Turkey unrest: Unions call strike over crackdown
Unions in Turkey have called a one-day nationwide strike to protest against the police crackdown on anti-government demonstrations.
The Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) and Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions (DISK) are demanding an end to "police violence".
The move comes after continued sporadic clashes between protesters and police in Istanbul and the capital Ankara.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has angrily defended the crackdown.
Addressing tens of thousands of supporters in Istanbul on Sunday, Mr Erdogan said it had been his duty to order the eviction of the protesters in the city's Gezi Park the previous night.
The protests, he said, were "nothing more than the minority's attempt to dominate the majority", adding: "We could not have allowed this and we will not allow it."
He also denied behaving like a dictator, criticised foreign media, and vowed to "identify one by one those who have terrorised the streets".
Growing tension
The BBC's Chris Morris, in Istanbul, says an important part of the city centre remains in a state of flux.
The BBC's Chris Morris says Turkish police have cordoned off the area around Taksim Square and neighbouring Gezi Park
The police have blocked all roads leading to Taksim Square and Gezi Park, which was occupied for 18 days by people protesting against plans for its redevelopment.
But clashes between police and protesters have continued in surrounding areas, involving the liberal use of tear gas and water cannon, our correspondent adds.
Late on Sunday night there were disturbances in streets around Istanbul's central Taksim Square, in the Nisantasi area and around the Galata bridge, which crosses the Sultanahmet district, according to the Reuters news agency.
A member of parliament for the opposition People's Republican Party was beaten by police, a spokesman told the BBC.
The Dogan news agency reported that dozens of protesters had been detained in Istanbul and some 70 others in Ankara on Sunday.
One 20-year-old woman in Ankara was critically hurt on Sunday by a tear gas canister that struck her on the head, the city's medical association said.
The Turkish Medical Association hascondemned the extensive use of tear gas, warning of the dangers of exposing such large numbers of people to its chemicals.
The KESK and DISK union federations, which represent hundreds of thousands of workers across the country, said in a joint statement that they would call a strike on Monday over the eviction of demonstrators from Gezi Park.
"Our demand is for police violence to end immediately," KESK spokesman Baki Cinar told the AFP news agency.
Associations representing doctors, engineers and dentists have said they too will support it.
The Turkish Medical Association accused the police of using "chemical gases savagely" against civilians.
An online survey of more than 11,000 people found that over a week more than half were allegedly suffered the effects of tear gas, it said. Prolonged exposure to the toxic chemical agents posed serious health risks, it added.
The demonstrators have meanwhile vowed that they will not back down.
"We will win Taksim Square again and we will win Gezi Park again,'' Alican Elagoz, a spokeswoman for one protesters' group, told the Associated Press.
Our correspondent says harsh words have been spoken on both sides, and there is now concern about growing tension between Left and Right in a bitterly divided political system.
The protests in Turkey began on 28 May against a plan to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park, but snowballed into nationwide anti-government protests after the perceived high-handed response of the authorities under their three-term prime minister.
Medical officials estimate that 5,000 people have been injured and at least four killed since the protests began.
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