Riot police use tear gas to disperse demonstrators during an anti-government protest at Taksim Square in central Istanbul on June 1, 2013. <\/p>\n
Anti-government protests in Turkey gain momentum after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to push ahead with a controversial Istanbul development plan.\n<\/p>\n
Speaking in the Tunisian capital Tunis on Thursday just hours before his return to Turkey, Erdogan enraged protesters at home by saying that he would go ahead with the plan to develop Istanbul’s Gezi Park, which is part of Taksim Square, into a shopping mall and cultural center, AFP reported.\n<\/p>\n
Thousands of flag-waving, chanting demonstrators packed the iconic square to demand that Erdogan step down.\n<\/p>\n
“He doesn’t want to change something but he will do it. I don’t know when, but he will change,” said one of the protesters.\n<\/p>\n
In Tunis, Erdogan reiterated his claims that extremists and foreign agitators were to blame for the violence, adding that seven foreigners were arrested in connection with the week-long protests.\n<\/p>\n
He did not specify the nationalities of the detainees.\n<\/p>\n
Later in Ankara, Interior Minister Muammer Guler said the foreigners detained were two French, two Iranians, a Greek, a German and an American, and that two had been released.\n<\/p>\n
Since Friday, tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrations have been held in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, and many other cities and towns.\n<\/p>\n
The death toll from the protests has risen to five following the death of a police officer. Officials said he died after falling into an underpass while trying to break up a protest in the southern city of Adana.\n<\/p>\n
Turkish Human Rights Foundation says some 4,300 people have been hurt or sought medical care for the effects of tear gas inhalation. The Turkish government says dozens of police officers have been injured.\n<\/p>\n
The anti-government unrest began after police broke up a sit-in staged in Taksim Square on May 31 to protest against the demolition of Gezi Park.\n<\/p>\n
The protesters say the park, which is a traditional gathering point for rallies and demonstrations as well as a popular tourist destination, is the city’s last green public space.\n<\/p>\n
Amnesty International has censured the Turkish police for the tactics they have used to control the protests.\n<\/p>\n
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