HDK (People's Democratic Congress) staged a demo at Taksim Square Saturday afternoon to protest against the Lice attack in which one person was killed and ten others wounded Friday afternoon. "Resist Lice, Taksim is with you" was the main slogan chanted by thousands joining the protest.

Speaking here, BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder said that the demands highlighted in the peace process were mostly the same with those voiced in Gezi protests across the country. Önder criticized the government for not showing the determination the Kurdish movement has revealed in the negotiation process. "The government must make up with the people, not build military posts, should it have a true intention for peace. People were shot while protesting the construction of those posts. This is not the way to lead us to peace, we all are sure that it is not".

Speaking after, BDP Istanbul deputy Sebahat Tuncel said that "The currently ongoing process might advance in another way should those responsible for Lice attack not be called to account. The government cannot answer for unsolved murders of the past if it fails yet to give an answer for the Lice attack. Remaining silent about this massacre means being a party to the crime".

Another Istanbul deputy of the BDP, Levent Tüzel, urged the government to immediately create a democracy package and to release jailed politicians instead of sending more people to prison. "HDK and the citizens of Turkey who call for peace and solution demand an answer for Lice attack", he added.

HDK's march from Galatasaray High School to Taksim Square coincided with the commemoration ceremony Taksim Solidarity platform had announced to remember Ethem Sarısülük, Abdullah Cömert and Mehmet Ayvalıtaş who were killed by police during Gezi protests.

Tens of thousands gathered at the square in the afternoon, chanting slogans of solidarity and carrying banners which read "Everywhere Lice, everywhere resistance", "Taksim and Lice standing shoulder to shoulder" and "The same state, the same terror, in Taksim yesterday and in Lice today". People carrying Turkish flags were seen chanting the slogan "Bijî Biratiya Gelan" which means "Long live the brotherhood of peoples".

The statement on behalf of Taksim Solidarity said that "We are calling out from not only Istanbul, Ankara, Mersin and İzmir but also from Lice and all parts of the world. Our brothers, Abdullah Cömert, Mehmet Ayvalıtaş, Ethem Sarısülük and Medeni Yıldırım, who took to the streets with their passion for a more equal, more fraternal and freer world, fell victim to an unprecedented savagery, hatred and violence not seen in wars even.

The statement condemned the Lice attack and remarked that Gezi resistance will continue; "Our peple in Lice were hit with bullets while protesting against the construction of military posts and demanding peace and democracy. These bullets were fired at all of us, at peace, at brotherhood, at democracy and at our solidarity. We will continue giving a struggle in all areas of life against injustice which is the manifestation of the desperateness of those in power and their cowardice. We will never give up".

As people continued to display their reactions and to voice their demands, Istanbul police, having already blockaded the area in the morning, first drove protestors to İstiklal Avenue, using their shields, then attacked them using rubber bullets and tear gas. A number of people were taken into custody during the brutal intervention.