Summary
Thousands of Turkish police mobilised Saturday in central Istanbul ahead of demonstrations to mark the first anniversary of last year's protests that mushroomed into a revolt against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's rule.
Erdogan's government deployed thousands of riot police and police in civilian clothes to enforce a ban on protests at Taksim Square, the epicentre of last year's demonstrations, an AFP reporter said.
The opposition leader urged the authorities to let people peacefully protest.
A total of eight people died and thousands were wounded as a result of the crackdown on the protests, which turned into the largest challenge to Erdogan since his party came to power in 2002 .
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