Protests took a violent turn on Tuesday in Istanbul, as riot police stormed into Taksim Square, using tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators; the protesters, in turn, used rocks and firecrackers against the police. As more and more police arrived and the clashes intensified, people were forced to take cover in nearby hotels. Meanwhile, demonstrators still occupy nearby Gezi Park, ground zero for a conflict that began at the end of May as the result of a government plan to bulldoze the park and build a shopping mall on the site. Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, while popular in the country, is seen as responding to the protests with a dismissive and authoritarian hand. Here, a photographer turns his lens on the youth who have played a role in the conflict and the “Occupy Gezi” movement.
Ayman Oghanna
