Turkey protests continue Erdogan losing support

Christof Lehmann (nsnbc)

"Protests in Turkey with demands that the Erdogan Administration and President Abdullah Gül step down are entering the second week. The Erdogan administration is severely weakened as even ardent supporters begin questioning his authoritarian leadership style and his attempt to rewrite Turkish history.

On Saturday, thousands of protesters in Ankara rallied in Kugulu Park. At about 21.00 protesters marched toward Kizilay Square where an estimated 50.000 protesters were attacked by police forces with water cannons, teargas and batons once more. It seems however, that the brutal, confrontational course chosen by Erdogan is not having the effect he may want to achieve. The clashes between police and protesters raged on for four full hours.

Also at about 21.00 o´clock about 20.000 people rallied in the Batikent district of Ankara and protests were reported from several other districts in the city. The strategy of disseminating protests into several districts is stressing the police forces and it becomes increasingly difficult for the police to crack down. As soon as a crowd is dispersed in one region, another protest flares up somewhere else, overwhelming the police´s ability to respond in a coordinated manner. Protests also continued in Istanbul."