Turkey
Police Retreat as Protests Expand Through Turkey
By TIM ARANGO ISTANBUL — Violent protests against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan engulfed Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city, on Saturday and spread to other cities, including the capital, Ankara, as tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the… Read More ›
Taksim Square Protests: 13 Photos Showing Severity of the Protests
by Christian Rice Protesters flooded Istanbul’s Taksim Square Friday after heavy-handed police tactics and increasing dissatisfaction with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who some say is becoming increasingly authoritarian. The mainstream media has yet to highlight the protests. Meanwhile,… Read More ›
Turkey Protests Continue to Surge: Over 1,700 Arrested
235 Separate Rallies Reported Nationwide by Jason Ditz Protests continue to grow in Turkey, with a third day of rallies seeing tens of thousands of people attending at least 90 separate rallies in the nation’s four largest cities, and 235… Read More ›
The day the people of Turkey rose up — in pictures
Police forced to retreat from Istanbul’s Taksim square as protests against the authoritarian neoliberalism of Erdogan’s proto-Islamist government grow. For more background, read a solidarity statement here. For an update on the situation on the ground in Istanbul, check our latest… Read More ›
Turkish union to strike from Tuesday over unrest
ISTANBUL, June 3 (Reuters) – Turkey’s Public Workers Unions Confederation (KESK) said on Monday it would hold a “warning strike” on June 4-5 to protest at a crackdown on anti-government protests over the last four days. “The state terror implemented… Read More ›
Pots, pans and the mundane terror at Taksim
On Friday I picked up my Turkish residence permit, breathed a sigh of relief, then came home to Taksim and was promptly tear gassed. I hadn’t joined the Gezi clashes, nor was I up close trying to get some citizen… Read More ›
Syria calls on Turkish PM to resign over crackdown
Syria gleefully turned the tables on Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday over his response to anti-government demonstrations, calling on him to halt the violent repression of peaceful protests or resign. Erdogan, a former ally of Bashar al-Assad, turned against… Read More ›
Updates From A Comrade in Turkey
Update as of 6 am (PST) Due to a media blackout, the following updates are hard to confirm, but come directly from comrades on the ground in an undisclosed major city. Vicious attacks from state security Police chased protesters towards… Read More ›
Thousands of protesters pack Istanbul’s Taksim Square, over 900 arrested across Turkey
Police in Istanbul have withdrawn from Taksim Square, allowing the mass protest to continue unabated, Turkish media report. Istanbul and Ankara are entering the third day of violent protests, with tear gas and water cannon deployed and over 900 arrested…. Read More ›
Syria Endgame Approaching Fast
by SHAMUS COOKE The Fate of the Middle East in the Balance The tempo of events in Syria has accelerated in recent weeks. The government forces have scored significant battlefield victories over the rebels, and this has provoked a mixture of war… Read More ›
Syria Rebels Threaten to Wipe Out Shiite, Alawite Towns
By Dana El Baltaji Communities inhabited by Shiite Muslims and President Bashar al-Assad’s Alawite minority will be “wiped off the map” if the strategic city of Al-Qusair in central Syria falls to government troops, rebel forces said. “We don’t want this to happen,… Read More ›
Rebels film execution of 11 Syrian soldiers, as Obama continues anti-Assad rhetoric
As a new video is published showing fighters of the Al Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front in Syria executing 11 men they say are Bashar Assad’s soldiers, Obama talks to Turkey’s Erdogan, renewing threats of action against the Syrian government. The video,… Read More ›
US Turns Away 1000′s of Cancer Patients, but has 123 Million for Terrorists in Syria
(LD) – The US has announced that it will provide militants in Syria, now openly admitted to being Al Qaeda terrorists, with $123 million in military aid – while thousands of cancer patients at home are being turned away from clinics… Read More ›
The Red Phoenix 