Turkish police charged into crowds of leftist protesters marking the anniversary of a deadly May Day rally in Istanbul yesterday, spraying tear gas and kicking and clubbing demonstrators as they fled.
Police also used a water cannon to clear crowds from around Taksim square. Officers outfitted with helmets, gas masks and truncheons detained 700 demonstrators. Some of the protesters were carrying pistols, firebombs and knives, Istanbul Governor Muammer Guler said.
Authorities had declared the area off limits to protesters but allowed a few hundred of them to lay red carnations at the square, where unidentified gunmen fired on tens of thousands of demonstrators during a May Day gathering in 1977. The incident left 34 people dead, most of whom were killed in a stampede.
It was the first time authorities allowed some May Day protesters, including union officials, to enter the square since 1980.
Riot police chased protesters out of the square, detaining some. One group of several dozen marched in a cluster toward the square, but quickly turned back, gasping from the effects of tear gas.
Police surrounded a group of several hundred in the square. The protesters raised their fists and called on Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign.
A few held aloft anarchist flags. A police helicopter circled overhead and police deployed several armored vehicles in the square.
Authorities had briefly barred live broadcasts from the square, apparently for security reasons.
Around 3,000 riot police, reinforced with armored personnel carriers, were seen in the square as snipers took positions on roofs. Some 17,000 police were stationed across Istanbul, CNN Turk TV said.
Separately, a legal expert has advised Turkey's highest court to reject an appeal by the main opposition party to cancel the disputed presidential election, local media reported yesterday.
The Constitutional Court's decision is crucial for the future of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government, which is at odds with the nation's secular establishment over fears it might be trying raise the profile of Islam in public life.
Hikmet Tulen, an expert assigned by the court, recommended the court reject it, the Milliyet newspaper reported.
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