Turkey in heavy security clampdown on Taksim anniversary

Turkey has reportedly deployed some 25,000 police on the first anniversary of Istanbul's Taksim Square protests.

Security forces in riot gear have blocked access to the square.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan earlier urged youths to ignore calls for nationwide rallies to mark last year's deadly crackdown on demonstrators.

Protests against plans to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park turned into mass anti-government rallies after a heavy-handed police response.

A number of people were killed in the unrest, with thousands more injured.

A 64-year-old woman, who fell into a coma after inhaling tear gas during another crackdown on protesters in the capital in December, died on Friday.

Reporter detained

The BBC's James Reynolds, in Istanbul, says there is heavy police presence in the city centre, with many plainclothes officers patrolling the streets.

A government ban on gatherings is currently in force in Taksim Square, where water cannon and armoured vehicles have been deployed.

Security forces kicked and detained a CNN reporter during a live broadcast from the square on Saturday.

Ivan Watson said in a Twitter post that he and his film crew were 'released after half an hour'.

Riot police have also blocked access to nearby Gezi Park amid fears of clashes, Turkish media report.

The main organisers behind last year's Gezi Park protests - Taksim Solidarity - have called for a demonstration to mark the one-year anniversary.

Rallies were also expected to take place in several other Turkish cities, including Ankara, Izmir and Antakya.

But Mr Erdogan warned young people not to take part, saying: 'One year later, people, including so-called artists, are calling for demonstrations, but you, Turkey's youth, you will not respond to the call.'

Addressing a crowd of young people in the capital on Friday, he described the movement as 'terrorist organisations' that 'manipulated our morally and financially weak youth to attack our unity and put our economy under threat'.

Turkish media comment

Political commentator Guven Sak writes in (Via BBC Monitoring) Hurriyet: 'Gezi was like a litmus test for all of us... Gezi is the 'Basta moment' of the Turkish creative class... If you have any doubts about the impact of Gezi, just observe the number of policemen on the streets this weekend... Gezi freaked out the ruling elite of Turkey a year ago and look who is still freaking out. Just count the number of policemen.'

String of scandals

Protesters have clashed with police in recent months, with two men killed during angry demonstrations over a mining disaster that killed 301 people last week.

Anger also flared in March with the news of the death of a 15-year-old boy who had been in a coma since last June after being hit by a tear-gas canister during a protest.

In May 2013, protesters took the government by surprise by occupying Taksim Square and Gezi Park.

Riot police evicted them two weeks later using heavy-handed tactics and galvanising anti-government demonstrators in several other cities.

Since then, Mr Erdogan has faced accusations of authoritarianism and corruption after a string of scandals.

Are you in Turkey? What do you think of the planned demonstrations? Do you intend to take part in the protests? You can send us your comments by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk using the subject line 'Turkey'.

He has also moved to block social media sites YouTube and Twitter, after accusing his opponents of using them to deliberately undermine him.

In the first vote since last year's mass protests, Mr Erdogan's party won local elections in March, which was widely seen as a barometer of his popularity.