Anti-government protesters run to take cover to protect themselves from a water canon and tear gas as riot police disperse them during a protest in Ankara June 5, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS
A delegation of activists met Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc at his office in Ankara and demanded the release of detained demonstrators, a halt to the police use of tear gas, and the removal of senior officers who oversaw the crackdown.
Arinc, formally in charge of government while Erdogan is on an official visit to North Africa, has apologised for "excessive violence" by police against the initial protest in Istanbul's Taksim Square but made no public comment after the meeting.
Police use of tear gas and water cannon to disperse that initial demonstration last week triggered the most violent riots in decades and drew other groups, from professionals to students, into a broadening protest against Erdogan.
Two people have been killed and more than 3,000 injured in the six days of unrest, dealing a blow to the prime minister's image at home and abroad.
Members of more than a dozen labour unions banging drums, trailing banners and chanting "Tayyip resign" marched into Taksim, where the demonstrations have been largely peaceful in recent days after riot police withdrew.
There were similar scenes in Kizilay park, the heart of Ankara's government district, where police fired pepper spray and water cannons in a bid to disperse around 2,000 protesters.
Critics accuse Erdogan of inflaming the situation over the weekend by describing protesters in blanket terms as looters, and later associating them with terrorism. Since Erdogan left on Monday, Arinc has struck a more conciliatory tone.
But Arinc refuses to talk to unnamed groups he accuses of exploiting anger over the police action against the original protest to foment violence. Youths, some affiliated to radical left wing groups, have pulled up paving stones and smashed windows in successive nights.
The softening in tone from the AK Party (AKP) government appeared too little and too late to halt the protests.
"We will show that we will not surrender to AKP fascism with our peaceful democratic reaction in city squares," said a joint statement from two union confederations. "The AKP is trying to cow a significant portion of society to realise its own dreams of power, restricting rights and freedoms."
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