Protesters fighting to save an Istanbul Park from redevelopment claimed a small victory today after the Turkish government agreed to suspend controversial plans for the area until a court has ruled on the legality of the project.
The concession on the fate of Gezi Park was seen as an attempt by the Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to address the central demand of protesters and bring an end to a wave of demonstrations that have rocked Turkey in the past two weeks.
However the temporary reprieve did little to ease fears among those camped in the park, as Mr Erdogan again called on them to leave, saying they had “stayed long enough”.
