BBC News, Istanbul
Istanbul looks like a divided city more than ever. In Kazlicesme, PM Erdogan addressed thousands of AKP supporters under the banner “Let’s ruin this big plot”; while on the roads leading to Taksim Square, thousands are marching, protesting or clashing with the police.
Taksim and Gezi Park are completely cordoned off by the police. Only journalists are allowed in. On a road just off the square, police warned protesters carrying a banner saying: “Happy Father’s Day Tayyip” to disperse and soon intervened with tear gas. Reports of clashes, sirens of ambulances from time-to-time – it’s been the same cat-and-mouse game for days. Protesters gather, police intervene, protesters disperse, police withdraw, protesters gather again in bigger numbers.