People in Turkey took to the streets on Wednesday is a mass demonstration-cum-funeral in honor of a slain teenager.
Berkin Elvan, 15, died on Tuesday after spending 269 days in a coma, the result of injuries sustained when he was caught in the crossfire between protesters and police during anti-government protests last summer. He had been hit in the head with a tear gas canister.
See also: Teenager's Death Reignites Protests Across Turkey
His family announced his death on Twitter, and Turks immediately began calling for protests shortly thereafter. Speaking to BBC News Hour on Wednesday, Elvan’s father said of his son’s death, “My son was a child who went out to buy bread and was killed by the state.”
#BerkinElvan's father tells @BBCNewshour "My son was a child who went out to buy bread and was killed by the state" #Turkey
— BBC World Service (@bbcworldservice) March 12, 2014
Hundreds of thousands of protesters swarmed highways and squares in the northern city of Istanbul, following the boy’s coffin as it was carried through the streets. In Ankara, 454 km to the east, up to 71 people — including 25 children — were arrested as police cracked down on the crowds that had gathered in the city.
Following a pattern that began with the demonstrations last summer, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the largely peaceful gatherings.
Police use water cannon to disperse protestors during Berkin Elvan's funeral in Turkey, by @ozannkosee pic.twitter.com/GByzo76EKt
— Agence France-Presse (@AFP) March 12, 2014
Protesters marched in cities across the country chanting, "Tayyip! Killer,” "Everywhere is Berkin, everywhere is resistance,” “Berkin's murderers are the AKP police,” "The rage of mothers will suffocate the killers," and “This is just the beginning, continue the struggle!”
Some of them gathered inside a shopping mall, which police promptly stormed, firing tear gas into the crowd, sending people scattering.
The U.S. Consulate General in Istanbul had warned American citizens there to “avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings or protests.”
Security Message for U.S. Citizens: Scheduled demonstration in Istanbul (March 11, 2014) at 7pm. http://t.co/bGAxEkQtx1
— ABDIstanbul (@ABDIstanbul) March 11, 2014
Meanwhile, a selfie taken by two Turkish residents behind police lines has stormed the web. More than 3,000 people had retweeted the photo one hour after it was shared. According to a Google translation, the caption reads, “The best selfie I've ever seen.. We're going to make you laugh.”
selfie çevik..gördüğüm en iyi selfie.. gülerek kazanacağız haberiniz olsun.. pic.twitter.com/zA0vQ6W8Fm
— efe ışıldaksoy (@rastarules) March 12, 2014
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is facing his greatest threat to power since taking office in 2003. He is fighting a corruption scandal prompted by leaked audio recordings ahead of elections scheduled for later this month.
Facing unrest, he has threatened to ban some social media websites, saying, "We won't allow the people to be devoured by YouTube, Facebook or others. Whatever steps need to be taken we will take them without wavering." He blamed "all kinds of immorality, all kinds of espionage and spying" on the websites. Turkish President Abdullah Gül, however, said that would not occur.
The prime minister has asked Turks take their complaints to the voting booths. "Whatever issue you do have, solve them in polls on March 30," he has said. Erdoğan has also said he was "ready to quit" if his party lost in the upcoming elections.
Of the boy's death, the country’s justice minister told a state broadcaster, "We were plunged into deep sadness by his loss of life in such an incident. May he rest in peace." He added an investigation into the boy’s death was still underway.
President Gül, the country's moral authority, has appealed for calm, urging everyone "to do everything to prevent this from happening again."
"This atmosphere of hatred is undermining society's need for love and peace and efforts to understand one another," he said. "Little 15-year old Berkin Elvan is the latest victim of this atmosphere."