Gezi Park, Tweeting the Protest from Milan

Here is the text of their post:

"Over the past years, Turkey has witnessed widespread demolition of green spaces and a relentless neglect of historical areas for purely economic motives. Gezi Park was one of them. Though this time, it felt different.

Thanks to the new era of social media we first learned the news through twitter. Nothing was televised nor published so there was a huge question mark as to what was really going on. As Turkish students in Milan aware of our friends being active in the protests, we felt useless. Even the thought of going to sleep felt like a huge betrayal.

A small and peaceful sit-in protest has brought together an unprecedented number of people who were once condemned for been apolitical.

We were shocked first of all but also kind of happy because we realized we were witnessing a historical first. However, after the police intervention took place, we became more and more worried about our friends, family and everyone who had become a part of this meaningful movement. We feared that the protest was turning into a political game, but we had no choice but to sit back and wait for a resolution.

Though they started as an environmentalist reaction, local protests have turned into national resistance in favor of human rights and democracy. Abusive and inhumane actions taken by the police, the media's disconcerting silence combined with the recent unprogressive legal adjustments have further fueled the public's rage.

Water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray have been used excessively and illicitly. Hospitals, metro stations and even private homes have been targeted by the police, actions that even impeded access to medical help for the injured.With thousands of protestors hurt and at least three killed, we spend every second in front of our phones anxious to hear about our friends and families.

In contrast to vast international media coverage, the mainstream Turkish media up until now have chosen to keep silent because they give priority to their financial and political ties with the government over seeking the truth. As Turkish students in Italy, we have organized and continue to organize events that mobilize people to raise awareness of the inhumane actions taking place in Turkey.

As events unfolded, mobile phone providers received pressure from the government to block the Internet network, through which up-to-date information was quickly and widely disseminated. With that channel weakened, we became the main source of information for our friends and families who were actively involved in the protests.

In addition, CCTV cameras were deactivated to prevent the documentation of the violence. Many local hotels and restaurants owned by big corporations refused to help civilians and those who helped were threatened.

Instead of appeasing the public, when he finally appeared on television, Prime Minister Erdogan insulted the protestors as extremists, terrorists and drunks. He wrongly assumed that his large voter-base was sitting at home, when in reality many of them were out there on the streets.

A nation established with many different ethnicities, Turkey has been living in peacefully for a long time, accepting every kind of ideology and culture respectfully. We hope all this tension results in something substantial and that the government recognizes the unity of the Turkish people as a whole. The administration should acknowledge its mistakes, punish people who are responsible and take meaningful actions to restore the peace.

We would like to emphasize that the protests do not have ideological content. They are solely motivated by a desire for freedom and human rights. The people of Turkey are crying out against authoritarianism and years of government oppression. Thus, the growing wave of protests will continue until Turkey is reconstructed on the basis of true democracy and justice."