Turkey bars protestors' wedding at Istanbul park

Turkey bars protestors' wedding at Istanbul park
Updated on

Summary Turkish police fired a water cannon in downtown Istanbul to disperse protestors.

 

ISTANBUL (AP) - Police have fired a water cannon in downtown Istanbul to disperse an anti-government demonstration.

 

The clash occurred Saturday after hundreds of people tried to enter the city s Gezi Park to hold a wedding ceremony for a couple who had reportedly met during last month s widespread protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan s 10-year rule.

 

Police closed the park to prevent the ceremony, then forced demonstrators off nearby Taksim square to a pedestrian street and fired the water cannon, according to Turkey s private Dogan news agency. No casualties were immediately reported.

 

The earlier wave of nationwide anti-Erdogan protests was sparked by a brutal police crackdown on a sit-in by environmentalists in the park and the square in June. There have been sporadic demonstrations since then.
 

Browse Topics