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Sports fans and radicals unite in anger against Israel
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24 Jan 2009 Sat 03:38 am |
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The mass demonstration that forced a European basketball championship game to be abandoned Tuesday night was an example of how the Israeli attacks in Gaza have galvanized sectors of Turkish society to oppose Israel’s aggression.
 Three thousand protestors, including several Islamist groups, but also sports fans, shouted anti-Israeli and pro-Hamas slogans, swearing not to go anywhere until the game between Türk Telekom and Bnei Hasharon was called off. Inside the arena, a tide of over a hundred demonstrators surged toward the court as the two teams were warming up for the match. It took immediate police intervention to prevent them coming in contact with the Israeli team, as demonstrators were stopped well before they could get near the court. The Israeli players instantly withdrew to their locker room.
Bnei Hasharon refused to take to the court, even after all spectators were taken outside, arguing that suitable security conditions had not been met. Fifteen minutes later the match had to be called off. The Union of European Basketball League, or ULEB, may consider Bnei Hasharon’s refusal a reason for a technical loss and declare Türk Telekom the winner of the game by 20-0.
Outside, anti-Israeli fury was whipped up by rumors of a Mossad agent who allegedly told the Turkish police not to let people with beards inside. "Let the bearded people in" was soon heard ringing in the courtyard of the Atatürk Gymnasium. A group of female demonstrators, standing as a separate group wearing veils, headscarves or chadors, carried baby dolls painted red.
Police officers talking to Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review said the crowd that gathered in and around the stadium was actually a combination of nine or 10 smaller groups who had been demonstrating in Ankara since Israeli bombs first fell on Gaza. The crowd was led by the Anatolian Youth Association, or AGD, which is affiliated with the Virtue Party that was shut down for its reactionary activities in 1998, according to information given by a police officer.
The crowd also included members of Mazlum-Der, a conservative rights group. However, the bulk of the demonstrators were indeed sports fans, who with their slogans, demanded the Turkish military and police be sent to Gaza, collaborators condemned, Israel destroyed and Palestinians saved.
The anger of radical Islamists has been directed against the Türk Telekom players for not also leaving the court as well as any spectator who had gone to watch the game. One demonstrator threw a shoe onto the court, which was met with a wave of applause, but no "hail" of shoes followed. Soon the radical group’s influence spread over a large part of the spectators, engulfing them also in their anti-Israeli rhetoric. The Turk Telekom players who did not leave also copped the condemnation of the more radical protestors.
Islamist groups were convinced to leave only after the police promised the game would be canceled, according to the group’s spokesman.
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24 Jan 2009 Sat 05:02 pm |
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And here is the link. For all sport fans:http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10727198.asp?scr=1
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