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| PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan |
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan made a defiant call for an end to the fiercest anti-government demonstrations in years on Saturday as authorities arrested almost a thousand people in protests across the country.
Riot police backed by armored vehicles and helicopters fired tear gas and water cannons in Istanbul and Ankara for a second day. Interior Minister Muammer Guler said 939 arrests had been made in more than 90 separate demonstrations.
The unrest was triggered by government plans for a replica Ottoman-era barracks housing shops or apartments in Istanbul's Taksim Square, long a venue for political protest, but has widened into a broader show of defiance against Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Crowds of protesters chanting "shoulder to shoulder against fascism" and "government resign" marched on Taksim, where hundreds were injured in clashes the day before. Broken glass, rocks and an overturned car littered the square as night fell.
If this is about holding meetings, if this is a social movement, where they gather 20, I will get up and gather 200,000 people. Where they gather 100,000, I will bring together one million from my party," Erdogan bragged in a televised speech.
"People from different backgrounds are coming together. This has become a protest against the government, against Erdogan taking decisions like a king," said Oral Goktas, a 31-year old architect among a peaceful crowd walking towards Taksim.
the protests included a broad spectrum of people opposed to Erdogan and were not organized by any political party.
CHP officials called on its members not to take party flags with them to the protests, apparently concerned they would be held responsible for the violence, and party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu accused Erdogan of behaving like a dictator.
"Tens of thousands are saying no, they are opposing the dictator," he said. "The fact that you are the ruling party doesn't mean you can do whatever you want."
Medics said around 1,000 people had been injured in the clashes in Istanbul. At least four lost their eyesight after being hit by gas canisters, while four more were being treated for fractured skulls, the Turkish Doctors' Association said.
The U.S. State Department said it was concerned by the number of injuries while European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton called for restraint on all sides.
Read more: Turkish PM Erdogan calls for end to protests as clashes flare - chicagotribune.com
