Turkish protesters demand sacking of police amid crackdown

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish demonstrators demanded the sacking of police chiefs on Wednesday, June 5 over a fierce crackdown on days of unprecedented protest against what they see as Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's authoritarian rule, Reuters said.

A delegation of activists met Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc at his office in Ankara and demanded the release of detained demonstrators, a halt to the police use of tear gas, and the removal of senior officers who oversaw the crackdown.

Arinc, formally in charge of government while Erdogan is on an official visit to North Africa, has apologized for "excessive violence" by police against the initial protest in Istanbul's Taksim Square but made no public comment after the meeting.

Police use of tear gas and water cannon to disperse that initial demonstration last week triggered the most violent riots in decades and drew other groups, from professionals to students, into a broadening protest against Erdogan. Two people have been killed and more than 3,000 injured in the six days of unrest, dealing a blow to the prime minister's image at home and abroad.

Members of more than a dozen labor unions banging drums, trailing banners and chanting "Tayyip resign" marched into Taksim, where the demonstrations have been largely peaceful in recent days after riot police withdrew.

"We will show that we will not surrender to AKP fascism with our peaceful democratic reaction in city squares," said a joint statement from two union confederations. "The AKP is trying to cow a significant portion of society to realize its own dreams of power, restricting rights and freedoms."