Turkey unrest: Fresh violence as PM Erdogan holds rally

BBC News online - 16 June 2013

The BBC's Chris Morris says Turkish police have cordoned off the area around Taksim Square and neighbouring Gezi Park

Fresh unrest has erupted in Ankara and Istanbul, with police firing tear gas and water cannon amid continuing anti-government protests.

The unrest flared as PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan's supporters gathered for a huge show of strength in Istanbul.

Referring to the police action to clear Istanbul's Taksim Square of protesters, he said it was his "duty as PM".

Two major trade union groups have called a one-day nationwide strike for Monday in protest at police violence.

Baki Cinar, a spokesman for one of the groups, Kesk, told Agence France-Presse news agency: "Our demand is for police violence to end immediately."

Analysis

Selin Girit BBC News, Istanbul

Istanbul looks like a divided city more than ever. In Kazlicesme, PM Erdogan addressed tens of thousands of AKP supporters under the banner "Let's ruin this big plot"; while on the roads leading to Taksim Square, thousands are marching, protesting or clashing with the police.
Taksim and Gezi Park are completely cordoned off by the police. Only journalists are allowed in. On a road just off the square, police warned protesters carrying a banner saying: "Happy Father's Day Tayyip" to disperse and soon intervened with tear gas. Reports of clashes, sirens of ambulances from time-to-time - it's been the same cat-and-mouse game for days. Protesters gather, police intervene, protesters disperse, police withdraw, protesters gather again in bigger numbers.
Mr Erdogan has been criticised for not being able to handle this crisis, that his defiant speeches and heavy-handed approach have increased the tension. As the PM addressed tens of thousands and activists called for a million to gather in Taksim, it looks like Istanbul is awaiting another rough night.

The protests began on 28 May against a plan to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park, but snowballed into nationwide anti-government protests after the perceived high-handed response of the authorities under their three-term prime minister.

Medical officials estimate that 5,000 people have been injured and at least four killed since protests began.

Police fired tear gas and water cannon to clear demonstrators in Ankara's Kizilay Square on Sunday afternoon.
At least four people were injured.

Police earlier dispersed a memorial service in the capital for a protester who died of injuries during a demonstration.
Tear gas and water cannon were also fired near Istanbul's Taksim Square.

Activists have been calling on protesters to return to the area after the police action on Saturday night.

However, there is a tight police cordon at the square, with bag searches and identity checks.
Istanbul's governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said the public would not be allowed into the square, adding that it would be "unsafe" for protesters to try to gather.

He also said two security officials were wounded "by a pistol" during the clashes.
Witnesses say Saturday was one of the worst nights of unrest since Gezi Park was occupied 18 days ago.

Protest timeline

28 May: Protests begin in Gezi Park over plans to redevelop one of Istanbul's few green spaces
30-31 May: Police raids on protest camp culminate in mass unrest
3 June: Protesters establish camps with makeshift facilities from libraries to food centres
4-10 June: Protests widen into show of anti-government dissent in towns and cities across Turkey; clashes between police and demonstrators
11/12 June: Night of clashes see riot police disperse anti-government demonstrators in Taksim Square, which adjoins Gezi Park; camps in the park remain
13 June: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issues a "final warning" to protesters to leave Gezi Park
14 June: Government agrees to suspend Gezi Park redevelopment plans until a court rules on the issue, PM holds talks with members of a key protest group
15 June: Police move in, clearing protesters from Gezi Park

Riot police fought running battles with protesters.

The appearance of troopers from the country's gendarmerie, a military force under the control of the interior ministry in peacetime, jolted some demonstrators at the city's strategic Bosphorous Bridge.
Clashes continued into Sunday morning in the streets around the square, eyewitnesses said.

The rally in support of Mr Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), was held in the Kazlicesme district on the edge of the city.
Tens of thousands of supporters turned up to hear Mr Erdogan's speech.

The BBC's Chris Morris, in Istanbul, says this was the perfect day, setting and weather for Mr Erdogan to set out his message of "I am the man in charge".

Mr Erdogan defended the police action in Taksim Square, saying: "I said we were at an end. That it was unbearable. Yesterday the operation was carried out and it was cleaned up. It was my duty as prime minister."

He criticised the international press and social media for the coverage of the unrest, urging them to be ethical and honest.

"If the international media want a picture of Turkey, the picture is here," he said.
One supporter at the event, Ruveyda Alkan, told Reuters: "We are the silent majority, not the riff-raff who are trying to frighten us."

It is the second rally of the weekend for the PM. In Ankara on Saturday he vowed to crush his opponents in next year's elections.

Riot police in Istanbul have been receiving reinforcements from the Turkish provinces.

Mr Erdogan has agreed to postpone the redevelopment of Gezi Park while the courts consider the project's legality.

He has also strongly denied opposition accusations that he is becoming increasingly authoritarian, pointing to the 50% of the vote he won in 2011 for his third term of office.

Some 1,000 riot police have now arrived from regions as far away as Diyarbakir and Sirnak, media report, to try to curb the Istanbul unrest.

Riot police could be seen leaving the city's airport and getting on to coaches bound for the city.
At least 350 police on duty at the airport were also deployed to the city centre in case of possible clashes, Turkey's Dogan news agency reports.