ISTANBUL

Water cannons and tear gas helped Turkish police to disperse demonstrators marking the first anniversary of Gezi Park protests.

Taskim Square in Istanbul, Turkey's biggest cities, was virtually sealed off by 25 000 police preventing citizens from reaching the venue. Armored vehicles had been also deployed to safeguard a ban on gatherings this weekend imposed by the government.

I was planning to take on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s claim that high interest rates beget high inflation - until I realized that I would be wasting my (and your) valuable time.

We all know how Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan considered the Gezi wave of protests that shook Turkey for three weeks a year ago.

The hike in housing prices is well above the average inflation, according to Central Bank data, whereas dramatic falls in sales, especially in mortgaged sales, are being experienced as investors are irritated by the falling demand and increased interest rates Housing construction has been a significant tool in the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.

Just toward the anniversary of the Gezi protests, a message popped into my mailbox. It wrote “Food not Bombs.” To my astonishment, they were already going to have their 14th event. Food not bombs-Istanbul is a movement started by a group of like-minded youngsters who cannot stand the thought of wasting food when there are starving people.

May 31 marked the first anniversary of the Gezi protests with a plethora of events online and onsite in parks across the country. Facebook events, timelines and compilations online were accompanied by the revival of the Gezi forums, the screening of an anticipated documentary in parks and more

The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, has expressed his indignation after Turkish police’s brutal handling of the demonstrations marking the anniversary of Gezi protests May 31, condemning the “excessive use of violence.”

Turkish authorities kept up with heavy-handed security measures despite international attention during the May 31 demonstrations to mark the anniversary of last year's Gezi Park protests.

The police will by no means give way to Gezi demonstrations at Istanbul’s Taksim square today, as they were clearly ordered to do so, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said only hours before a planned anniversary meeting. 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged young Turks to ignore calls to mark the first anniversary of Istanbul's Taksim Square protests, Saturday.

Thousands of police officers and dozens of water cannon trucks are to be deployed to the square, according to media reports.