If, in Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park again to protest against plans for a controversial mall? Despite a court order forbidding the city government apparently plans to continue with the new building – the first clashes therefore already existed.

Eighteen months ago there had been in serious rioting around the Gezi Park in Istanbul dead, now the conflict threatens to flare up again: The authorities consider in the emblematic Park apparently continue the construction of a controversial shopping center in the appearance of an Ottoman barracks. The re-establishment of an Ottoman barracks complex was included in the planning of the City Council for the years 2015 to 2019, reported Turkish newspapers.

Members of the protest movement that had gone in the summer of last year against the blueprints on the street, announced opposition to the project. The activist Ali Cerkezoglu of the union “Solidarity Taksim” said the newspaper “Cumhuriyet”, the decision is a challenge to the government, which will not go unanswered.
At first protests occurred already in the night to Wednesday after workers had been engaged with excavators in Gezi Park to flatten a few square meters. To reassure potential demonstrators and to explain their work, they attached a poster on a tree with the inscription “Construction of a bus stop.”

However, passers-by could not be a deterrent, and presented to the workers in the road, which then finished their work. According to eyewitnesses, more than a hundred protesters were involved. The police, who is constantly on the adjacent Taksim Square in readiness since the protests last year, did not intervene. Turkish news channel reported that it was merely come to war of words between protesters and civilian police. The passers-by had apparently afraid that trees should be felled.

Dangerous Game In Istanbul:A court had banned the construction project

The planned removal of trees in the park had the end of May last year triggered nationwide protests, during which at least eight people died. The Gezi-park movement had changed on May 31 in nationwide protests against the Islamic-conservative government. The former Prime Minister and current Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan appreciated the demonstrations at that time as an attempt to overthrow his government.

Several courts had the controversial construction project finally prohibited. Erdogan stressed always, he will abide by the decisions of the judiciary. Dominated by Erdogan’s AK Party Istanbul’s city council took yet now apparently a 2019-reaching planning to, in the barracks project resurfaces.

After the mass demonstrations in late summer 2013 were abated, it always came back to smaller protests that broke the regular police with water cannons and tear gas. Finally it came the end of May to riots around the Taksim Square, after activists had called on the occasion of the anniversary of the protests for a rally. The police arrested 120 demonstrators, four police officers and 13 protesters were injured.

Erdogan had the demonstrators at the time vilified as vandals and looters and praised the police for their crackdown. Political rallies in Gezi Park and on the adjacent Taksim Square are banned ever since.

[adrotate group=”16″]