Turkey
hit by protests over government response to suicide bombings
Demonstrators
in Istanbul accuse Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of slow action after Ankara
terror attack on peace rally, and of censoring press and social media
Chris Johnston and
agencies
Saturday 10 October
2015 17.05 BST
Impromptu protests
began in Istanbul on Saturday evening in response to the Turkish
government’s handling of a terror attack in the capital that killed
more than 90 people. Hundreds of protesters chanting anti-government
slogans gathered in the city, blaming the authorities for the twin
bomb attacks that targeted a peace rally in Ankara earlier that day.
Some called on
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to resign and accused the ruling AK
party of being responsible for the deaths. The protesters intended to
march towards Taksim Square in the centre of Istanbul. Police have
previously prevented demonstrators from reaching the square, which
was the focal point of weeks of violent anti-government protests in
mid-2013.
The protests come as
the Turkish government said it had imposed a temporary news blackout
following the suspected suicide bombing at the pro-Kurdish march in
Ankara. A government spokesman said the media censorship was of
pictures showing the moment of the blast, gruesome or bloody images
or “images that create a feeling of panic”. He said that news
outlets could face a “full blackout” if they did not comply with
the order.
Many people in
Ankara reported being unable to access Twitter and other social media
after the blasts. It was not clear whether authorities had blocked
access to the sites. Turkey frequently imposes blackouts following
attacks.
Meanwhile, a
newspaper close to an Islamic cleric who opposes Erdoğan said its
editor had been remanded in custody ahead of trial on charges of
insulting the Turkish president on Twitter. The move has escalated
fears of a media clampdown ahead of elections on 1 November.
Bulent Kenes, chief
editor of the English-language paper, Today’s Zaman, was arrested
at its Istanbul offices on Friday and sent to jail by court order. A
crowd of about 200 people gathered at the paper’s offices to chant
support for Kenes as he was taken away and held banners saying “Free
media cannot be silenced”.
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