As protests in Turkey near their third week, two major union federations have called a work strike to oppose the eviction of protestors and demand an end to police violence.
The Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK) and Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DISK) will organize a work stoppage Monday, an action that is expected to affect hospitals, schools and various public offices across the country.
From BBC News:
The KESK and DISK union federations, which represent hundreds of thousands of workers across the country, said in a joint statement that they would call a strike on Monday over the eviction of demonstrators from Gezi Park.
“Our demand is for police violence to end immediately,” KESK spokesman Baki Cinar told the AFP news agency.
Associations representing doctors, engineers and dentists have said they too will support it.
The demonstrators have meanwhile vowed that they will not back down.
“We will win Taksim Square again and we will win Gezi Park again,” Alican Elagoz, a spokeswoman for one protesters’ group, told the Associated Press.
Over the weekend, protesters who had been camped out in Gezi Park were gassed and beaten; hotels in which protesters sought refuge were gassed as well. Police deployed water cannons and percussion bombs as they continued their brutal crackdown against the protestors.
Just a few miles away, Erdogan spoke to supporters who had turned out in the tens of thousands, many of them bussed in to the rally.
Continuing livestream remains available at this post.
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Comments
I wish I could get excited about the Turks and their problem. I can’t. Erdogan is consistent with regard to belief, much more so than the protesters. The latter want to put poison in a Chanel bottle and call it perfume. Erdogan says no. It’s poison, and I will kill your ass with it.
If the Turks had been serious about change, way back to the time of Ataturk, the Hagia Sophia would not be a mosque today.
Erodgan is acting out his beliefs. The protesters are out of synch with theirs.
Sorry Juba things have changed since 1916, Like Obummer eruodgan is using his office to reward his buddies. The shopping center is unnecessary except to gain emmense wealth from a projuect sorta like windmills & solar power here.
The natives want their park and the boob has crossed the line.