Eurasia Press & News
Turkey’s Islamist-rooted government faced growing pressure on Monday after angry demonstrators clashed for a third night with police in a nationwide wave of protests.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon Sunday at protesters who marched on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s offices in Istanbul and Ankara.
“Dictator, resign!… We will resist until we win,” yelled the crowds, in the latest of a string of protests that have by some accounts left hundreds injured.
Police had withdrawn on Saturday from Istanbul’s main Taksim Square, the symbolic heart of demonstrations that started over an unpopular building project nearby and boiled over into a general protest against the government.
Accused by critics of pushing an increasingly conservative and authoritarian agenda, Erdogan’s government is facing the biggest protests since it took power in 2002.
Erdogan on Sunday renewed his call for an end to the disturbances.
“If you love this country, if you love Istanbul, do not fall for these games,” he said in televised comments.
