trying to deal with it. cope with it. the situation certainly escalating. especially in the last few minutes. riot police broke through the barricades on the side street and managed to move even further forward. the canisters landing in the tents. also in one of the one of the buildings here that is surrounded by glass itself. tear gas billowing right in front of where we are right now. people incredibly angry the way that the riot police have acted. you are seeing this anger throughout the day and the riot police have used the tear gas continued to intensify. and they re really rallying around one another as well. you see a lot of them pouring this white liquid into each other s eyes. that s actually an anti-acid they mix with water that helps ease the sting, ease the burn. the government had promised to allow the demonstration itself to continue.
today, however, it is an entire different scene that we re seeing play out in turkey. you are seeing istanbul, a center square, but it has been difficult throughout the country. you often hear it characterized as a cultural battle. those who support the president. those who support conservatism. and those who want some kind of change. if you have ever been to turkey, it is very unlike many of the middle eastern countries you may have heard and seen on the news before. it is very modern. there is a lot of wealth. a lot of advancement. a lot of freedom. a lot of social freedom. it is not exactly what you think of as the typical place that you have seen arab spring uprisings before. which is why this has taken so many people by surprise. there you have it. many of them armed with molotov cocktails. and wooden shields, trying to battle up against a very strong riot police force. i think arwa damon is back up with us. arwa, are you with us on the phone? are you safe? reporter: yeah, i m o
arwa has got cover. nick, not sure if you are watching the shot we are watching as well. this is difficult for her to cover. difficult for our crew to shoot. but i am not sure the perspective is this the street they re advancing on? that seems to be the case, yes, i can vaguely recognize it from where i was last night. you are seeing the trees there. the line in the park. and then the police moving down that. to the left hand side, there is a row of quiet high-rise buildings and a hotel, as well. that heads down towards one of the main brand hotels down the street. what we are hearing behind me is a lot of tear gas being fired. and also a real move to clear this square of debris as quickly as possible. i can t can t see because of the column of police advancing. we are seeing some police now
regime. but doesn t prime minister erdogan deserve credit, a modern country, beaten the odd in the middle east, allies of the united states. we have a great deal of interest in this country. is erdogan winning against the protesters? should he be? that s one of the, people say the cost of a economy where the government has so much control. you often see authoritarianism. sorry to interrupt you here. the police seem to be moving in toward the direction of gezi park at this point. we don t know if they re heading into the park themselves or down towards the side of there. but there seems to be phases of this police operation. but to go back to your point. some say the cost of this success, break away economy. government, infrastructure a lot of tear gas behind me.
i should let you pay more attention to these pictures. the events are unfolding rapidly behind me. we are looking actually live right now. see the flashes are tear gas. exactly. watching live pictures with you. down the street to the side of gezi park. and i am not sure if you were able to catch the interview i was doing with arwa damon before we came to your live shot location. but she seems to be at least in some area of the receiving end of a lot of the volley. she also happens to be with a lot of protesters that were getting rather violent. i could see them picking up rocks, debris on the street and using them as sling shots to fire back at these officers. it s hard for our viewers to understand your perspective, nick, as you look down on this scene as opposed to where arwa is. but what we are seeing from this camera vantage point is, is a pretty strong force of a lot of artillery. and vehicles. they have bulldozers. they have got armored vehicles. and they re moving en m