Turkey protesters retake streets, PM defiant

Protestor clash with Turkish riot policemen between Taksim and Besiktas in Istanbul during a
demonstration against the demolition of the park. (AFP/BULENT KILIC)

ISTANBUL: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday shrugged off mass protests against his Islamic-rooted government but angry demonstrators flooded back onto the streets for the fourth night in an outburst of clashes that have left at least one person dead.

Despite facing the fiercest challenge to his Islamic-rooted government since he came to office in 2002, Erdogan left Turkey earlier Monday on an official visit to North Africa, vowing to "stand firm" against the protests.

He rejected talk of a "Turkish Spring" uprising by Turks who accuse him of trying to impose Islamic reforms on the secular state, and said the situation in his country was "now calm".

Hours after he spoke riot police fired tear gas to disperse protesters massing near his Istanbul office and the nearby stadium of Besiktas football team.

Thousands of other protesters gathered on Taksim Square, the symbolic heart of the nationwide protests.

"Tayyip, resign!" they yelled, waving red flags and banners and blowing whistles.

A medics' union earlier Monday said a man had been killed when a car ploughed into protesters in Istanbul on Sunday, the first confirmed death caused by the protests.

The unrest began as a local outcry against plans to redevelop Gezi Park, a rare green spot adjoining Taksim Square.

After a heavy police response it grew into wider anti-government protests in Istanbul, the capital Ankara and other cities across the country.

"We have had enough of the way Erdogan understands democracy and the way he wants to dictate his rules," said Ozgur Aksoy, a young engineer demonstrating in Gezi Park on Monday.

"It's not only about the park here, it is about everything else in the last 10 years. People are angry, very angry."

Rights groups and doctors say more than a thousand people have been injured in clashes in Istanbul and 700 in Ankara.

The government's latest estimate on Sunday put the figure at 58 civilians and 115 security forces injured, with clashes in 67 cities. It also said over 1,700 people had been arrested across the country and that many had since been released.

Erdogan dismissed the protesters as "vandals", rejecting talk of a "Turkish Spring" uprising and stressing that he was democratically elected.

His Justice and Development Party (AKP) has won three successive parliamentary elections, but opponents have expressed mounting concern that Turkey is moving toward conservative Islam.

-- US denounces 'excessive' force --

US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced concern over "reports of excessive use of force" by Turkish police and urged all sides to "avoid any provocations or violence".

Erdogan's ally President Abdullah Gul called for calm and promised protesters their voice had been heard, urging an end to the disturbances.

"I am calling on all my citizens to abide by the rules and state their objections and views in a peaceful way, as they have already done," he said.

Other protesters accused the mainstream media of failing to properly cover the unrest, saying they were being cowed by the government.

As clashes flared at the weekend, some prime-time TV stations aired penguin documentaries and cooking shows instead of reporting on the nationwide protests.

Erdogan himself has lashed out at Twitter, used by many of the protesters, accusing the online messaging service of spreading "lies".

"Society gets terrorised this way," he told the Haberturk television channel on Sunday, citing false tweets about attacks against protestors and fatalities.

The AKP is traditionally backed by conservative Islamic politicians and voters in Turkey, a secular state peopled mostly by Muslims.

The wave of protests "is a result of growing frustration and disappointment among secular segments of society who could not influence politics over the last decade", said Sinan Ulgen, a scholar at the think tank Carnegie Europe.

"This is an unprecedented, abrupt and unplanned public movement that has not been manipulated by any political party. It is a big surprise."

Since coming to power in 2002, Erdogan has passed contested reforms on religious education and a recent law curbing the sale of alcohol. In 2004 he backed down on a proposed adultery law.

Shrugging off the rising protests, he pushed ahead on Monday with what he said was a pre-planned four-day official trip to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Speaking before his departure, he pointed to elections set for next year, when observers expect him to run for president.

"My nation will give the necessary response in this election," he said. "If we are really resorting to anti-democratic practices, our nation will overthrow us."