Turkey strike after Erdogan vows to catch riot ‘terrorists’

Turkish trade unions today called a one-day nationwide strike in protest at what they say is the heavy-handed police crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.

The Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions and Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions are demanding an end to “police violence”. Associations representing doctors, engineers and dentists said they will support the strike.

The 24-hour stoppage is aimed at maintaining pressure on prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government. It came after riot police forced protesters out of Gezi Park in Istanbul on Saturday after an 18-day sit-in by people protesting against plans for its redevelopment.

Mr Erdogan remained defiant in a speech to tens of thousands of supporters in Istanbul yesterday, saying it had been his duty to order the eviction of the protesters.

He said the deomonstrations, which spiralled into a nationwide protest, were “nothing more than the minority’s attempt to dominate the majority”, adding: “We could not have allowed this and we will not allow it.”

He also denied behaving like a dictator, criticised foreign media and vowed to “identify one by one those who have terrorised the streets”.

Thousands of protesters tried to regroup in Istanbul yesterday, only to be turned back by riot police with the liberal use of tear gas and water cannon, according to the BBC.

It took police less than 30 minutes to end the occupation at Gezi Park. Bulldozers moved in afterwards and workers tore down the makeshift tent city. Sporadic clashes continued overnight in Istanbul and in the capital Ankara. Police blocked all roads to Gezi Park and nearby Taksim Square today.

Tayfun Kahraman, a member of Taksim Solidarity, an umbrella group of protest movements, told the Associated Press that a number of people in the park had been injured, some from rubber bullets. Medical officials estimate that 5,000 people have been injured and at least five killed since the protests began three weeks ago.

Those opposed to Mr Erdogan see a creeping Islamisation of their secular state by his party the AKP, says the BBC. Days before the unrest began, a bill to ban the late-night sale of alcohol in shops was passed. He has also sought to ban adultery and kissing in public.