Istanbul: Turkey`s combative prime minister warned protesters that police would do "whatever is necessary" to clamp down on demonstrations on Saturday in Istanbul`s Taksim Square to mark the anniversary of last year`s turmoil.
As police deployed some 25,000 officers as well as dozens of water cannon trucks and armoured vehicles to prevent would-be demonstrators from reaching the square, Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed tough anti-protest measures.
"I am calling on all my people. Do not be deceived. This is not an environmentalist campaign. There is no sincerity here," Erdogan told thousands of supporters at an Istanbul rally.
"If you go there, our security forces have received clear-cut instructions and will do whatever is necessary from A to Z," said the premier.
"You will not be able to take to (Taksim) like you did last year because you are obliged to abide by the laws... If you do not, the state will do whatever is necessary for its security," he warned.
His address was often interrupted by loyalist slogans of "Turkey is proud of you!"
Last year, what started as a small campaign to save the nearby Gezi Park from the bulldozers eventually drew an estimated three million protesters in an outpouring of anger at the perceived authoritarian tendencies of Erdogan`s Islamic-rooted government.
Eight people died and thousands were injured in the ensuing violence as police launched a brutal crackdown, frequently employing tear gas and water cannon.
Despite a ban this year on protests at the square, activists called for a new rally, raising the spectre of fresh clashes after police confronted demonstrators trying to defy a similar ban on May Day.
"Despite these policies of violence and injustice, we will be on the streets," vowed Mucella Yapici, founding member of the activist group Taksim Solidarity.
"The government maintains a tense atmosphere that encourages police violence," she charged.
Meanwhile, Istanbul governor Huseyi Avni Mutlu said this week: "We know what happened in June last year and it is not a good memory ... We do not want to see such sorrow again."
Police blocked streets Saturday leading up to Taksim Square and metro transport to the square was halted. According to local media, Bosphorus ferry services were cancelled.
