Thousands of Turks defy call to end protests

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party on Saturday ruled out early elections as tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators defied his call for an immediate end to protests.

Huseyin Celik, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development Party founded by Erdogan just over a decade ago, said local and presidential elections would be held next year as planned, and a general election in 2015.

“The government is running like clockwork. There is nothing that necessitates early elections,” he told reporters after a meeting of the party’s executive committee in Istanbul.

“The world is dealing with an economic crisis and things are going well in Turkey. Elections are not held because people are marching on the streets.”

A few kilometers away, tens of thousands of Turks defied Erdogan’s call on Friday for an immediate end to anti-government demonstrations, massing again in the central Taksim Square, where riot police backed by helicopters and armored vehicles first clashed with protesters a week ago.

Tourists and curious locals swelled their numbers around a makeshift protest camp in Gezi Park, a leafy corner of the square where activists have been sleeping in tents and vandalized buses, or wrapped in blankets under plane trees.

Senior AKP officials said they had discussed calling a rally of their supporters in Istanbul or Ankara next week, but no decision had yet been taken, with some party figures urging restraint for fear of provoking the situation on the streets.

The government said the protests were “under control” even as the largest crowds yet on Saturday packed every inch of Taksim Square.

As the sun set over Taksim, fans from rival football teams Fenerbahce, Besiktas and Galatasaray united in the square. They set off red flares to loud cheers from the crowd.

“I have never experienced this friendship, this solidarity among Turks before,” said Fenerbahce supporter Rustu Ozmen. “We have to keep coming. We can’t give up because Erdogan hasn’t quit yet,” the 29-year-old lawyer added.

In the capital, Ankara, hundreds of riot police used tear gas and water cannon late on Saturday to disperse some 5,000 demonstrators from the central Kizilay Square.

The police pursued the protesters, who took refuge in side streets off the square, which is the nerve center of the Turkish capital. Several people were injured, television reported.

What began as a campaign against government plans to build over Gezi Park grew into an unprecedented display of public anger over the perceived authoritarianism of Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AKP, leading to the worst riots in decades. Three people have been killed and close to 5,000 injured around the country since the violence began a week ago.

Thousands protested in Berlin, home to a large Turkish population, waving red Turkish flags and chanting “Occupy Gezi”.

STOYAN NENOV / REUTERS A newlywed couple joins protesters as they march toward Taksim Square in Istanbul on Saturday. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party on Saturday ruled out early elections.