Europe
by Natalie de Vallieres, Nasra Ismail, and Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protesters
Turkey's
PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan has vowed to press ahead with a controversial
park redevelopment that has sparked violent clashes.
Mr Erdogan said he would not yield to "wild extremists" and urged an end to the protests.Clashes over Gezi Park in Istanbul began on Friday and continued there and in the capital, Ankara, on Saturday.
Correspondents say the local issue has spiralled into more widespread anger over perceived "Islamisation".
Mr Erdogan has been in power since 2002 and some in Turkey have complained that his government is becoming increasingly authoritarian.
His ruling AK Party has its roots in political Islam, but he says he is committed to Turkey's state secularism.
Last week, Turkey's parliament approved legislation restricting the sale and consumption of alcoholic drinks between 22:00 and 06:00.
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul has called on all sides to be "mature" in order for the protests which he said had reached "a worrisome level, to calm down."
In a statement, he called on the police to "act in proportion".
'Running wild' Opponents of the plan to redevelop Gezi Park in Taksim Square say it is one of the few green areas left in central Istanbul.
But in a defiant speech to the exporters' union, Mr Erdogan insisted the project would go ahead, and that the historic Ottoman era military barracks would be rebuilt on the site as planned.
Referring to the protesters' fears that the site will actually become a shopping mall, he said one "might be built on the ground floor or a city museum. We haven't given our final decision yet."
Continue reading the main story
What began as a small scale, peaceful protest to clear Gezi
Park, one of the few remaining green spaces left in Taksim, has
escalated into some of the worst scenes of public disorder and police
violence seen in Turkey in recent years.
I was at Gumussuyu, on the edge of Taksim, at around 22:00 last night. Vast, blinding clouds of pepper spray and tear gas were being deployed by baton-wielding officers in riot gear who turned on thousands of protesters.
Bricks and paving slabs were pulled up and used as missiles by the crowds. Police in vehicles drove at them in an attempt to get them to disperse. With Taksim closed, demonstrators massed in the surrounding areas of Cihangir and Beyoglu and anti-government slogans and chanting continued through the night.
Analysis
I was at Gumussuyu, on the edge of Taksim, at around 22:00 last night. Vast, blinding clouds of pepper spray and tear gas were being deployed by baton-wielding officers in riot gear who turned on thousands of protesters.
Bricks and paving slabs were pulled up and used as missiles by the crowds. Police in vehicles drove at them in an attempt to get them to disperse. With Taksim closed, demonstrators massed in the surrounding areas of Cihangir and Beyoglu and anti-government slogans and chanting continued through the night.
Mr Erdogan vowed order would be restored "to ensure the safety of people and their property".
"Police were there (Taksim Square) yesterday; they'll be on
duty today and also tomorrow because Taksim Square cannot be an area
where extremists are running wild," he said.He accused protesters of using the issue as an excuse to create tension and called on them to end their action immediately to avoid "further damage to visitors, pedestrians and shopkeepers".
He said of the protests: "All attempts apart from the ballot box are not democratic", adding that he could summon a million pro-government protesters if he wanted to.
Despite the damage done to property, the police force "continues to operate with the authority it was given," said Mr Erdogan.
However, he did admit that the police response may have been "excessive", and that the interior ministry was investigating the "misuse of tear gas by our security forces".
Resignation calls The protest began at the start of the week as a sit-in over the redevelopment plans but escalated after police used tear gas to try to clear them out. On Friday, a dozen people were admitted to hospital and more than 60 people detained as police and protesters clashed.
On Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators marched over the bridge connecting the Asian and European shores of Istanbul to try to reach the main square.
Police fired tear gas to try to disperse them and some protesters threw rocks.
Police also fired water cannon and tear gas in Taksim Square as demonstrators chanted "unite against fascism" and "government resign".
Clashes were also reported in the Besiktas district.
One Istanbul resident, who gave her name as Lily, told the BBC's World Service that police had dropped tear-gas canisters from helicopters overnight.
Protests in Ankara continued into Saturday
One woman protesting in Istanbul told Agence France-Presse: "They want to turn this country into an Islamist state, they want to impose their vision all the while pretending to respect democracy."
The BBC's Louise Greenwood in Istanbul says police from as far afield as Antalya are being drafted in to help quell the violence.
She says the central Taksim district and surrounding areas remain cordoned off and bridges are closed to traffic.
In Ankara on Saturday, hundreds of demonstrators gathered at a park, many drinking alcohol in protest at the new restrictions.
Some chanting anti-government slogans tried to march on parliament but were dispersed by police.
The US has expressed concern over Turkey's handling of the protests and Amnesty International condemned the police's tactics.
In his speech, Mr Erdogan criticised the "preaching" of foreign governments, saying they "should first look at their own countries".
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