Editing Taksim Square (section)

==Demonstrations and incidents==
The square used to be an important venue for [[Protest|political protests]].  

* On February 16, 1969, some 150 leftist demonstrators were injured during clashes with right wing groups in what is known as "[[Bloody Sunday (1969)|Bloody Sunday]]".
* In the events known as the [[Taksim Square massacre]], 36 left-wing demonstrators were killed by unidentified and allegedly right-wing gunmen on the square during the [[Labour Day]] demonstrations of May 1, 1977.
* On 10 August 1982, [[Artin Penik]], a Turkish Armenian, set himself on fire to protest the [[Esenboga airport attack]] by the [[Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia]].<ref name="associatedpress">{{cite news|last=Associated Press|title=Armenian Dies Of Self-inflicted Burns|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bIZiAAAAIBAJ&pg=1638,1921786&dq|access-date=2021-02-14|newspaper=Observer-Reporter|date=August 16, 1982}}</ref>
* Taksim Square was the location of football riots in 2000 when two [[Leeds United A.F.C.|Leeds United]] fans were [[2000 UEFA Cup semi-final violence|stabbed to death]] during clashes with [[Galatasaray S.K. (football team)|Galatasaray]] fans, the night before the [[1999–2000 UEFA Cup|1999-2000]] [[UEFA Cup]] [[1999–2000 UEFA Cup#First leg 6|semi-final first leg]] match between the two teams.
* On October 31, 2010, a [[2010 Istanbul bomb blast|suicide bomb]] went off next to a police bus. The bomber, a [[Kurdistan Freedom Falcons|TAK]] militant, died, while 15 police officers and 17 civilians were injured.<ref name="aljaz">{{cite news |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/10/2010103185656175601.html |title=Suicide blast hits Istanbul |work=Al Jazeera |date=31 October 2010 |access-date=31 October 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Çerkez sürgününün anılması 1.jpg|thumb|[[Circassians in Turkey|Circassians]] marching to commemorate the [[Circassian genocide]] at Taksim Square, 2011.]]
* A march to protest the [[Circassian genocide]] took place in May 2011.{{cn|date=November 2022}}

Following many other violent incidents, all protests and demonstrations were banned and today police units maintain a round-the-clock presence to prevent any incidents. It is many years since either May Day or New Year's Day events were permitted to take place in the square, with much of the surrounding area usually fenced off for the day and the Metro station often closed to prevent people gathering. 

===Gezi Park protests===
{{main|Gezi Park protests}}

[[File:June08-GeziParkiTaksimSquare.jpg|thumb|left|Taksim during the [[Gezi Park protests|2013 protests]]]]

In 2013, [[2013 Gezi Park protests in Turkey|protests took place]] in Taksim in opposition to the reconstruction of the Ottoman era [[Taksim Military Barracks]] (demolished in 1940 to create [[Taksim Gezi Park|Gezi Park]]) and a [[shopping center|shopping centre]] on the site of Gezi Park.<ref name="hurriyetdailynews">{{cite news |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/taksim-park-protests-in-4th-day-amid-police-crackdown-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=47946&NewsCatID=341 |title=Taksim park protests in 4th day amid police crackdown |work=Hurriyet Daily News |date=31 May 2013 |access-date=31 May 2013}}</ref> In the early morning of May 31, [[General Directorate of Security (Turkey)|police]] forces moved in on the demonstrators and people sleeping in tents, and tried to disperse them with [[tear gas]], [[pepperspray]] and [[water cannon]]s.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/31/istanbul-park-protests-turkish-spring|title=Istanbul park protests sow the seeds of a Turkish spring|first=Richard|last=Seymour|date=31 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/01/world/europe/police-attack-protesters-in-istanbuls-taksim-square.html|title=Peaceful Protest Over Istanbul Park Turns Violent as Police Crack Down|first1=Tim|last1=Arango|first2=Ceylan|last2=Yeginsu|date=31 May 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Gay pride Istanbul 2013 - Taksim Square.jpg|thumb|The 2013 [[Istanbul Pride|Istanbul LGBT Pride]] at Taksim Square in Istanbul]]

The demonstrators criticized Prime Minister (now President) [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] for his uncompromising stance on this controversial issue and for the Turkish police's excessive use of force against the demonstrators.<ref name="zeit1">{{cite news|newspaper=Die Zeit|url=http://www.zeit.de/gesellschaft/zeitgeschehen/2013-05/istanbul-protest-erdogan-taksim-gezi/komplettansicht|title=Eine Ahnung von Tahrir in Istanbul|lang=de|trans-title=An Inkling of Tahrir in Istanbul|first=Michael|last=Thumann|date=31 May 2013}}</ref>

The large number of trees in the forests of northern Istanbul that were cut down to provide access to the [[Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge]] (Third Bosphorus Bridge) and the new [[Istanbul Airport|Istanbul International Airport]]<ref name=newsweek>{{cite news|url=http://www.newsweek.com/istanbuls-new-erdogan-backed-airport-be-named-after-erdogan-264580|title=Istanbul's New Erdoğan-Backed Airport to Be Named After... Erdoğan|website=Newsweek|first=Damien|last=Sharkov|date=14 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.todayszaman.com/business_istanbuls-new-airport-to-be-named-after-erdogan_355576.html|newspaper=Today's Zaman|title=İstanbul's new airport to be named after Erdoğan|date=13 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818020602/http://www.todayszaman.com/business_istanbuls-new-airport-to-be-named-after-erdogan_355576.html|archive-date=18 August 2014}}</ref><ref name=IBT>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/erdogan-airport-istanbuls-super-hub-be-named-after-turkeys-president-elect-1461166|title=Erdogan Airport: Istanbul's Super Hub 'to be Named After Turkey's President-Elect'|first=Gianluca|last=Mezzofiore|date=14 August 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-largest-airport-is-worthy-of-recep-tayyip-erdogans-name-minister-says-70374|title=Turkey's largest airport is worthy of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's name, minister says|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=14 August 2014 }}</ref> (the world's largest airport)<ref name=newsweek/><ref name=IBT/><ref name="star">{{cite news |newspaper=[[Star (Turkish newspaper)|Star]] |url=http://haber.stargazete.com/ekonomi/3-havalimaninda-tarih-belli-oldu/haber-721825 |title=Dünyanın en büyük havalimanı İstanbul'a yapılıyor |lang=tr |trans-title=The World's Largest Airport is being Built in Istanbul |date=23 January 2013 |access-date=24 January 2013 }}</ref> were other factors that triggered the [[Gezi Park protests]]. According to official Turkish government data, a total of 2,330,012<ref name="OdaTV">{{Cite news |date=16 September 2013 |title=İstanbul'da 2 milyon 700 bin ağaç kesilecek |trans-title=2 Million 700 Thousand Trees will be Cut Down in Istanbul |website=oda TV |url=https://odatv4.com/istanbulda-2-milyon-700-bin-agac-kesilecek--1609131200.html |lang=tr}}</ref><ref name="T24">{{Cite news |date=17 September 2013 |title=3. köprü ve 3. havalimanı için 2 milyon 330 bin ağaç kesilecek! |trans-title=2.33 Million Trees will be Cut Down for the Third Bridge and the Third Airport! |website=T24 |url=http://t24.com.tr/haber/3-kopru-ve-3-havalimani-icin-2-milyon-330-bin-agac-kesilecek/239712 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920032657/http://t24.com.tr/haber/3-kopru-ve-3-havalimani-icin-2-milyon-330-bin-agac-kesilecek/239712 |archive-date=20 September 2013 |lang=tr}}</ref> trees have been cut down to make way for the airport and its road connections; while a further 381,096<ref name=OdaTV/><ref name=T24/> trees were cut down to make way for the highways leading to the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge.<ref name=T24/>