demonstration against the planned demolition of the park have grown into general anti-government dissent across the nation. " border="0" height="360" id="articleGalleryPhoto001" width="640"/>Protesters gather in the main shopping street near Taksim Square in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 16, as riot police clear Gezi Park in Istanbul. Protests that began as a
demonstration against the planned demolition of the park have grown into general anti-government dissent across the nation.
Turkish riot police officers use rubber bullets on June 15 to disperse demonstrators in Gezi Park in Istanbul on June 15.
Protesters scramble for safety as Turkish riot police officers push them out of Gezi Park using tear gas and rubber bullets.
Protesters run for cover as riot police spray them with a water cannon on June 15.
A protester throws rocks at police during clashes at the entrance of Gezi Park on June 15.
A protester on June 15, reacts in pain to a salvo of tear gas fired by Turkish riot police chasing out demonstrators in order to dismantle their tent camp in Gezi Park in Istanbul.
Riot police move in a line through the tent camp on June 15.
Protesters escape from tear gas during the crackdown at Gezi Park on June 15
Protestors fire fireworks as police drive them out of Gezi Park on June 15.
Protesters sleep in Gezi Park in Istanbul's Taksim Square early Thursday, June 13. Turkey's prime minister on Thursday called on protesters camped out in the park to pack up and leave.
A man plays piano for hundreds of protesters in Taksim Square on Wednesday, June 12, in Istanbul.
A man waves a flag in Taksim Square on June 12.
A man sleeps in Gezi Park in Istanbul's Taksim Square early on June 12, hours after riot police moved into the square in an attempt to push demonstrators out.
Municipal workers clean up a street in Taksim Square early on June 12, after police moved in to disperse protesters.
A protester prepares to throw a tear gas canister back toward police in Taksim Square on Tuesday, June 11.
Riot police fire tear gas canisters at protesters in Taksim Square on June 11.
People run from a tear gas cloud in Taksim Square on June 11.
People flee as riot police fire tear gas on Taksim Square on June 11.
Protesters run behind a barricade during clashes with police on June 11.
A protester throws a tear gas canister back toward police on June 11.
Photographers crowd around a protester posing in front of a riot police vehicle at Taksim Square on June 11.
Protesters seek shelter behind a barricade on June 11.
Protesters try to run from riot police on June 11.
Riot police aim a water cannon at a protester as others take cover behind a makeshift shelter in Taksim Square on June 11.
Police enter Taksim Square during clashes with protesters on June 11.
Protesters take cover behind a barricade in Gezi Park in Istanbul on June 11.
A protester uses a slingshot to throw stones at riot police on June 11.
Protesters take cover behind a barricade in Taksim Square on June 11.
A protester holds fireworks during clashes with riot police in Istabul on June 11.
Riot police use water cannons and tear gas to disperse a crowd near Istabul's Taksim Square on June 11.
A protester throws a tear gas canister back toward police on June 11.
Riot police fire tear gas at demonstrators in Taksim Square on June 11.
Police fire a water cannon at protesters on June 11.
Protesters hold molotov cocktails in Taksim Square on June 11.
A protester throws a stone during clashes with riot police on June 11.
Protesters run from smoke as they clash with police in Istanbul on June 11.
Protesters take cover behind a barricade as fireworks go off nearby on June 11.
Medics carry Yasin Ayhan, 23, a protester who broke his leg in a raid early Monday, June 10, in Kugulu Park. Riot police doused thousands of protesters in Ankara with tear gas and jets of water for a second straight night.
Protesters sleep at Taksim Square in central Istanbul on June 10. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned protesters who have taken to the streets demanding his resignation that his patience has its limits and compared the unrest with an army attempt six years ago to curb his power.
A demonstrator is detained by police officers as protests resumed in Kizilay Square in Ankara on Sunday, June 9.
A demonstrator covers his face with a makeshift gas mask during protests in Kizilay Square in Ankara on June 9.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, and his wife, Emine, wave to supporters upon their arrival in Ankara on June 9. Erdogan told supporters that "even patience has an end" as he went on the offensive against mass protests that have consumed Ankara and Istanbul.
Erdogan addresses supporters from the top of a bus as police stand guard at Esenboga International Airport in Ankara on June 9.
Protesters gather during a demonstration at Taksim Square in Istanbul, on June 9.
A demonstrator runs toward police during clashes with riot police in Istanbul, on Saturday, June 8.
Demonstrators shout slogans as they gather at Kizilay Square in Ankara, Turkey, on June 8.
Women sing as people gather at Kizilay Square in Ankara on June 8.
Protesters rest in Gezi Park next to Taksim Square during a demonstration in Istanbul on Friday, June 7.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during the opening session of the Ministry for European Union Affairs Conference on June 7 in Istanbul. Erdogan said today his Islamic-rooted government was open to "democratic demands" and hit back at EU criticism of his government's handling of a week of unrest.
Supporters of Erdogan wave the Turkish flag upon the prime minister's arrival in Istanbul, on June 7.
Protestors dance at Gezi Park in Taksim Square on Thursday, June 6.
A man walks past damaged buses near Taksim Square on Thursday, June 6, in Istanbul, Turkey.
A mother and her daughter read notes placed by protestors on a destroyed car in Taksim Square on June 6. Thousands of striking union members joined the anti-government protests on June 5, marching in Istanbul and Ankara in a sea of red and white union flags, drumming and yelling for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to resign.
Protestors spend their day at Gezi Park on June 6.
Protestors demonstrate near the office building of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul early on June 6.
A municipal worker collects garbage set on fire by Turkish protesters in a restaurant district of Ankara on June 5.
A woman is wheeled away by paramedics during clashes on Kizilay Square in Ankara on Wednesday, June 5.
Protesters confront police forces during riots in a restaurant district of Ankara, on June 5.
Demonstrators run for cover as police use water cannons and tear gas on the crowd in Ankara on June 5.
Protesters gather in Taksim Square as they shout slogans while protesting on Tuesday, June 4, in Istanbul, Turkey.
Riot police fire tear gas at demonstrators in Istanbul on June 4.
Paramedics carry a woman injured during clashes between demonstrators and riot police in Istanbul on June 4.
Turkish police detain a demonstrator during clashes in Istanbul on June 4.
A protester looks on during clashes with Turkish police outside of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office, near Taksim Square in Istanbul on Tuesday, June 4.
Demonstrators wave their national flag on June 4, during a protest in Ankara.
Protesters cover their faces with plastic. After chaotic scenes in the streets Monday that continued late into the night and sent tear gas wafting through the air, the situation was relatively calm on Tuesday morning in Istanbul's central Taksim Square, near the park where the movement began.
A demonstrator takes cover at a road block between Taksim and Besiktas in Istanbul on June 4.
Protesters clash with riot police between Taksim and Besiktas in Istanbul on Monday, June 3.
Protestors pass bricks for building barricades during clashes with riot police in Istanbul on June 3.
Riot policemen unload tear gas during clashes in Istanbul on June 3.
Protesters throw riot police's tear gas back at them in Istanbul on June 3.
Protester wounds are treated during clashes in Istanbul on June 3.
Demonstrators set up road blocks between Taksim and Besiktas. Barricades remain up around the square, and Erdogan's opponents appear determined to continue the demonstrations despite the prime minister's comment on June 3 that he expects the situation to return to normal "within a few days."
A medical team tends to a protester. The Turkish Medical Association claimed that at least 3,195 people had been injured in clashes on June 1 and June 2. Only 26 of them were in serious or critical condition, it said.
Protesters stand atop a pile of rubble during clashes with Turkish police on Monday, June 3.
Turkish riot police fire tear gas canisters to disperse protesters near Taksim Square on June 3.
Police officers tend to a demonstrator during the violent clashes in Istanbul on June 3.
A protester waves the Turkish flag from a rooftop at Taksim Square on June 3 as large crowds continue to demonstrate below.
A protester wears a gas mask as smoke from a burned car fills the air at Taksim Square on June 3.
Despite Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's call for calm on Monday, June 3, protests continued in Istanbul. Protesters carry the Turkish flag and shout against the government in Gezi Park near central Istanbul.
After protests that lasted until the early morning, a protester sleeps in a damaged and vandalized vehicle in Taksim Square on June 3. Protests showed no sign of letting up on Monday, almost a week after a peaceful sit-in was met with a police crackdown, igniting the biggest anti-government riots the city has seen in a decade.
A tired protester rests in front of the graffiti-sprayed wall of an information booth at Taksim Square in central Istanbul on June 3.
Turkish protesters clash with riot police near the prime minister's office between Taksim and Besiktas early June 3.
Protesters drive an excavator toward Turkish riot police as they make their way to Erdogan's office on June 3.
During the clashes, volunteer doctors helped injured protesters in a mosque on June 3.
A protester is silhouetted by a burning car at Taksim Square during clashes in the early morning of June 3.
A protester covers his face on June 3 near Erdogan's office in Istanbul.
Protesters clash with riot police in Istanbul on June 3.
Protesters gather in Taksim Square in Istanbul on Sunday, June 2.
Riot police fire tear gas during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling AK Party in central Ankara on June 2. Sparked by the events in Istanbul, general anti-government protests have sprung up in Ankara.
Demonstrators hide behind makeshift shields during clashes with Turkish riot police in Ankara on June 2.
Police use a water cannon to disperse protesters outside Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's working office in Istanbul on June 2.
Protesters cling to a police vehicle mounted with a water canon in Istanbul on June 2.
Turkish police detain a protester during demonstrations in Ankara on June 2.
A protester flashes a victory sign as he takes part in a demonstration in Ankara on Saturday, June 1 in support of the protests in Istanbul against government plans to demolish a park.
Protesters clash with riot police in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday, June 1.
Protesters clash with riot police near Gezi Park on June 1. Earlier this week, several dozen activists tried to stage a sit-in at the park, the last bit of green space left in Istanbul's Taksim Square, the city's transit and commercial hub.
Turkish protesters wearing gas masks face off against riot police near Istanbul's Taksim Square on June 1.
Riot police use tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd of demonstrators on June 1.
A man flees the clashes between Turkish protestors and riot police on June 1. On Friday, May 31, riot police stormed the growing camp in Gezi Park with water cannons and tear gas, pushing protesters into surrounding streets and triggering the clashes that have continued for more than 24 hours.
The clashes damaged surrounding businesses in Istanbul and forced them to close on June 1.
A man catches his breath behind the line where clashes are taking place on June 1.
A pair of tourists gasp for air as riot police use tear gas and water cannons the fend off the demonstrators. Turkish security forces allowed small groups of pedestrians to travel through the square.
Protesters buy gas masks from a local shop near the square on June 1.
Riot police fire tear gas into the crowd of protesters overnight on Friday, May 31.
Demonstrators set up barricades and build a fire as they clash with Turkish officers on May 31.
Friends carry an injured protester on May 31. More than a dozen people have been injured in the clashes.
Riot police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd at Taksim Square on May 31.
An activist wearing a gas mask is enveloped in a cloud of tear gas on May 31.
A crowd scatters during clashes on May 31, as one demonstrator throws back the tear gas canister that was launched by riot police.
Protestors brace themselves as they are fired upon with a water canon by Turkish police forces.
A large group of demonstrators gather to protest the demolition of Gezi Park in Taksim Square on May 31.
A Turkish riot policeman uses tear gas in Taksim Square on May 28.
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- NEW: A massive cleanup is underway, CNN's Arwa Damon says
- Police are using tear gas and water cannons to disperse demonstrators
- Istanbul's governor says 29 people have been injured
- "Can you shake hands with those who reach out with a fist?" Erdogan asks
Are you there? Share your story on CNN iReport, but please remember to stay safe.
Ankara, Turkey (CNN) -- A massive cleanup effort was underway early Sunday at an Istanbul park where hours earlier Turkish riot police cleared protesters camped out in what has become ground zero in anti-government demonstrations targeting the policies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
At least 29 people were injured in clashes Saturday as police sealed off Taksim Square and took Gezi Park, Istanbul Gov. Huseyin Avni Mutlu said in remarks carried on Turkish television stations.
Police pushed protesters onto side streets, where on one street many -- with their faces covered with masks because of tear gas and smoke -- appeared to reorganize.
Chanting "long live Taksim solidarity," the demonstrators began moving back toward the square and park. In turn, authorities fired tear gas and a water cannon down the street to try to disperse them.
The move came after police warned demonstrators who have occupied Istanbul's last remaining green space for more than two weeks to depart voluntarily or face being ejected.
By early Sunday morning, most protesters had dispersed and the cleanup was underway, according to CNN's Arwa Damon, who was reporting in the area.
Calls for political reforms
The protest that began over Erdogan's plan to turn the park into a mall quickly devolved into large anti-government demonstrations that have seen calls for political reforms.
What's driving unrest and protests in Turkey?
Erdogan, who has been defiant of protest demands, said earlier in the day at a rally with supporters in Ankara that if protesters did not leave on their own, they would be forced out of Gezi Park.
"If it is not emptied, from now on, this country's security forces will know how to empty that place," he said.
A few minutes later, police used loudspeakers to order the protesters out of the park, saying it was their last warning.
But the demonstration continued as the sun began to set, with hundreds of people packing the square, some of them wearing gas masks, others linking arms in solidarity and anticipation.
During his speech, Erdogan said the demonstrators were not meeting him halfway.
"We have reached out with our hands," he said. "However, some people returned their fists in response. Can you shake hands with those who reach out with a fist?"
And he ridiculed the protesters' assertions that they are environmentalists, calling them "thugs" instead, and citing their honking of horns as evidence of their insincerity. "This is called noise pollution," he said.
A dozen of his Justice and Development AK Party buildings have been damaged and burned, he said, accusing "outsiders" of staging the demonstrations.
He accused demonstrators of inciting sectarian violence by attacking a woman who was wearing a headscarf, kicking her, dragging her on the ground and snatching away her head cover. He accused some demonstrators of having entered a mosque while wearing shoes, drunk alcohol there and written insulting slogans on the walls -- acts forbidden by Muslims -- but said authorities had been patient.
Erdogan said the courts will handle such incidents.
Letters from Turkey, with pride
He said he did not understand the concerns about the park, since no contracts have been signed and no construction has begun. "There is nothing yet to protest," he said.
'Every kind of hypocrisy'
Erdogan accused social media for spreading misinformation, the national media of lying and the international media of displaying "every kind of hypocrisy" in its reporting, but he expressed gratitude for the crowd's support.
He praised his government's performance over the past 10 years, citing a rising standard of living, a stock market that has broken records, a quintupling of the central bank's reserves, plans to build the world's biggest airport and the construction of a third bridge scheduled to begin carrying traffic in four lanes in either direction over the Bosporus in 2015.
Erdogan said maintaining the park as a green space was not the real goal of most of the demonstrators, four of whom have been arrested.
"What is the issue then?" he asked. "It is to take down the AK Party government."
Except for a few who are genuinely concerned about the environment, the demonstrators are upset about Turkey's growing strength, he said, adding that more than 600 of his police had been wounded in the clashes.
"No one can scare us off," he said.
Erdogan delivered his message to a supportive crowd, amid a carnival atmosphere and heavy police security. During his comments, some of his supporters waved the red-and-white Turkish flag as well as the orange, white and blue flag of Erdogan's AK Party.
The festive mood contrasted sharply with the scene here overnight, when Turkish riot police sprayed rowdy anti-government demonstrators with water cannon and fired tear gas at them, arresting nearly a dozen people in the third consecutive night of clashes in the capital.
Erdogan vs. protesters
The unrest began nearly 500 kilometers (311 miles) away, in Istanbul, nearly three weeks ago, when a small group of people turned out to protest government plans to bulldoze the city's Gezi Park and to replace it with a shopping mall housed inside a replica of a 19th-century Ottoman barracks.
Protesters said the plans represented a creeping infringement on their rights in a secular society.
Turkey was founded after secularists in the early 20th century defeated Islamic Ottoman forces, and many modern-day secularists frown on Ottoman symbols.
The protests broadened into an outpouring in the square and throughout the country as security forces cracked down on demonstrators. The images, seen worldwide on social media and TV, sparked criticism around the world as well as in Turkey, a NATO member and a U.S. ally.
The unrest also signaled political danger for Erdogan, a populist and democratically elected politician serving his third term in office.
Erdogan has been criticized -- even by his allies -- for using heavy-handed tactics in his governance and for trying to impose changes without first seeking public input. The park plan represented the final straw for many Turks, who accuse the government of trying to impose its will whenever and wherever it wants.
On Friday, Erdogan met with protesters in Ankara and then said he would suspend plans to build the mall in Istanbul pending a court decision on the protesters' objections to its construction.
If the judicial ruling is not in line with what Gezi protesters want, a popular vote will be held.
Erdogan also agreed to investigate claims of excessive use of force by police during the protests, some of which have turned violent.
Tayfun Kahraman, a city planner speaking on behalf of the Taksim Solidarity protest movement, thanked Erdogan and his ministers for accepting their demands for a meeting.
"We will closely follow his promises and the process. Unfortunately, four people died in the incidents. We still feel the pain of their death."
Despite conciliatory statements from both sides, protesters defied the pleas of their prime minister and remained encamped Saturday in the park where the demonstrations started 19 days ago.
Opinion: Past and future collide in Turkey clashes
CNN's Ian Lee, journalist Karl Penhaul and CNN's Gul Tuysuz reported from Istanbul. Antonia Mortensen reported from Ankara. Tom Watkins reported and wrote from Atlanta. Joe Sterling and Ben Brumfield contributed from Atlanta.
