Image via AFP
Two people were killed in Istanbul Thursday as riot police clashed with protesters just days before the first anniversary of the Gezi Park protests. Meanwhile, the country’s prime minister sneered at a proposed ceremony for the teen who died in March after being hit with a tear-gas canister fired by police.On Thursday Ugur Kurt was shot in the head and later died in the hospital. Police had opened fire with live ammunition in an attempt to disperse violent protesters in Istanbul's working class and politically restive Okmeydani neighborhood.A video of the moment he was shot was aired on Turkish TV and circulated on social media. Footage from security camera footage inside a cemevi — an assembly house for Turkey's minority Alevi religious group — shows him suddenly fall to the ground in a pool of blood.Kurt was not part of the demonstration and was on his way to a funeral at the time, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc told parliament, Reuters said. A police investigation is now attempting to identify who fired the fatal shot.Protesters take to the streets after the worst mining disaster in Turkey's history. Watch the VICE News dispatch.Another as yet unidentified man died after being wounded along with a number of civilians and police by what Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu said was a homemade grenade. The incident happened as violent confrontations fuelled by anger at Kurt's death continued throughout the night.The two deaths came almost exactly a year after a sit-in to block the development of Gezi Park in Istanbul's central Taksim Square sparked unprecedented nationwide demonstrations against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party.Thursday’s clashes began as a group gathered to protest both the deaths of 301 miners in a disaster at Soma coal mine, which many see as a result of lax safety standards and poor governance, as well as the killing of 15-year old Berkin Elvan.Elvan was hit by a teargas canister in Okmeydani in June 2013 while out to buy bread for his family, and succumbed to his injuries in March after nine months in a coma. Thousands clashed with police the day of his funeral. Elvan's father visited Kurt's family to offer his condolences, according to the local English-language Hurriyet Daily News.Protesters Thursday demanded a ceremony to commemorate the deaths of the miners and Elvan, and threw rocks and molotov cocktails at police, reportedly injuring several. Footage showed a police officer firing his gun into the air beside a police vehicle and groups of youths throwing rocks and molotovs.In typically belligerent style, Erdogan today dismissed the calls for a commemoration of Elvan's death.“What is it? They wanted to hold a ceremony to commemorate Berkin Elvan. Will we perform a ceremony for every death? He died and it’s over,” Erdogan said at a party meeting in Ankara, Hurriyet reported. He also commented that he was surprised at what he saw as restraint by security forces, saying: "I don't understand how they stay so patient."Erdogan’s comments will do little to quell public anger. Nevertheless, authorities will be keen to avoid a repeat of last summer's protests. Mutlu urged Istanbul's citizens to remain peaceful earlier today."Everyone must help bring the situation back to normal. We need calm, we need to act in a calm manner for the security of Istanbul and of the nation," the local Daily Zaman newspaper reported.Kurt's funeral is tonight, however, and could be a rallying point for further protest. Besides, with the Gezi anniversary fast approaching, many feel Mutlu’s plea will be ignored and that further unrest is all but inevitable.Follow John Beck on Twitter: @JM_Beck
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