Turkey

Thousands of protesters gather at Istanbul’s Taksim Sq

Thousands of protesters gather at Istanbul’s Taksim Sq

Thousands of people have once again gathered at the iconic Taksim Square in the Turkish city of Istanbul in protest against the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Protesters held the demonstration on Saturday despite the massive crackdown on anti-government demonstrators over the past weeks, calling for the resignation of Erdogan.

The mass rally came only a day after police used water cannons and smoke bombs to disperse the protesters in the capital, Ankara.

Earlier in the day, police arrested 31 more people over their alleged role in anti-government demonstrations. They were detained on charges of organizing the protests, engaging in violence and damaging public property.

The authorities also accused the detainees of working on behalf of a far-left terrorist group, named the Communist Marxist-Leninist Party (MLKP).

Meanwhile, Erdogan addressed thousands of his supporters in the coastal city of Samsun, blaming the three-week-long anti-government protests in the country on a foreign plot aimed at destabilizing his government.

Erdogan also suggested that Brazil, which is the scene of anti-government protests, was also the victim of similar alleged conspiracy.

“The same game is now being played over Brazil. The symbols are the same, the posters are the same, Twitter, Facebook are the same, the international media is the same. They (the protests) are being led from the same center,” Erdogan said.

“They are doing their best to achieve in Brazil what they could not achieve in Turkey. It’s the same game, the same trap, the same aim,” he added.

Many countries and international organizations have expressed concern about the way the Turkish police have dealt with the anti-government protests.

The unrest began on May 31 after police broke up a sit-in held at Istanbul’s Taksim Square to protest against a proposal to demolish Gezi Park.

The protesters say Gezi Park, which is a traditional gathering point for rallies and demonstrations as well as a popular tourist destination, is one of Istanbul’s last public green spaces.

Five people, including a police officer, have died in the clashes and more than 5,000 protesters and 600 police officers have been injured.

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