Turkish protesters pack Taksim Square as police withdraw

I'm genuinely surprised this hasn't been posted yet. Basically if you don't know how this conflict in Turkey started the government wanted to turn Taksim Square into a shopping mall and there was absolute outrage (nobody wanted it and it showed how corrupt the government was/is) and riots ensued.

Here is a video that sums up the violence:
http://vimeo.com/67432788

And here's a BBC article on the events:

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Police in the Turkish city of Istanbul have pulled out of a square which has become the focus of the largest anti-government protest in years.

Thousands of people are in Taksim Square after days of unrest sparked by plans to redevelop nearby Gezi Park.
Police have fired tear gas and water cannon several times in recent days to break up the demonstrations.
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said police may have used excessive force but that the park development will go ahead.
Earlier on Saturday, he called for an end to the protests, saying Taksim Square "cannot be an area where extremists are running wild".
In a defiant speech to the exporters' union, he insisted plans to reconstruct an Ottoman era military barracks on the Gezi Park site would go ahead and that a shopping mall "might be built on the ground floor or a city museum".

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From: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22741644

Thoughts?

Brilliant, I'm going Turkey on Friday :) !

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Originally Posted by Zak

Brilliant, I'm going Turkey on Friday :) !

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My uncle's there right now for his wedding anniversary. Perfect timing.

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Originally Posted by Ardemax

My uncle's there right now for his wedding anniversary. Perfect timing.

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Lmao tbh everyone told me Egypt had loads of trouble when I went. It was fine! Tbh, I'm not going anywhere near Istanbul anyway :)

I have been wondering (and I haven't checked it out nor have I seen any link made generally) whether these protests are linked with the Erogden Government's reforms against the secular model that Turkey has used since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

It'd certainly be interesting if this were related to them, and whether in turn it's in anyway related to the bigger picture in the Middle East right now.

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Originally Posted by -:Undertaker:-

I have been wondering (and I haven't checked it out nor have I seen any link made generally) whether these protests are linked with the Erogden Government's reforms against the secular model that Turkey has used since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

It'd certainly be interesting if this were related to them, and whether in turn it's in anyway related to the bigger picture in the Middle East right now.

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I think there's a possibility that it's related to the bigger picture but I think a lot of Turkish people are just fed up with their government which consists of politicians who are only in politics for personal gain.