Turkey has been an intentionally ignored hotbed of protests against hardline islamofascism. Then a horrible mining accident happened recently with almost 300 dead miners. Emotions are raw and tensions are high. Into this mix comes a heavy handed Erdogan.
TURKEY – […] Reports allege that the young man, wearing a blue t-shirt, chanted slogans critical of Erdoğan and then entered the store. Erdoğan then followed the protester inside, grabbed the man and then punched him two or three times, according to eyewitness reports.
The YouTube ID of 0g_Dnid86WU?feature=player_embedded is invalid.The owner of the store corroborated the reports, saying that he saw surveillance camera footage showing that Erdoğan was punching a man, adding, “The bodyguards took away the footage and suggested that I not mention the issue.”
A video of the incident shared on the popular video-sharing platform YouTube shows Erdoğan telling the protester, “Come next to me and boo me,” before walking up to the one man into the store then. At one point during the video Erdoğan grabs the protestor and punches him.
In the video footage, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç and Interior Minister Efkan Ala are seen entering the store after Erdoğan and attempting to calm him down. Erdoğan’s anger and nervousness can be seen on his face as he leaves the store.
Tensions were high as hundreds of relatives and miners jostled outside the coal mine waiting for news, with a heavy police presence. Many women wept uncontrollably, men knelt sobbing while others just stared in disbelief as rescue workers removed a steady stream of bodies throughout the night and early morning.
After the incident Erdoğan’s bodyguards are alleged to take footage from surveillance cameras which may have recorded the incident.
A number of people showed strong reactions to Erdoğan’s visit. Rocks were thrown at the police, who clamped down strongly on the protesters. Police set up fences and stood guard around Soma state hospital during Erdoğan’s visit. (link)
But it didn’t just stop there.
WASHINGTON POST – When you are a government aide visiting the site of a national tragedy, there are a good number of things you should refrain from doing. I’m not sure exactly where it ranks, but kicking a protester who is pinned to the floor by armed police officers must be pretty high on the list. Perhaps more important still, don’t get photographed doing it.
If you want proof of that, just ask Yusuf Yerkel, identified by the Turkish news media as an adviser to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Yerkel was with Erdogan when he visited Soma, Turkey, the day after a mining disaster Tuesday that has left almost 300 people dead and about 150 feared trapped underground. Yerkel has confirmed to BBC Turkey’s Safak Timur that, yes, it was indeed him who was photographed from multiple angles apparently kicking a protester.
As you can imagine, the photograph did not go down well. Images of the kick have been shared tens of thousands of times on social media:
