ISTANBUL — Hundreds of police clad in riot gear pushed easily past barricades in Istanbul’s central Taskin Square early Tuesday, and many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week were pushed into a nearby park.
Police briefly fired tear gas canisters and rubber bullets, prompting many of the protesters to flee the square into Gezi Park, where many had been camping.
Some of the activists fired fireworks, fire bombs and stones at police water cannons.
Earlier, demonstrators had manned the barricades and prepared for a possible intervention when officers began massing in the area.
Police began taking down large banners that had been hung by protesters on a large building on the edge of the square, replacing them with a large Turkish flag and a banner with the picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the beloved founder of the secular republic 89 years ago after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.
On Monday, Turkey’s opposition party leader accused the prime minister of escalating tensions and dragging the country ‘‘into the fire’’ as antigovernment protests that have led to three deaths hit their 11th straight day.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan headed a Cabinet meeting to discuss the protests, the first serious challenge to his 10-year rule. On Sunday he made a series of fiery speeches in three cities, saying the government’s patience was running thin, demanding an end to the protests, and threatening to hold those who don’t respect his government to account. He has also called for major progovernment rallies in Ankara and Istanbul next weekend.
The Hurriyet newspaper on Monday quoted Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the head of the opposition Republican People’s Party, urging Erdogan to reduce tensions.