The turmoil in Turkey entered a new stage Sunday, with riot police tearing through residential neighborhoods in Istanbul to clear streets of protesters as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a fiery speech to tens of thousands of supporters on the city's outskirts.
As thousands of protesters who had been pushed out of central Taksim Square a day earlier tried to return, many said they would stay in the streets, and five major trade unions declared a general strike starting Monday. And with Erdogan on Sunday telling his opponents that the proper place to challenge him was at the ballot box, residents said other ongoing controversies could spark new protests in the lead-up to local polls next year.
The conflict over the park, Istanbul's last central green space, quickly transformed into a broader outpouring of frustration about what critics call Erdogan's campaign to reshape personal liberties in a more conservative Islamic fashion. With new alcohol restrictions set to take effect within months and plans for vast new infrastructure projects that could inspire similar opposition, protesters said they would not fade quietly into a society that has been dominated by Erdogan's Justice and Development Party for the past 10 years.