Summary Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged protesters to leave Gezi Park.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he s asked a small delegation of protesters to convince hundreds of others occupying an Istanbul park to withdraw, hopefully within hours.
Turkish activists leading a sit-in were considering a promise Friday by Erdogan to let the courts and a potential referendum decide the fate of an Istanbul park development project that has sparked Turkey s biggest protests in decades. The pledge was made during last-ditch negotiations after Erdogan had issued what he called a "final warning" to protesters.
Erdogan told party members that the protesters in the park had "stayed long enough."
Erdogan said he had told the protest representatives: "Go and speak to them ... Don t let us be forced into reverting to different measures."
