ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News
Police has intervened firing water cannons against a group of protesters who were starting to gather at Istanbul’s İstiklal Avenue ahead of a mass demonstration set at 7 p.m. 
The pedestrian İstiklal Avenue is one of the main junctions intersecting with Taksim Square, which is adjacent to Gezi Park
The Taksim Solidarity Platform has called for a demonstration to “enter” the park today. However, the governor of Istanbul has warned that the protest would be unlawful and entail police intervention as no application has been made to the authorities.
“The Constitution says that anyone can stage a demonstration without giving notification, but the legislation says that applying to the authorities for permission is mandatory. So nobody can say they exercise their constitutional rights. This is unlawful,” Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu told reporters today regarding the protest that was due to start at 7 p.m.
“I can’t allow a demonstration that I haven’t permitted in advance, I can’t act unlawfully. So we won’t allow these gatherings. Our police will warn. We believe that an significant part will leave the place after these warnings,” Mutlu said hours after he announced via Twitter that Gezi Park will be open to public tomorrow.
“But there are always small groups that seek confrontation with the police,” he added.
The platform announced yesterday that it would be in Gezi to serve the notice of the Istanbul 1st Regional Court’s June 6 decision, which canceled the controversial Taksim pedestrianization project and the Artillery Barracks project.
The Taksim Square pedestrianization project and the Artillery Barracks project have lost their legal grounds, according to the initiative.
“We have not given up our demands and gains,” read the platform’s statement, which called on all Gezi protesters to meet in Taksim at 7 p.m. to show solidarity.
Gas Man Festival
Kadıköy, on Istanbul’s Asian side, will also witness another protest on Sunday. The “Man Made of Tear Gas” Festival is set to take place on July 7 in the district, bringing together the “rebellious” crowds and a set of artists scheduled to perform at the event.
The festival flyer states that the form of protesting has changed over time, and that a new form of demonstration “for an independent and democratic Turkey” has turned all parks and streets into festivals “with the demand of freedom.”
The festival is set to host a series of artists, including Bulutsuzluk Özlemi, Kurtalan Ekspres, Cem Adrian and the Boğaziçi University’s Jazz Choir. A fashion show will also be among the festivities of the event.
The anti-government protests that were kicked off by severe police intervention against a small, peaceful group protesting mall plans in place of Taksim’s Gezi Park, received a severe blow when police forces cleared out the park after a days-long occupation by protesters.
Despite this, the movement refused the die down and instead spread to parks nationwide and individual forms of protest erupted around the country.
Security officials are continuing to launch raids in various cities, detaining people over alleged vandalism during the protests.
15 detained
Fifteen people were detained for allegedly harming private property and using Molotov cocktails while attending the Gezi protests, in what became the third wave of raids against the movement.
Security forces raided 17 locations simultaneously in four different cities, with İzmir as the focus of the operation. Istanbul, Manisa and Batman were the remaining the cities.
The suspects were detained over allegedly acting on behalf of terrorist organizations, harming private property, using Molotov cocktails and provoking the people during their time attending the anti-government protests.
Forces confiscated documents allegedly related to criminal organizations and CDs.
Two other operations were conducted on June 20 and June 24, during which 27 people were detained, 24 of whom were subsequently arrested by the court.
Some 2.5 million protesters hit the streets across Turkey since the unrest began on May 31 over the attempt to demolish Istanbul’s Gezi Park, which quickly turned into nationwide mass anti-government protest. Only in two cities did people not attend protests, while 79 cities witnessed large-scale protests, the Interior Ministry’s record of protests said, according to daily Milliyet’s report.