Uneasy calm prevails in Istanbul as Erdogan returns

As Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan returns to homeland so does an uneasy calm in Taksim Square, Istanbul, after huge anti-government protests have broken out in the country over the past six days, demanding the resignation of Erdogan, the Turkish news agency (Ikhlas) reported Thursday. According to the agency, stores and restaurants have opened up again to business amidst heavy presence of security forces as the protestors gave a list of their demands to the Turkish government. They demanded the dismissal of the governors of Istanbul, Ankara and the city of Hatay as well as the heads of the security forces in those three cities. The list also included the release of detained protesters, the cancellation of the project that triggered the protests: the construction of an Ottoman-era replica that would destroy a park in Taksim Square.