Protesters occupy Istanbul public square_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Protesters occupy Istanbul public square

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Hundreds of people were occupying Istanbul's Taksim Square on Sunday, the epicenter of the worst demonstrations in a decade against Turkey's Islamist-rooted government which has seen almost 1,700 people detained and scores wounded nationwide.

Some protesters camped around the square's monument to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern secular Turkey, occasionally chanting "Government, resign!" and victory cheers after the riot police withdrew on Saturday.

Shopkeepers and municipal workers began cleaning the streets of Istanbul and Ankara on Sunday after the demonstrations.

Pockets of die-hard demonstrators lit bonfires and scuffled with police overnight but the streets were much quieter.

The unrest was triggered by protests against government plans to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks to house shops or apartments in Taksim, long a venue for political demonstrations.

But it has widened into a broader show of defiance against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party.

Taksim has been at the heart of a wave of more than 90 demonstrations in 48 cities nation wide, the biggest public outcry against Erdogan's government since it assumed power in 2002.

Officials said 53 civilians and 26 police officers were hurt during the violence, while observers put the number of wounded in the hundreds and said there had been two deaths.