ISTANBUL — After more than a day of chaotic clashes, Taksim Square was largely cleared of protesters on Wednesday, with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan taking harsh action against the demonstrations that have created the biggest crisis in his 10 years in power.
Erdogan was scheduled to meet with a select group of protesters later Wednesday, but in the day leading up to the meeting riot police swept into Taksim Square, using vast clouds of tear gas and water cannons to clear away thousands of protesters who had gathered there to protest what they say are encroachments on their personal liberties. The central Istanbul square had largely shut to traffic since May 31, when major protests started, but police cleared away barricades the protesters had erected and stripped a central monument of revolutionary banners that had covered it.
By midday Wednesday, a light drizzle mixed with the pungent smell of tear gas lingering in the air, but few protesters remained in Taksim Square itself. Many had retreated to Gezi Park, next to the square, that has been covered with tents and protesters since last week. The protests started over Erdogan’s plans to raze the park, the last major green space in central Istanbul, and replace it with a replica of an Ottoman-era barracks that once stood there.
When the peaceful protest against the development plans was met with riot police using teargas and water cannons, demonstrations quickly swelled and expanded to include far broader objections to what many protesters say is a creeping authoritarianism that encroaches on their freedom. Protests have occurred in dozens of cities across the country.
Erdogan, who won a sweeping parliamentary mandate in 2011 and remains popular among a conservative Islamic base, has held firm to his plans to redevelop the park. Over the weekend, he defiantly threatened to clear the nation’s squares of “anarchists and terrorists,” and on Tuesday he made good on his threat.
“Were we supposed to kneel before them?” he said Tuesday. “They can call me harsh, but this Tayyip Erdogan won’t change.”
Police swept in early in the day, targeting the mostly leftist and political groups that had set up shop in Taksim Square, even as Turkish leaders promised that they would not touch other protesters inside Gezi Park. Some lawyers who were trying to defend detained protesters were also arrested at a courthouse. Many remained in Gezi Park on Wednesday, saying that the efforts to quash the demonstrations would only increase their resolve to resist.
Late Tuesday, the Obama administration expressed concern about the crackdown.
“We are concerned by any attempts to punish individuals for exercising their right to free speech,” U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
Four people have died in the protests, and about 5,000 people have been injured, according to health organizations.
Erdogan was scheduled to meet with a select group of protesters later Wednesday, but in the day leading up to the meeting riot police swept into Taksim Square, using vast clouds of tear gas and water cannons to clear away thousands of protesters who had gathered there to protest what they say are encroachments on their personal liberties. The central Istanbul square had largely shut to traffic since May 31, when major protests started, but police cleared away barricades the protesters had erected and stripped a central monument of revolutionary banners that had covered it.
By midday Wednesday, a light drizzle mixed with the pungent smell of tear gas lingering in the air, but few protesters remained in Taksim Square itself. Many had retreated to Gezi Park, next to the square, that has been covered with tents and protesters since last week. The protests started over Erdogan’s plans to raze the park, the last major green space in central Istanbul, and replace it with a replica of an Ottoman-era barracks that once stood there.
When the peaceful protest against the development plans was met with riot police using teargas and water cannons, demonstrations quickly swelled and expanded to include far broader objections to what many protesters say is a creeping authoritarianism that encroaches on their freedom. Protests have occurred in dozens of cities across the country.
Erdogan, who won a sweeping parliamentary mandate in 2011 and remains popular among a conservative Islamic base, has held firm to his plans to redevelop the park. Over the weekend, he defiantly threatened to clear the nation’s squares of “anarchists and terrorists,” and on Tuesday he made good on his threat.
“Were we supposed to kneel before them?” he said Tuesday. “They can call me harsh, but this Tayyip Erdogan won’t change.”
Police swept in early in the day, targeting the mostly leftist and political groups that had set up shop in Taksim Square, even as Turkish leaders promised that they would not touch other protesters inside Gezi Park. Some lawyers who were trying to defend detained protesters were also arrested at a courthouse. Many remained in Gezi Park on Wednesday, saying that the efforts to quash the demonstrations would only increase their resolve to resist.
Late Tuesday, the Obama administration expressed concern about the crackdown.
“We are concerned by any attempts to punish individuals for exercising their right to free speech,” U.S. National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said.
Four people have died in the protests, and about 5,000 people have been injured, according to health organizations.