17th of June, One Man Protest in Taksim Square

After Prime Minister Erdogan called for a police attack on Taksim on saturday, clashes continued until early monday morning. Despite the determination of the demonstrators the police managed to take hold of the square and were not letting anyone inside since saturday evening.

The governor, referring to the police-zone in Taksim square, said that they had cleared the square from protesters and had "given it back to the people."

Tonight people who did not look like "crowds" in the eyes of the police were allowed into Istiklal Street and certain parts of the square. Then, around 20:25 this man appeared (middle, wearing white shirt):

He was merely standing there, doing nothing. No chanting, no flag. He started standing there, on his own, staring at the Ataturk Cultural Center. The police, evidently not being able to grasp the situation asked him for ID and searched his bag (picture above, plainclothes policeman to his left).

A photo from 23:30 shows that he was, until half an hour ago, still standing on the same spot, motionless.

 

An interesting and creative form of protest, no doubt.

The police are probably still trying to come up with an idea to deal with this "marginal individual."
Let's hope that they don't arrest him for "provocatively standing" in Taksim Square.