BBC
3 June 2013 Last updated at 15:37 GMT
There has been further fighting between anti-government protesters and police in Turkey. Protesters in the Besiktas district of Istanbul tore up paving stones to build barricades and police responded with tear gas and water cannon.
The protests initially targeted plans to build on a treasured Istanbul park but have spread into nationwide unrest.
Here, protesters in Istanbul describe their confrontations with the police and voice their anger at the government.
Gokhan Aya, musician
Gokhan Aya: There's been a continuous attack on our lifestyle, our beliefs, our freedoms
I went to Besiktas area on Saturday and I never imagined I could see police shooting almost at random. I was lucky to be in my car. My eyes got watery and I started choking 10 minutes before I even reached the area.
Everyone got enraged because the protesters were peaceful, they did absolutely nothing. They were attacked as if they were members of an enemy army. They thought they'd scare them away and clear the area to build their shopping mall and hotels.
Not only did they not scare the protesters, but things escalated more and more each day. Now many people are taking leave, or quitting their jobs, in order to make it out on the streets.
Right now there are thousands of people demonstrating outside headquarters of various media companies. The media coverage of the events of the past days has been absolutely unbelievable.
The streets were packed with people, yet all you could see on TV were cooking shows and nature documentaries. And you just don't know how much this angers people.
The struggle to preserve this park has become symbolic for people's desperate desire to have their voices heard. Every day we are getting further away from democracy and closer to autocracy with a prime minister who acts like a sultan.
We are absolutely tired of shopping malls and turning of green areas and historic monuments into temples of commercialism. There's been a continuous attack on our lifestyle, our beliefs and freedoms and we are now reaching a turning point.
Mr Erdogan has often been saying that he is not backing down. But this time I think people won't back down either.
The only exciting thing for me has been the unity among people from different social and religious backgrounds. This united front wasn't organised by anyone and it's great to see such solidarity between all parts of society.
Now, this is a matter of democracy and freedom and I hope this government comes out of its state of denial before there is more trouble.
Elif Irem Koc, student
I've been at the protests over the past three days. No-one knew on Friday morning just how big the protests were going to get.
Information started appearing on Facebook and Twitter with eyewitness accounts describing brutal police action against peaceful protesters.
The whole city reacted. Some people, like myself went to Taksim to join protesters, others who didn't go out expressed their solidarity in other ways.
People would open their windows and doors and start making noise by banging pots and pans, or turn the lights on and off.
We reached Besiktas area to join hundreds of others. Police used water cannon, gas bombs, trying to push people back. People would go closer to the firing line for as long as they could before starting to choke and throw up. Then they'd pull out to breathe, while others would move closer to police.
The government should be ashamed and it should resign immediately”
Last night we went back to Besiktas to discover road blocks, barricades, and police firing gas bombs. I was in the middle of it, about 100m away from them. They were firing four, five gas bombs every minute. We didn't have anywhere to go, because all side streets were blocked.
Somebody from one of the apartment buildings opened the door and let us in. From a few floors up I saw police firing gas into an apartment building to get the protesters out.
The government should be ashamed of these actions and it should resign immediately. So many people disagree with their policies. Yes, they have their voters, who because of the media blackout don't know, and probably don't care, about what is happening. But we are voters too and we are not happy and the only way out of this situation is early elections.
Until that happens, people will keep protesting.
Deniz, computer engineer
I've been protesting for the past three days. I've taken part in protests before, but this was very different.
On Friday I left work with a lot of anger and sadness because I had read accounts on social media about what happened in Gezi Park and how the police attacked protesters there.
Me and my friends decided to see what's happening. We gathered information about how we can protect ourselves. We made special solution for our eyes and mouth for the teargas. We bought simple masks and swimming goggles.
In our numerous attempts to reach Taksim through blocked roads, we came face to face with the police. They fired teargas or gas bombs, I am not sure which one. Me and my friend were very close to them.
I've never been so scared in my life. I turned around and started running in the other direction. My friend was hit by something on her chest. It was dark, we couldn't see what happened. She was crying and saying how hot it was.
I know a lot of people seriously injured.
This is the start of a revolution in Turkey”
A friend of mine set up a medical room in a mosque, they took care of people there. He said there were people who lost their fingers.
The small protest turned into a much bigger one, all over Turkey.
All kinds of people got together for a common cause. Complete strangers helped each other. People opened up their houses for those who were running from the police.
These days were remarkable, I only wish no-one got injured.
This is a protest not only against development of the park, but against the dictatorship of our government and the brutality of our police.
This is the start of a revolution in Turkey.
Burcu Keskiner, student, Istanbul
Burcu Keskiner: The government has no right to harm us during peaceful protests
I haven't taken part in protests so far, but I will join protesters later in Taksim square. The people already there need the support of all of us, we should stand together and make our position clear.
Our media portrays the events of the last few days as protests against the development of Gezi Park. They've described protesters as criminals and not surprisingly many people across Turkey are not aware of the real situation here.
The only source of real information have been social media sites and people like myself have become more determined to join forces with protesters.
It's clear that the police's intention was to hurt people who are against the government. They've been throwing gas bombs not just in open spaces, but inside buildings too.
They haven't been letting ambulances reach Taksim Square to treat injured people.
But despite all of this, the crowds are getting bigger and bigger. The government has no right to tell us how much to drink, to use Islam to manipulate us, or to harm us during peaceful protests.
This is no longer a fight for trees. The people of Turkey are fighting for their freedom. Interviews by Krassimira Twigg
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Chân thành cám ơn Quý Anh Chị ghé thăm "conbenho Nguyễn Hoài Trang Blog".
Xin được lắng nghe ý kiến chia sẻ của Quý Anh Chị trực tiếp tại Diễn Đàn Paltalk: 1Latdo Tapdoan Vietgian CSVN Phanquoc Bannuoc .
Kính chúc Sức Khỏe Quý Anh Chị .
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Cộng sản Việt Nam là TỘI ÁC
Bao che, dung dưỡng TỘI ÁC là đồng lõa với TỘI ÁC
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