May 22, 2014. The news concerning the death of the thirty years old Ugur Kurt is confirmed. He was killed by a bullet shot by a policeman while he was in an Alevite (?) worship ground, Cemevi, in the Okmaydani suborb of Istanbul.
Once the police leaves the streets, some people armed walk through the fires armed with guns and rifles which they shot towards a security camera. They want to prove who is in control of that area of the neighborhood.
In a suburb where such clashes happen, it is possible to witness a strong local support to the cause also among people that do not participate actively in it. During the night of protests the smoke from fires and teargas rises from the buildings of a
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The street-guerrilla is unavoidable. The streets are filled with gas and the crowd rises barricades.
The extreme poverty in some suburbs, the 300 deaths at work in Soma mine, the marginalisation of minorities, the war fronts opened within Turkey and on the Syrian border, the police oppression and the restrictions on the press are signs of an extreme
Many young boys and men take to the streets. On one side, they throw stones and molotovs, on the other plastic bullets, teargas and Toma.
The social tension in the neighborhood has political roots since it's home to several parties such as DHKP-C (Revolutionary Front for Liberaion), considered an illegal and terrorist organisation by Erdogan's administration, the BDP (Party for Peace a
Another man is also hit by a teargas canister shot during the protests. The Chepesi party's youth has thus triggered days of riots against the police, and yelling slogans calling them “Katil”, criminals, murderers.
The protestors comprise both youngsterds in the first rows, but also adults and elders behind, supporting the clash with the armed forces
Among the reasons behind the protest it is possible to also include religious motives, given the high percentage of Alevites (?) participants in the movement, believing in a left-leaning political idea in opposition to the Sunni one endorsed by Erdog
The funeral procession starts from CemEvi around 18:00 making its way towards the house where Ugur Kurt used to live. The body, followed by relaties on a van, has been moved to Sivas, his home town, where he will be buried.
The popular pressure fills a gap left in the formal systems. Neither the opposition pparties (with the exception of BDP, which follows a narrower ethnic agenda), nor the media are able to counter the power resulting from merging the conservative ideo
After weeks of protests following the Soma mine disaster, the police has resorted to using real ammunition during the most violent clashes. Usually gum ammunition were used in these cases, but the recent causalities are due to the gunshots exploded b
Life in the neighborhood stops only diring the highest moments of tension. Vendors close their shops in order to protect themselves and their belongings. Many stay to follow from distance the dynamics in the streets.
Many young boys and men take to the streets. On one side, they throw stones and molotovs, on the other plastic bullets, teargas and Toma.
Once the demonstration in support of the Ugur's family is over, the streets are left empty and around 19:30 a group of youngsters with their faces covered takes one of the main streets of Istanbul and provokes the police by throwing stons and flare b
especially for younger loads of adrenaline the days are long and tiring. maybe not conscious of the real political situation.
The only signs left of the tense moments in Okmeydani from the previous days are poles wrecked by the protestors and some statements written on the walls in memory of Berkin Elvan, Urgu Kurt and Ayhan Yilmaz The response after the arrests is steady.
After the Gezi Park riots many movements emerged to oppose the AKP (Party for Justice and Development (?)) and its leader Prime Minister Erdogan, who has enforced several restrictions to fredoom of speech and press.
The Republican Popular Pary ( Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi in Turkish, CHP) is the longest standing party of Turkey. It represents the strongest left-wing political force of the country.
Since the beginning of this repression from the government and violent protests from the protesters' side, the casualties are 9 and the injured more than 8163, without considering the number of arrests, that make this event one of the most tragic in

Okmeydani Nights

On 22 May 2014, 34-year-old Alevi-Turkish protester Ugur Kurt, cleaner and father of one, was killed by Turkish police. He was shot in the head by a stray bullet as the police dispersed a group of demonstrators expressing their grief over the Soma mining distaster that had taken the lives of 301 miners on 13 May 2014. The demonstrators were also protesting the shooting death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, killed by a police-fired gas canister during protests in March of that year. Kurt, for his part, was killed outside an Alevi worship sight in the impoverished neighborhood of Okmaydani in Istanbul.

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