By JOE PARKINSON
ISTANBUL—Turkish police moved to clear protesters from a landmark square in Istanbul early Friday after three days of demonstrations against a government-backed shopping center project, which have swelled into an informal protest against the ruling Justice and Development Party.
Police at dawn fired tear gas at Taksim Square's Gezi Park and cleared tents and sleeping bags used by the protesters. They sealed off the park, one of the few open green areas in central Istanbul, which had been occupied by demonstrators trying to prevent bulldozers tearing down trees. But the authorities' efforts have been backfiring, with the number of protesters swelling after every push to clear the park.
Turkish riot police use water cannons to disperse demonstrators at Taksim Square in Istanbul on Friday.
The government wants to replace the green space with a reconstruction of an old Ottoman barracks that will house a shopping arcade. The project is part of a broader renovation of Taksim Square, including the creation of pedestrian areas by routing vehicles through underground tunnels and clearing a decades-old traffic bottleneck.
The protesters, which numbered in the thousands late Thursday, have been organizing through social networking websites, and set up an impromptu camp. Initial objections to the rapid pace of construction in Istanbul, which has seen much of the old city torn down to make way for new apartment blocks and shopping malls, have developed into a broader protest against the policies of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Coming on the heels of legislation aimed at curbing alcohol sales and advertisements, the protest at Taksim Square turned into a critique of domestic government policies that many view as social engineering.
One protester, Asli Odman, an urban researcher and labor activist, said police used both pepper spray and tear gas as people were leaving the area. "The resistance for democracy and human rights will not be terminated," she said. "We are determined to continue our struggle against a government determined to crush each and every opposition, a government that cannot tolerate even a peaceful opposition for saving trees."
The public outcry at the park was also directed at Mr. Erdogan's foreign policy on Syria, whose civil war is increasingly spilling into Turkey, killing more than 50 people in a May 11 explosion on the border town of Reyhanli.
The governing Justice and Development Party, known as AKP and with roots in Islamists politics, has won three successive elections after delivering strong economic growth and political stability. Despite the protests and increasing ire of many secular-minded Turks, Mr. Erdogan's government still retains strong popularity across much of Turkey.
Demonstrators had been joined by a handful of lawmakers from opposition parties, who vowed not to let the police move them from the park.
But the police moved forcefully at dawn, deploying tear gas and water cannons to evict the protesters and seal off the park. Protesters regrouped on a main shopping street close to the square, and were again pushed back by police. Turkish police routinely use tear gas and water cannon to break up demonstrators.
Prime Minister Erdogan on Wednesday had said that the government will press ahead with the project.
"They can do what they want. We've made out decision and we will do as we have decided," Mr. Erdogan said, as he cut the ribbon to start construction on the third Bosporus bridge, another landmark infrastructure project ushered in by his ruling AKP.
Write to Joe Parkinson at joe.parkinson@wsj.com
31 May, 2013
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