Protesters Face Riot Police, Water Cannons On Anniversary of Turkey's Uprisings

Protesters who took to the streets of Istanbul and Ankara on Saturday to mark the one-year anniversary of this country’s Gezi Park uprisings were met with riot police, tear gas, and water cannons.

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According to numerous media reports, 25,000 policemen and 50 water cannons were deployed in Istanbul alone in a bid to block protests at the iconic Taksim Square, which has become of a focal point of mass protests over the past year.

Journalists in Istanbul are reportedly being blocked from covering Saturday’s protests.

The group Taksim Solidarity stated on its Twitter account that it will not make a press statement “until the police violence ends,” Turksih paper Hürriyet reports.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously vowed to shut down any attempt to stage an anniversary protest in Taksim square and called the demonstrators “terrorists.”