Police in the Turkish city of Istanbul have pulled out of a square which has become the focus of the largest anti-
government protest in years.

Thousands of people are in Taksim
Square after days of unrest sparked by plans to redevelop nearby Gezi Park.

In recent days police have fired tear gas and water cannon several times to break up the demonstrations.


PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said police may have used excessive force but that the park development will go ahead.


An administrative court had ordered a temporary halt to the demolition work on Friday, but in a defiant speech to the exporters' union on Saturday, Mr Erdogan said an Ottoman era military
barracks on the Gezi Park site would be rebuilt on the site as planned.


Referring to protesters fears that the site was destined to be a shopping mall, he said one "might be built on the ground floor or a city museum" but that
this had not yet been decided.
He called for an end to the protests,
saying Taksim Square "cannot be an
area where extremists are running
wild".
Police 'mistakes'
The protesters say the park is one of the
few green spaces left in Istanbul, and
that the government is ignoring their
appeals for it be saved.
Their protests initially began as a sit-in
in the park, but erupted in clashes on
Friday as police fired tear gas to try to
clear them out.
Correspondents say that what was
initially a local issue has spiralled into
widespread anti-government unrest and
anger over the perceived "Islamisation"
of Turkey.
http://www.alexoludiya.com/turkey-protest-turkey-pm-erdogan-to-proceed-with-gezi-park-development/