Police and protesters clash in Turkey after boy’s funeral

©EPA

Two people were left dead after tens of thousands took to the streets of Istanbul on Wednesday to join the funeral of a 15-year-old boy who died this week nine months after being hit by a teargas canister fired by Turkish police.

Local media, quoting police sources, said a man was killed in armed clashes between residents and protesters in an Istanbul neighbourhood, while there were other reports that a police officer died of tear gas-induced heart attack amid protests in the eastern province of Tunceli.

The death of Berkin Elvan, in a coma since the incident during last summer’s unrest around Gezi Park, has convulsed Turkey, with protesters also gathering in other cities. The demonstrations were covered extensively on Turkish television, which has often been criticised for its allegedly pro-government bias.

Some people carried flowers while others held up photographs and hand-drawn pictures of Elvan. Others brandished placards reading “there is a murderer”, an apparent reference to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, prime minister, whom opponents hold responsible for the boy’s death.

Although President Abdullah Gul and several ministers have offered their condolences to Elvan’s family, Mr Erdogan had not commented on the death by Wednesday evening.

Elvan’s mother has previously said that her son had been taken from her not by God but by Mr Erdogan.

As the funeral procession moved to a cemetery in the Ferikoy district, passers-by applauded the crowd. Dozens of residents leaned out of windows, banging pots and pans, in an echo of last year’s protest.

The mourners tried to move on to Taksim, the central square which was a focus of last year’s protests, but they were intercepted by lines of police and trucks firing tear gas and water cannon. This sent protesters scattering into shops and restaurants to seek refuge. Clashes continued into the evening and makeshift barricades littered the streets.

The television coverage of the funeral was a marked departure from that of the mass protests last summer when Elvan was wounded. This year, both the media affiliated with Fethullah Gulen, a preacher embroiled in a struggle with Mr Erdogan, and more secularist outlets have been more aggressive in their coverage of the government. Recently, in what appeared to be an attempt to embarrass pro-government media, alleged telephone conversations highlighting Mr Erdogan’s efforts to influence media coverage have been leaked on social media . Mr Erdogan blames the leaks on the Gulen movement.

Earlier as the funeral procession moved through Istanbul, old grievances mixed with new, as shouts of “killer police” blended with cries of “there is a thief”, a reference to the corruption scandal that has hounded Mr Erdogan and those in his inner circle.

Protesters also tore down election banners for Mr Erdogan’s governing AK party that had been posted in the route to the cemetery.