Clashes as Turkish police move into square; PM says won ' t yield
Written by Mike Miller
Turkish riot police moved on Tuesday into the central Istanbul square at the heart of 10 days of anti-government protests, firing tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of protesters armed with rocks and fireworks.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan declared he would not yield to the protesters. In a further sign of the effect the crisis has had on financial markets, the central bank said it would intervene if needed to support the lira.
" They say the prime minister is rough. So what was going to happen here? Were we going to kneel down in front of these( people)?" Erdogan said after the action began.
" If you call this roughness, I ' m sorry, but this Tayyip Erdogan won ' t change."
Police backed by armored vehicles moved soon after dawn into Taksim Square, site of the initial protest against government construction plans 10 days ago which sparked the worst unrest in decades.
Bulldozers cleared barricades, but by early evening hundreds of protesters remained on one side and black smoke from bonfires of rubbish and plastic mingled with tear gas. Demonstrators skirmished with police.
Tear gas drifted into the lobby of an upmarket hotel, overwhelming some guests who were moved to the basement.
What began as a protest at redevelopment plans for Gezi Park, a leafy corner of the square, has grown into an unprecedented challenge to Erdogan.
Victor in three consecutive elections, he says the protests are engineered by vandals, terrorist elements and unnamed foreign forces. His critics say his unyielding talk has made the crisis worse.
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" A comprehensive attack against Turkey has been carried out," Erdogan told a parliamentary group meeting of the AK Party he founded in 2001 and led to power in 2002.
" The increase in interest rates, the fall in the stock markets, the deterioration in the investment environment, the intimidation of investors- the efforts to distort Turkey ' s image have been put in place as a systematic project," he said.
Thousands packed into Gezi Park, now a ramshackle settlement of tents at the edge of the square; among their number leftists, environmentalists, liberals, students and professionals who see the development plan as symptomatic of overbearing government.
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