Full-page ad in NY Times backs Turkey protesters

Supporters of the protests in Turkey ran a full-page ad in today's New York Times to explain why the demonstrators are so angry with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his government.
The supporters raised more than USD 100,000 in five days over the Internet to pay for the ad.
The title is "What's Happening in Turkey?", with smoke from a tear gas canister drifting across the words.
"People of Turkey have spoken: we will not be oppressed," it reads.
It goes on to say that in the 10 years Erdogan has been in power, the people of Turkey have seen their civil rights and freedoms erode steadily, with many journalists, artists and elected officials arrested.

This, plus restrictions on freedom of speech, minority and women's rights, "all demonstrate that the ruling party is not serious about democracy."

The ad is signed by the Gezi Democracy Movement, which takes its name from the Istanbul park where the protests started a week ago before spreading elsewhere in the country.
It was paid for with an Internet fundraising drive that brought in USD 102,000, twice as much as what had been expected.
More than 2,500 people chipped in, most with sums of less than USD 50, organizers told AFP.
A rally to show solidarity with the Turkish protesters is scheduled for Saturday in New York. Organisers say they expect several thousand people to attend.