Turkish unions call strike over Gezi Park violence

Turkey is bracing for a nationwide strike called by two union federations over the forced evictions of protesters from Istanbul's Gezi Park, the focal point of fierce anti-government demonstrations that swept much of the country over the past two weeks.

Labour groups representing doctors, engineers and dentists said they too would take part in the strike on Monday.

The call for the strike came as police and protesters clashed sporadically in Istanbul overnight following a weekend of scuffles in the city.

Riot police backed by a helicopter, some in plain clothes and carrying batons, fired teargas and chased groups of rock-throwing youths into side streets around the iconic Taksim Square and Gezi Park late on Sunday night, trying to prevent them from regrouping.

There were also disturbances in other parts of the city that had so far largely been spared the violence, including around the Galata bridge, which crosses to the historic Sultanahmet district, and the upmarket Nisantasi neighbourhood.

The police had earlier during the day moved in to clear Gezi Park of protesters occupying the area adjoining Taksim Square, as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addressed hundreds of thousands of his supporters at an Istanbul parade.

Erdogan told a sea of flag-waving supporters that two weeks of unrest had been manipulated by "terrorists" and dismissed suggestions that he was behaving like a dictator, a constant refrain from those who have taken to the streets.

"They say 'you are too tough', they say 'dictator'. What kind of a dictator is this who met the Gezi Park occupiers and honest environmentalists? Is there such a dictator?" Erdogan said to roars of approval from the crowd.

He dismissed the demonstrations as "nothing more than the minority's attempt to dominate the majority ... We could not have allowed this and we will not allow it."

A small-scale environmental protest against government plans to redevelop Gezi Park had snowballed into a larger movement against the government of Erdogan.

The clashes pose no immediate threat to Erdogan's leadership, but they have tarnished Turkey's image as an oasis of stability on the fringes of the volatile Middle East, and presented him with the greatest challenge of his 10-year rule.

The prime minister has long been Turkey's most popular politician, overseeing a decade of unprecedented prosperity, and his AK Party has won an increasing share of the vote in three successive election victories.

Erdogan, who also addressed supporters of his ruling AK Party in Ankara on Saturday, said the rallies were to kick off campaigning for local elections next year and not related to the unrest, but they were widely seen as a show of strength.

The crowds who packed Istanbul's Kazlicesme festival ground, many of whom walked for kilometres, turned out to support a leader who they feel has been under siege.

"We are the silent majority, not the riff-raff who are trying to frighten us," said Ruveyda Alkan, 32, her head covered in a black veil and waving a red Turkish flag.

The two weeks of unrest have left four people dead and about 5,000 injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association.