Turkey reopens Istanbul park at heart of protests

ISTANBUL (REUTERS) - Turkey reopened an Istanbul park at the heart of last month's demonstrations against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and protest leaders called a rally there for Monday evening in defiance of the city governor.

Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu announced the reopening three weeks after riot police expelled protesters from Gezi Park following a fortnight of frequently violent protests against plans to redevelop the area.

The protests rapidly mutated into nationwide demonstrations against Erdogan, accused by critics after a decade in power of increasingly authoritarian rule. The unrest died down in late June but police fired teargas and water cannon to disperse protesters who sought to march on Taksim Square and the adjoining park on Saturday.

"We have seen with the visit carried out today that all our work has been completed," Mr Mutlu told reporters in the park, which has been spruced up with the planting of new trees, plants and lawns since the protesters were evicted on June 15.

Taksim Solidarity, combining political and non-governmental groups opposed to the construction of a replica Ottoman era barracks on the site of the park, has called for its supporters to hold a public meeting there at 7 p.m. (Midnight Singapore time).

Mr Mutlu warned against renewed demonstrations.

"Blocking the parks, making them areas for demonstrations, preventing children, elderly and people from using these areas and turning this into a security problem - we would never ever allow that," he said.

Four people were killed and 7,500 wounded in last month's police crackdown, according to the Turkish Medical Association.

Last week it emerged that a Turkish court had cancelled the Taksim Square redevelopment project, including the construction of the replica barracks, although the state authorities can appeal against the ruling.

The ruling marked a victory for the coalition against the project and a blow for Mr Erdogan, who stood firm against protests and riots he said were stoked by terrorists and looters.

Mr Erdogan has said he would wait for the judicial process to be completed before proceeding with the Taksim plans, one of several large projects for Istanbul, including a major airport, a large Mosque and a canal to ease Bosphorus traffic.

The protests were unprecedented in Mr Erdogan's rule, which began in 2002 with the election of his AK Party. He has pressed significant reforms in the economy and curtailed the power of a military that had toppled four governments in four decades.

Opponents argue that he has become authoritarian in his rule after three election victories and during the June unrest turned increasingly to the Islamist core of his AK Party faithful.

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