Been out in Rialto lately? You might be wondering why there’s a cold war era listening post off Reuben Street. Fear not! Tis only Dublin’s first geodesic dome, the centrepiece of the capital’s latest community gardenproject. Rashers tierney spoke with two of its four creators Jamie Roche and Niall O’Brien. I remember a wet horrible day at a protest camp against George Bush’s visit back in 2004, me and … Read More
A Summer Holiday
Tear gas. Sirens. Stinging, streaming eyes see paramilitary police with automatic weapons chase gas-masked protesters on wet streets. Burning skin. Makeshift medical centres, injured and bloodied bodies. I hadn’t intended it to be like that. I travelled to Istanbul on May 29th for a holiday. The first day panned out as expected – kebaps, sun in Gulhane Park, a visit to Dolmabahçe Palace. But on the morning of the second … Read More
They Came In Their Thousands: A Quick Round Up From Taksim
After more than a week of absence police arrived at Taksim Square this morning shortly after 7am local. This offensive prompted a day of battles in central Istanbul, which continues as midnight approaches. Reuben & Gielty filed this dispatch using a phone. They came in large numbers – probably more than a thousand in the morning, definitely more than that by afternoon. Their stated objective, endorsed by the Prime Minister, was to retake the square … Read More
Battle for the Banliyö
The explosions of flash-bangs echo around concrete towers of flats. Police fire tear gas and water cannon into crowds. The crowds reply with rocks and molotov cocktails. Plumes of smoke rise from bonfires as young men march with shields to the barricades. Saturday night in Gazi Mahellesi couldn’t feel farther from the festive atmosphere of Gezi Park. Reuben & Gielty investigate: This suburb in the north of Istanbul has seen … Read More
Striving For The Forbidden: The Turkish Uprising and The Unions.
Tuesday June 4th saw the first organised union participation in the Taksim Uprising. What had been scheduled as a strike against neoliberal reforms by teachers’ union Egitim Sen before the mass protests became a two day general strike against state violence by two major confederations. Our journos on the ground, Reuben and Gielty, filed this earlier today. The largest union mobilisations came in Taksim Square, Istanbul and the capital Ankara. They were … Read More
Fortress Taksim
Fortress Taksim. Reflection and reenforcement after days of chaos and drama. Our reporters Reuben & Gielty take to the streets of Istanbul to find out more about the protestors and their supporters. Monday in Gezi Park saw the protestors fortify the camp and evaluate the progress of the Taksim Uprising. Internally, measures were put in place to strengthen the autonomous structures of the liberated space while on the outside … Read More
The reclamation of Taksim square and the battle of Besiktas
On Sunday Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan responded to the Taksim Uprising with characteristic machismo. In speeches and interviews he called protestors in Gezi Park “looters”, “hoodlums” and “a few bums”, lashing out at social media and the independent press for acting as “provocateurs”. Reuben & Gielty joined the crowds at Taksim. He also suggested “hanging [people] from trees”, a comment widely interpreted as referring to protestors but which he later … Read More
Turkish Protests Escalate: A day of action begins
The Erdoğan government’s dictatorial approach to town planning has awakened a sleeping giant. In the space of 24 hours a simple protest over a park’s future has become a nationwide rebellion against authoritarian government, violent police and creeping Islamisation of a famously secular society. rabble’s men on the ground, Reuben and Gielty, report. Yesterday saw one of the biggest protests in Istanbul’s history. At 1pm the commercial centre of the cosmopolitan … Read More
Taksim Square Update
Following our reporters’ piece from this morning on the events at Taksim Square (here) things have escalated dramatically. Report images & video by Reuben & Gielty Further attacks by police during the day have left many injured amid chaotic scenes of tear gassing and plastic bullets. Unconfirmed reports of two dead. The Ultras of the three local football clubs have joined together to protest the treatment of civilians and a mass meeting … Read More
A Tale From The Taksim Anti-Mall Mobilisations
Bellowing foggy clouds of tear gas choked the early Istanbul morning of the 30th of May, as police clad in paramilitary riotgear stormed Gezi park in Taksim. Reuben & Gielty have this report from the front lines. (This article was written pseudonymously by Irish journalists Ronan Burtenshaw and Tommy Gavin because of safety concerns.) Using a signal dampener to limit internet use and accompanied by a heavily armoured “Mass Incident Intervention … Read More