Turkey police retake Istanbul protest square in new clashes

Riot police re-entered Istanbul's protest square today, sending demonstrators scrambling with tear gas and water cannon in a fresh escalation of unrest after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would meet with protest leaders.
Hundreds of police officers backed by armoured cars moved in on Taksim Square in the early morning in their first return to the site after pulling out on June 1, saying they wanted to remove makeshift barricades erected by protesters and clear the area of flags and banners.
The police action surprised protesters, hundreds of whom have been camping out in the adjoining Gezi Park, and came just hours after Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said Erdogan would meet with protest leaders tomorrow, in his first major concession since the deadly unrest began nearly two weeks ago.

Despite the premier's conciliatory gesture, the deputy warned: "Illegal demonstrations will not be allowed anymore in Turkey."
Smoke filled the square as riot police fired tear gas and urged protesters to stay calm and return to Gezi Park, with some protesters throwing stones and incendiary devices in response.
Overnight thousands again took to the streets of Istanbul and the capital Ankara, defying Erdogan's threat that they would "pay a price" for the unrelenting unrest, the biggest challenge yet to his Islamic-rooted government's decade-long rule.

Riot police fired tear gas in the centre of Ankara to disperse hundreds of protesters, sending them scrambling, though protest crowds were smaller than at the weekend.

The nationwide unrest first erupted after police cracked down heavily on a campaign to save Istanbul's Gezi Park, next to Taksim Square, from demolition on May 31.
The trouble spiralled into mass displays of anger against Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), seen as increasingly authoritarian.
Nearly 5,000 demonstrators, scores of whom are young and middle-class, have been injured and three people have died, tarnishing Turkey's image as a model of Islamic democracy.
"Our intention is to remove the signs and banners at the site. We have no other goal," said Istanbul governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu on Twitter.

"We will not touch Gezi Park and Taksim, we will absolutely not touch you," he added, urging demonstrators to stay away from troublemakers.