Turkish riot police clashed with girls who gathered to rejoice Worldwide Ladies’s Day in Istanbul on Tuesday night, firing pepper spray as they sought to disperse a crowd of a number of thousand within the metropolis centre.
The Istanbul Governor’s workplace had stated a day earlier it could not permit marches, protests or press statements to mark the occasion within the space across the metropolis’s central Taksim Sq..
Amid a heavy police presence, girls whistled, set off flares and chanted “we’re not scared, we don’t bow down” as they gathered close by.
“You see the state of the nation and all of the unhealthy issues girls need to face daily. I stroll in worry on the street daily. I really got here right here to stroll with out being afraid,” stated protester Dilara Akkaya.
Some tried to pressure their method by means of police obstacles set as much as block the realm the place they needed to march; helmeted riot police then fired pepper spray and used their shields to push the protesters again. Reuters photos present girls pushing again in opposition to police shields.
“We’re confronted with the police even after we speak about a easy march. All we need to do is an easy march and press assertion and we now have to wrestle with the police even for that,” stated Elif Turkmen, one of many protesters.
Comparable scenes have been seen at such gatherings in earlier years, with Turkish authorities outlawing protests and police cracking down on those that do collect.
(Reuters)