This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23234294
The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Previous version
1
Next version
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Turkish police disperse Gezi Park protesters | Turkish police disperse Gezi Park protesters |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Turkish police have fired tear gas and water cannon at people trying to enter an Istanbul park that was the focus of last month's anti-government protests. | Turkish police have fired tear gas and water cannon at people trying to enter an Istanbul park that was the focus of last month's anti-government protests. |
Istanbul's governor reopened Gezi Park - next to Taksim Square - to the public earlier on Monday, but shut it again after protest leaders called a rally. | |
The park had been shut since 15 June, when police ejected people occupying it in protest at redevelopment plans. | |
The authorities' response to the protest sparked nationwide unrest. | |
Four people were killed and thousands more were injured as police cracked down on anti-government demonstrators, who accused Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of becoming increasingly authoritarian. | |
'Security problem' | |
Hundreds of people flocked to Gezi Park on Monday afternoon after Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu declared it open once again. | |
Mr Mutlu said staff had tried to improve the park while it was sealed off, planting additional trees and shrubs and replacing damaged grass. | |
But, in a clear warning to protesters, he also warned that it was no place for "forums, occupations or marches". | |
"Blocking the parks, making them areas for demonstrations, preventing children, elderly and [others] from using these areas and turning this into a security problem - we would never ever allow that," he told reporters. | |
Taksim Solidarity, a group of political parties and non-governmental organisations, subsequently called a public meeting in the park at 19:00 (16:00 GMT), prompting the authorities to close it after only three hours. | |
Dozens of people were forced to leave by police, who used their shields to eject some who resisted. | |
Officers then used tear gas and water cannon to break up a crowd of several thousand people marching along Istanbul's main shopping street towards Taksim Square, according to the Reuters news agency. | |
On Saturday, police prevented thousands of people trying to enter Gezi Park as part of a rally called by Taksim Solidarity to serve notice to the authorities of a court decision that annulled the redevelopment plan. | |
An administrative court said locals had not been consulted sufficiently about replacing the park with a replica of an Ottoman-era military barracks and a mosque, and that the work would not serve the public. | |
However, the ruling is not final and the government is expected to appeal. |
Previous version
1
Next version