Turkish activists’ demands include leader resigning

ANKARA, Turkey — Activists on Wednesday presented a list of demands they said could end days of antigovernment demonstrations that have engulfed Turkey, as trade unions joined in the outpouring of anger, shouting slogans and wielding banners calling on the prime minister to resign.

Thousands of union members on a two-day strike marched into Istanbul’s landmark Taksim Square and central Ankara in a show of support for protesters angry at what they see as Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule. Police used tear gas and water cannons to break up the gathering in Ankara after allowing demonstrations to continue for some eight hours.

In a move to defuse the tension, the deputy prime minister earlier met with a group whose attempt to prevent authorities from ripping up trees in Taksim has snowballed into the nationwide protests.

Over five days, police have deployed water cannons, and tear gas has clouded the country’s city centers. The Ankara-based Human Rights Association says close to 1,000 people have been injured and more than 3,300 have been detained.

The activist group denounced Erdogan’s “vexing” style and urged the government to halt Taksim Square redevelopment plans, ban the use of tear gas by police, immediately release detained protesters and lift restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly.

It also demanded that officials responsible for the violent crackdown be removed from office.

The protests appear to have developed spontaneously and remain leaderless.

It was not at all certain that the tens of thousands of protesters would heed any call by the group to cease.