News Scan

News Scan, 11th March: Shot with tear gas canister during Gezi protests, 15-year-old Elvan dies

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Shot with tear gas canister during Gezi protests, 15-year-old Elvan dies

Berkin Elvan, 15, who was shot with a tear gas canister during last summer’s Gezi Park protests, has died after a nine-month battle for his health. Berkin was on his way to buy bread on the evening of June 16 when he was hit at close range with a tear gas canister fired by riot police in İstanbul’s Okmeydanı neighborhood. Berkin has been in intensive care unit at İstanbul’s Okmeydanı Hospital for over 269 days. In a Sunday press release, Elvan family’s lawyer said that Berkin weights 16 kilograms and his body’s resistance and brain functions are significantly compromised.

On Sunday, President Abdullah Gül also called Berkin’s father Sami Elvan on Monday and wished the teenager a speedy recovery. Gül also asked Sami Elvan about the 14-year-old’s current condition.

Berkin’s family announced his death on Tuesday morning at 7 a.m. on Twitter. “We lost our Berkin at 7 a.m. this morning. May he rest in peace.” the message said.

His death raises the number of people killed in the protests to at least eight, including a police officer.The protests were sparked by a police crackdown on protesters objecting to the razing of a central İstanbul park and quickly turned into nationwide protests demanding more democratic freedoms. Police say some 3 million people took part in demonstrations from May to September.

TODAY’S ZAMAN

Silent sitting protests spread across Turkey in memory of Berkin Elvan

People across Turkey are gathering to stage demonstrations in memory of the eighth victim of the Gezi Park protests, 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who died early March 11 after 269 days in a coma.

Demonstrations first started in Ankara as one protester sat alone with a loaf of bread and a sign reading “I am Berkin” in the central Kızılay district. The protest grew as many people joined him, silently sitting on the steps of the city’s Güven Park.

Similar protests are also being held in several cities including Istanbul, Antalya and İzmir.

Students in a number of high schools and universities are also boycotting their classes. In addition, shopkeepers in Istanbul’s Okmeydanı neighborhood, where Elvan’s family lives, have closed their the shutters in a show of support.

Elvan went into a coma after sustaining a head injury from a gas canister as he went to buy bread during a police crackdown in Okmeydanı on June 16. He turned 15 last January while in coma.

HURRIYET DAILY NEWS

Gülen says Turkey needs new constitution to save its democracy

Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, who has been silent in the past few months amid government moves to contain a recent corruption scandal, has urged Turkey to write a brand new constitution as a way to save its democracy. In an op-ed published in Financial Times on Monday, Gülen said there is inherent trust, which Turkey painstakingly built over the past decade, in a democratic and accountable government that respects the rule of law. Until recently, he added, it was seen as an example of a country that prospered while maintaining a democratic government run by observant Muslim leaders.

“No longer,” he continued, stating that a small group within the government’s executive branch is “holding to ransom the entire country’s progress.” He claimed that the support of a broad segment of the Turkish public is now being squandered, along with the opportunity to join the European Union.

He noted that several recent actions of the Turkish government have drawn strong criticism from the EU and other western countries – among them, a law that gives the justice minister powers to appoint and discipline judges and prosecutors; a bill to curb internet freedoms; and a draft law that would give Turkey’s intelligence agency powers akin to those claimed by dictatorial regimes.

TODAYS ZAMAN

Turkey’s Leaders Spar Over Plan to Muzzle Social Media

Just hours after the prime minister of Turkey threatened to shut down Facebook and YouTube, the country’s president voiced reassurance on Friday that reversing course on civil liberties was “out of the question.”

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed Thursday night to restrict social media after local elections this month, despite harsh reactions worldwide to a crackdown that has included a law, approved in February, tightening government control of the Internet.

“There are further steps we’re preparing to take after March 30,” the election date, Mr. Erdogan said in a live broadcast by the pro-government channel ATV.

“Some are talking about YouTube, Facebook, this and that, ‘What would the world say?’ and all that,” Mr. Erdogan continued. “Some of my friends and I remain determined about this; we will not allow this nation to be devoured by YouTube, Facebook or whatever. We will take necessary steps in the firmest way.”

MEDIA

Israel’s Netanyahu says he is hopeful for the restoration of diplomatic ties with Turkey

Israel wants a reconciliation with Turkey says Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, after nearly four years of strained ties since Israeli troops killed a number of Turkish citizens during a raid on a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Netanyahu told the Anadolu Agency that Israel wants to foster good relations with Turkey and expressed his hopes for reconciliation between the former allies.

Turkey downgraded relations with Israel in 2011 and expelled the Israeli ambassador after the country did not apologize for killing a number of Turkey’s citizens.

In 2010, Israeli commandos killed eight Turkish nationals and an American of Turkish origin in international waters when they attacked the ship they were on, the Mavi Marmara that was part of a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials to the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli blockade.

The event caused international outrage and soured Turkish-Israeli ties. Since then, Turkey has received an apology from the Israeli government and the two states are looking to normalize relations with a deal involving compensation for the victims’ families.

AA

MEP: Turkey in deep crisis

Posted in: EUROPA, Foreign Affairs, human rights, media, News, parliamentary work, Timeline, Top Stories, Turkey
Member of the European Parliament, Marietje Schaake (ALDE/D66) emphasises her concerns regarding the state of the rule of law in Turkey. Today the European Parliament debates about a report evaluating the progress of the Turkish accession talks and tomorrow the Parliament will vote on it.

“The deep crisis in which Turkey now finds itself is the result of a dangerous power struggle between Prime Minister Erdogan’s ruling AK-party and the Gülen movement. In his attempts to win this battle, Erdogan is undermining democracy and the rule of law by introducing new legislation which further endangers the separation of power and freedom of expression. At the same time, new corruption scandals are constantly revealed.”

“The EU needs to make better use of the ties it has through the accession negotiations to block or overturn repressive rules and laws. In the past months, legislation has been passed that is in clear violation of the accession criteria and the EU needs to be vocal in addressing this. The blocking of social media and restrictions to digital freedoms, which are currently being implemented, are completely unacceptable. We need to make sure that we show the Turkish population that we are on their side in their plight for more freedom and democracy.”

Because of the very deep polarisation, on both sides, Schaake has called for an independent international investigation into the crisis to look for a way out.

Marietje Schaake

11.03.2014

This is a news-scan from major Turkish papers and internet sites. However, we do not verify above stories neither do we vouch for their accuracy.

 

 

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