[News] Anti-NATO demonstrators clash with riot police in Istanbul
News at freedomarchives.org
News at freedomarchives.org
Mon Jun 28 08:52:39 EDT 2004
Monday 28 June 2004 7:54 AM GMT
Some 2,000 anti-NATO demonstrators have clashed with truncheon-wielding
riot police in Istanbul as the summit of the 26-member alliance got under way.
Police fired tear gas at the demonstrators who attempted to force their way
through a road block on the European side of the city to approach "NATO
valley" -the complex of hotels and conference centres where the summit is
being held on Monday.
Several police and protesters were reported injured.
Demonstrators, wearing helmets, gas masks and armed with slings, threw
petrol bombs, stones and sticks at the police.
Police attempted to break up the demonstration, using armored vehicles and
spraying water at the protesters.
The protester overturned at least six cars in the neighbourhood, breaking
their windows.
A police officer was seen kicking and hitting a demonstrator with a truncheon.
About 1,500 officers, in riot gear with plastic shields, were deployed in
the area as helicopters over flew the district. The leaders at the summit
include US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and
French President Jacques Chirac.
Warplanes patrolling
Turkey dramatically boosted security before Bush's arrival and in
preparation for the NATO summit.
F-16 warplanes patrolled the skies of Istanbul. AWACS early warning planes
dispatched by NATO will help monitor a no-fly zone over the city.
More than 23,000 police are on duty for the summit. Turkish commandos are
patrolling the Bosporus in rubber boats with mounted machine guns.
There have been daily protests against the summit and Bush's visit.
Middle East support
On Sunday, more than 40,000 demonstrators, some chanting "USA get out of
the Middle East!" gathered on the Asian side of Istanbul, some 10 km away
from the summit area.
Police also detained about 15 leftist demonstrators in downtown Ankara,
saying the group was planning to stage a firebombing in the city.
Bush's arrival was also preceded by a series of bomb blasts, including one
on Thursday that injured three people outside the Ankara hotel where Bush
is expected to stay.
Another blast that same day on an Istanbul bus killed four people and
injured 14.
The bombings has been blamed on leftists.
Agencies
By
You can find this article at:
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C9F93B7D-C702-4200-A17B-00CCCBBCB81E.htm
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