Σ'αυτό είμαστε όλοι μαζί!

Μήνυμα που εστάλη σε εμάς από φίλη:

My dear friends abroad,

Please help us spread the TRUTH about what's happening here.

I have just come home from Taksim where I went this evening as an individual activist to participate in the meeting that was to take place at 19:00. This morning, the Istanbul Prefect, Huseyin Avni Mutlu assured people in a public statement that there will not be any intervention to the Gezi Park.
At about 20:00, we, hundreds of thousands of citizens gathered at the entrance of the Park waiting for the meeting to start. Everybody and hence the atmosphere in the Park and at the square was very peaceful. Having masks and goggles around my neck, and thinking that there wouldn't be any police intervention as happened before, I decided to put my goggles in my bag, and take off my mask.

Just a minute after that, we heard a sound bomb go off and panicked. Soon after that, the police threw gas bombs at us. Then, everyone realised that we were all fooled and trapped.
For you to imagine the terror we found ourselves in, think of being surrounded and squeezed by thousands of people screaming, crying, panicking and trying to move in different directions but unable to take a step because of the crowd..And just then, a new tear gas bomb fell just near our feet. I was still trying to find the goggles I put in my bag while trying to hold the mask against my nose. Some people fell while more people were flowing into the park to escape from the police. So many people got injured, some with broken bones some head injuries due to being hit by tear gas bombs. But it was impossible to move with a tear gas bomb next to us. So the simple masks we had were far from sufficient to block the gas. I thought I couldn't breathe anymore, but tried to keep calm, which was impossible with everyone crying and screaming and pushing against each other in panic! At the same time, more sound bombs and tear gas bombs were being thrown at us at the park. It was pure government terror! And all we wanted was to gather in the park in a peaceful resistance.

Most of us were plain individuals who were against the oppressive government policies and the rest were people from NGO's such as Greenpeace or left-wing political parties. Noone had weapons of any sort. But this was not enough to stop the police from attacking us. The mainstream Turkish media which is strictly controlled by the Prime Minister reflected all this as a violent protest by some marginal groups. They have broadcasted Erdogan's and other government representatives' speeches all day but hardly any of their broadcast covered interviews with the protestors. And now, the prefect is on TV making a public statement saying that they did not intervene in the Park!! This is driving everyone here who believes in integrity and honesty crazy!

We need to inform the world of this state terror..It must be known by everyone and we need help. Otherwise, we will be witnessing a new Hitler destroy people who want nothing but just to enjoy their democratic rights which are increasingly restricted by the government party- AKP. Social media is all we have left here now to express our opinions freely. So please be with us, it means the world to us.