It began with a plan to remove a park

Tim Arango, Sebnem Arsu, and Ceylan Yeginsu, reporting for the New York Times on the protests in Turkey:

“We are here for the park and the park only,” said Murat Bal, 27, who stood in the edge of the park as other areas of Taksim Square were being tear-gassed. “We will not yield to the provocation of stone throwers or police violence. We will stay in the park until the end.”

There are certainly other factors at play here, but this sends a powerful message about how much people value public open space.

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