A Note From One of Our Followers

"World, today, around 21:00, a large police force has unleashed a brutal attack on citizens at the Gezi Park in Taksim. These people were not protesters. Families and children were among the crowd.

Infirmaries harboring the wounded and businesses that shelter the distressed have been assaulted. Citizens and journalists were kept out of the perimeter as the police raided and picked up the tents in the park, set up by protesters. Items that belong to the tents' owners have been seized unlawfully. Photos of riot police show that they have removed or concealed the ID numbers on their uniforms.

Tonight, the pressurized water that the police are using on protesters is laced with irritants. Reports are coming in of people suffering from nosebleeds and coughing up blood due to tear gas. A pregnant woman has been reported to have lost her baby in the course of the assaults.

As I write, thousands of citizens all around Istanbul have left their homes to support the victims. The main highways are occupied by thousands marching toward Taksim. Protests are going on in virtually every neighborhood. Turkey's two largest labor unions, comprising tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of members, have declared general strike."

Mehmet Aydin Baytas