At least two people died on Wednesday in Turkey as police forces moved to quell the worst civil unrest to grip the country since last summer’s mass protests, with The Guardian assessing that the deaths had “set the mood in Turkey further on edge” and “highlighted the deepening polarisation of Turkish politics.” The protests were sparked by the death of 15-year-old Berkin Elvan, who had been in a coma since being struck by a tear gas canister during the summer protests.

The BBC reported that at least 32 towns and cities across Turkey were swept up in the latest turmoil.

Mourners shouted “Berkin’s murderers are the AKP police”, referring to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). “The rage of mothers will suffocate the killers,” screamed others.

The boy’s father, Sami Elvan, told the BBC’s Newshour programme that his son had become a “child of the people”. Asked how he would like him to be remembered, he said: “I want him to be known as a child killed by the state. He was just an innocent boy killed when he went out to buy bread.”

For his part Erdogan on Thursday condemned the anti-government protesters as “charlatans” who aimed at destabilizing Turkey. Ankara’s heavy-handed response to last summer’s unrest had triggered immediate calls by the European Union for investigations, and was the subject of a later EU report blasting Turkish police for using excessive force.

A European Parliament news source this week published an interview with Ria Oomen-Ruijten, a Dutch member who has been reporting on Turkey’s domestic situation.

Turkey used to be on a good path and then we had the events and the fraud allegations in 2013. It looks as if the separation of powers, which is of vital importance, is not there anymore. When a minister of justice can have the last say in an investigation, willingly or not, then there is something wrong.

[Photo: Reuters / YouTube]