Turkish demonstrators hold their national flag on June 4, 2013 during a protest in front of the prime minister's office in Ankara. PHOTO: AFP
The flare-up of violence overnight raised pressure on Erdogan's Islamic-rooted conservative government, with demonstrators ignoring his call to end the protests that have thrown up the fiercest challenge to his decade of rule.
As chanting crowds again gathered in Istanbul and the capital Ankara, Erdogan went on a whistlestop tour of several Turkish cities to fire up supporters, urging them to respond to the demonstrations by voting for his Justice and Development Party (AKP) in next year's local polls.
"I want you to teach them a first lesson through democratic means at the ballot box," he said in the southern city of Adana, where he was greeted by a sea of loyalists waving red Turkish flags.
Adana was among the cities that saw clashes overnight, with police dousing demonstrators with tear gas. There were also reports of stone-throwing, pro-government rioters joining the fray.
The unrest first erupted on May 31 with a police crackdown on a campaign to save Istanbul's Gezi Park from demolition. The trouble spiralled into nationwide protests against Erdogan and his party, seen as increasingly authoritarian.
Thousands of demonstrators, many of whom are young and middle-class, have been injured and three people have died in the unrest so far, tarnishing Turkey's image as a model of Islamic democracy.
Erdogan maintained his tough line against the protesters.
"The youth that curses its prime minister cannot be my youth," Erdogan said in the southern port of Mersin where he inaugurated a sports centre packed with tens of thousands of AKP loyalists.
"If you care about democracy, this prime minister is at your disposal," he told them, dismissing the demonstrators as "anarchists" and "terrorists".
He was due to head to Ankara next for another show of strength with supporters.
The government insisted Saturday that the protests were "under control", but hours later some of the largest crowds yet packed Istanbul's Taksim Square, the epicentre of the demos, with people singing and dancing through the night.
While Taksim stayed peaceful, the site has seen no police presence since officers pulled out over a week ago, local media said numerous people were injured in Ankara when police dispersed a crowd of about 10,000, sending them scrambling and tripping over each other with jets of water and tear gas.
There were also clashes in Istanbul's western Gazi neighbourhood, a working class district largely peopled by Alevis, a Muslim minority opposed to Erdogan, where rioters hurled incendiary devices and taunted police.
'I salute the young people'
In fresh bid to calm the turmoil, the man who ordered the initial police crackdown, the governor of Istanbul Huseyin Avni Mutlu, apologised on Twitter and said he wished he was with the protesters camping out on Taksim Square.
"I salute the young people of this country who chose to sleep on the square under the stars instead of in their warm beds."
Deputy Prime Minister Huseyin Celik on Saturday dismissed any talk of calling early elections to resolve the crisis. "You don't decide on early elections because people are marching on the streets," he told reporters in Istanbul.
Sitting on a blanket in Taksim Square, architect Buse Albay, 25, said she would keep protesting against the premier for "as long as it takes until he goes away".
Packing up his tent nearby, Aykut Kaya, a 23-year-old IT student, added: "It was amazing, so beautiful to see everyone together" in the overnight rally.
Erdogan has faced international condemnation for his handling of the unrest in Turkey, a NATO member and key strategic partner in the region for the United States and other Western allies.
The national doctors' union says the unrest has left two protesters and a policeman dead while almost 4,800 people have been injured across Turkey.
Critics accuse Erdogan, in power since 2002, of forcing conservative Islamic values on Turkey, a mainly Muslim but staunchly secular nation, and of pushing big urban development projects at the expense of local residents.
Opposition to Turkey's leader is intense, but his AKP party has won three elections in a row, having presided over strong economic growth.
Turkey will hold both local and presidential elections next year. The AKP plans to launch its first campaign rallies in Ankara and Istanbul next weekend. A general election is scheduled for 2015.
COMMENTS (5)
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West is against erdogan because he is belligerent towards Israel.these western who always rallied behind likes of husni Mubarak and others can't stand a democratic government,which took the turkey out if financial woes and made it a powerful economy.they also fear the rising global stature of erdogan...
Erdogan has faced international condemnation for his handling of the unrest in Turkey, a NATO member and key strategic partner in the region for the United States and other Western allies. Here goes the plan of CIA to oust a Islamist back government. After the job is finished every thing will be calm and peaceful with international support.
Repeat of Tehrir Square where Mubaraq too sent his supporters on camels. That failed and this too will fail. Conservative Islam has to give in to secular Islam. Hope this happens soon in Pakistan too.
Erdogan's policies of rallying supporters could lead the country towards civil war.Better option could be to resign and save his party's rule.His policies of interference in Syria and other regional countries are back firing as expected.
No doubt that Erdogan is a god politician and president for the turkish people. But why did al this happen? According to my perspective the western countryies do have a concern towards Turkey's islamic direction. Erdogan said last ''Turkey's national drink is not alcohol rather yogurt'' then some schular partyies were angry on him. They were lucky that they also find some people who were angry on Erdogan because he wants to build a shopping centrum in a park then schular state supporters joined other protester and then the fire began to come up. We pakistanis support you Erdogan. Very well job.