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A group of men, armed with sticks and bottles, raided the
store late on Friday (June 17), apparently in protest that
people drinking beer in the holy month of Ramadan, video footage
posted on social media showed. Riot police intervened to
disperse protestors chanting "Time will come when the tide will
turn and the AK Party will be called into account," in the
Cihangir neighborhood of Istanbul, a district of coffee shops
and bars, close to the central Taksim Square.
Although Turkey is constitutionally secular, the overwhelming
majority of the population is Muslim. Many, like President
Tayyip Erdogan, are pious Muslims who shun alcohol.
Under the AK Party founded by Erdogan, Turkey has banned alcohol
advertising and tightened restrictions on its sale, to the ire
of many secularists, who say they are increasingly finding
themselves having to adapt to stricter Muslim values.
"Our hearts go out to those attacked tonight at Velvet
IndieGround in Istanbul. We hope that someday we will be able to
look back on such acts of violent intolerance as things of the
ancient past. For now, we can only offer our fans in Istanbul
our love and support," Radiohead said in a statement following
the attack.
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