Update on protests in Turkey

Things are not getting better in Turkey.

As you can see from this BBC article, protesters and the police are still fighting with each other.

It looks as if Erdogan has not learned his lesson.  The entire world is encouraging him to show some restraint and to work things out with the protesters, but he refuses to do this.  About 50% of Turkey disagrees with Erdogan, but he still feels as if he can ignore them. 

The article:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22830558

Vocabulary to help you understand this article (most of these words below were defined in previous articles):

to show restraint - to stop oneself from doing something that one is thinking of doing or feels like doing.  Erdogan may be angry and he may want to harm the protesters, but it will continue to hurt Turkey if he does not show restraint and not do this.

to clash with - to fight with.

protesters/demonstrators - groups of people who come together.

to defy - not to do what someone has told you to do. To do exactly the opposite of what you were told to do.

tear gas and water canons - tear gas is gas that hurts a person's eyes and causes tears to come from a person's eyes.  A water canon is a type of 'gun' that shoots out water at a powerful force. It doesn't kill people but it forces them back.

civil unrest - unrest is the opposite of peace.  Civil unrest is when the people are unhappy and protesting.

anti-government - anti means against.

to spark - to cause.

a crackdown - when force is used to stop something the government doesn't like.

early elections - the protesters want elections to be held earlier than normal to get rid of Erdogan.  He will not od this, obviously.

authoritarian - an authoritarian government is one that does what it wants regardless of what the people want.

to impose - to force on.

secular - non-religious

rival football clubs - football clubs that compete against each other, play against each other

the epicenter - the center, the main area

fascism - a political philosophy in which the government controls everything and does what it wants to do regardless of what the people want.

shoulder to shoulder - fighting next to each other.

to mushroom - to grow quickly, the way a mushroom grows quickly in a forest.

to vow - to promise.

rare - if something is rare, there are not many things like it.

densely - crowded, packed closely together