Turkish police fire tear gas on Istanbul protesters
7/13/2013ISTANBUL -- Turkish police fired water cannon and tear gas today to disperse hundreds of protesters as groups gathered to march to Gezi Park, which has been at the heart of weeks of anti-government demonstrations.
The demonstrations were against a government-sponsored law that took away the urban planning approval authority of an architects' and engineers’ association that was involved in the anti-government protests.
What had started as a small protest against the planned redevelopment of Istanbul's Gezi Park triggered a nationwide wave of protest last month against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, accused by his critics of becoming increasingly authoritarian after a decade in power.