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The peaceful demonstrations organised to protest the pedestrianisation of Taksim Square and construction of a shopping mall on Gezi Park was intervened and dispersed by the police by using excessive force on order of government. Though freedom of assembly is a fundamental human rights, the police forcibly intervened all the demonstration organised. Prevention of exercising this right by police force cannot be accepted.
None of the demonstration was organised by any political party or organisation. The demonstrations started to be organised to protest the projects on Taksim Square, but afterwards they turned to be protests against limitations of fundamental rights, violations of right to live, environmental issues, intervention to life styles. They can be described as a common reflex against the practices of the government in recent years.
The footages shot by journalists and demonstrators proved that police officers and chief used excessive force during the demonstrations. Tear gas and water cannons turned to be means of police brutality. Tear gas canisters were also used by aiming to shoot people. In some cases the police officers killed demonstrators by shooting them with tear gas canisters.
There is an urgent need to stop authoritarian practices and police brutality. All the people who do exercise their right to demonstrate and freedom of expression shall not be prevented by using force and police brutality. According to the international conventions and national laws everyone has right to organise peaceful demonstrations personally or collectively. As human rights defenders while we were expecting the government to leave behind old practices, the government insists on anti-democratic practices.