Turkish Tobacco Workers Protest Layoffs

Source from:  AP 12/30/2009

Riot police clash with thousands of workers protesting layoffs near the headquarters of the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party, the AKP, in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. Riot police also used truncheons and shields to push back the workers of the Turkish state tobacco and liqueur company Tekel.

Turkish workers protesting layoffs stand in a pool in cold weather after riot police used pepper spray to disperse them at a park in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. Riot police used pepper spray, truncheons and shields to disperse the workers of the Turkish state tobacco company Tekel on the third day of the anti-government protest.

Deniz Baykal, the leader of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party, addresses workers protesting against layoffs in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, Dec. 24, 2009. Baykal joined workers a week after riot police used pepper spray, truncheons and shields to disperse thousand of workers of the Turkish state tobacco company Tekel, on the 10th day of the anti-government protests. Enditem