touted a long list of achievements -- the prime minister directly addressed those opposing him on the streets of Turkey's biggest city.

"They say the prime minister is harsh. The prime minister is firm," Erdogan said of their grievance against him. "I'm sorry. The prime minister is not going to change."

'The police are against me'

For days, Taksim Square has been a hub of activity by protesters decrying what they say is an increasingly authoritarian government.

Police made a concerted effort Tuesday morning to push them out -- including bringing in armored vehicles to shove away makeshift barriers set up by the demonstrators.

Beyond the riot zone: Why Taksim Square matters to Turks

Several protesters linked arms to form a human chain and prevent the police advance. But when police deployed multiple canisters of tear gas, they scattered again.

"If you stop throwing rocks, we will not use tear gas," the police told the raucous group over loudspeakers. "We don't want you to get hurt; please obey."

In a game of cat-and-mouse, the demonstrators -- using wooden boards as shields -- would pull back only to return, lobbing Molotov cocktails and firecrackers and flashing "victory" signs.

The situation escalated Tuesday evening when riot police stepped up their dispersal of tear gas canisters toward the square, which prompted tens of thousands to flee.

Letters from Turkey, with pride

Many of them sought refuge in Gezi Park, where Erdogan's government had said it would allow protesters to remain as long as they were peaceful. But Tuesday evening, as police shot tear gas canisters into Taksim Square, CNN's Arwa Damon saw some canisters also go into the park.

Protesters didn't stay away from Taksim Square for long. At one point, thousands packed back into it. Some surrounded a large bonfire they were fueling with whatever they could pick up, as deafening bangs -- likely the result of stun grenades -- added to the turmoil.

The assault on the area marked a return to the more heavy-handed tactics Turkish authorities used in the early days of the protests.

Since the demonstrations started on May 31, two protesters have been killed. One was hit by a car in Istanbul; the other was shot in the head by unknown assailants in Antakya, near the border with Syria. A police captain died after falling from a bridge last week, the Adana governor's office said.

The Turkish Medical Association said that more than 4,300 people were injured in clashes last week, a few dozen of them seriously.

The woman who spoke to CNN on Tuesday night from Gezi Park said that she's seen classmates, work colleagues and others who, like her, had never protested until now. She said many have been angered and energized by the government's response.

Pointing to a mask she had around her neck to protect against tear gas, she added, "This is how a violent person behaves."

Saban Disli, a member of parliament who belongs to Erdogan's party, acknowledged there are some "peaceful demonstrators" who, he claimed, "are being used by terrorist groups." He denied that the prime minister is authoritarian, accusing opposition parties and "the international media" of crafting a false image of Erdogan.

"This is not new Erdogan," Disli told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Tuesday night, saying the prime minister hasn't changed since he was mayor of Istanbul. "This has never been new Erdogan."

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Like Disli, the governor of Istanbul said Tuesday night that protesters from "marginal groups" attacked police and others. In remarks broadcast on Turkish television, Gov. Huseyin Avni Mutlu urged people to leave Taksim Square and vowed the government would take necessary measures until protesters leave.

Speaking a short time later on CNN, Ibrahim Kalin -- chief adviser to Erdogan -- defended the police response, saying they acted like those authorities who faced mass protests in places like Spain, Greece and during the Occupy Wall Street movement in New York and elsewhere.

Kalin acknowledged there are peaceful protesters, reiterating Tuesday night that Erdogan intends to meet with them. He said the government had made "a clear distinction" between them and members of what he called "very marginal" and, in some cases, "very illegal groups that have tried to dominate the scene and occupy Taksim Square."

"Peaceful protesters have been allowed to have their own demonstrations," Kalin said, adding that these people can remain in Gezi Park. "Others have attacked the police with Molotov cocktails, sticks, whatever they can get. They are obviously not the peaceful protesters."

Some demonstrators have demanded Erdogan's resignation and called him a dictator, an accusation Kalin called "completely false."

This comes after the prime minister's repeated efforts to fight back in the face of the biggest challenge he and his party have faced during their decade in power.

In speeches, Erdogan has said he has no tolerance for what he calls illegal demonstrations, slamming protesters and warning that "even patience has an end."

He criticized protesters' tactics and challenged them to beat him at the ballot box.

"All they do is destroy. They attacked public buildings; they burned public buildings. They burned the cars of civilians," he said.

"Let's face off at the ballot box in seven months. If you are saying democracy and freedom, if you are saying rights and freedoms, you cannot achieve that with violence. Only within the laws, you can achieve it."

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