Stephen Starr
in Istanbul
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s continued pleas to protesters to leave a central Istanbul square fell on deaf ears last night as anti-government demonstrations entered a third week.
Although Mr Erdogan previously warned the thousands of people camped out at Gezi Park to leave before new, unspecified measures would be taken against them, the government agreed yesterday to comply with a court ruling suspending the demolition of the park.
“Turkey is a state of law. It is impossible for the executive branch to perform an unlawful act. There is a court decision, the government must conform to it,” said AKP spokesperson Huseyin Celik.
Mr Erdogan has been largely defiant, although last week he agreed on a referendum to decide the future of the park.
“Young people, you have remained there long enough and delivered your message ... Why are you staying?” said the prime minister in a televised address yesterday.
Talks between Mr Erdogan and representatives of the Taksim Solidarity group were held late into Thursday night. Following the meeting Tayfun Kahraman, a representative of Taksim Solidarity, said: "We did not suffer through the attacks ... so that a referendum could take place."
Today and Sunday pro-government rallies organised by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) are to be held in Ankara and Istanbul. Posters have been pasted on city buses calling for Turks to “make history” and attend the gatherings.
On Friday riot police remained on the periphery of Taksim Square while demonstrators regained control of the area. Thunder storms destroyed tents and the belongings of many protesters in Gezi Park, though tear gas attacks did not materialise.
Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu made his mobile phone number public on Twitter on Thursday so that "environmentalist young protesters at Gezi Park" could reach him. Mr Mutlu held meetings with protesters at a cafe close to Gezi Park into the early hours of yesterday morning to bring an end to the demonstrations.
Two Canadian journalists detained for 12 hours in Taksim Square were released on Thursday. The New York City-based Committee to Protect Journalists said last week that Turkish police were targeting reporters covering events in Istanbul and Ankara. Many Turkish media outlets have covered the protests sparingly for fear of government retribution.
Amnesty International said Turkish authorities have so far failed to investigate reports of police abuse and heavy-handedness, and no police officers have been brought to justice following the deaths of several protesters.
“Instead of continuing to repress peaceful activists, the Turkish authorities should start to look at the actions of their own police and bring to justice those responsible for the shocking abuse we have seen over the past two weeks,” said Andrew Gardner, a researcher for Amnesty International who has been based at Taksim Square throughout the last two weeks.
The Turkish Medical Association said that about 7,500 people had been injured in the unrest.
A number of western countries have condemned the Turkish government for its violent reaction to the demonstrations.