Protesters Remain in Instanbul Park

19th day of demonstrations

Defying the pleas of their prime minister, protesters remained encamped Saturday in the Istanbul park that has been at the center of demonstrations for 19 days.

"This is just the beginning," Taksim Solidarity, a coalition of protest groups, said in a statement. "Our struggle continues."

Still, the scene in Gezi Park was peaceful for a third consecutive day Saturday.

The protesters brought in a bulldozer and dismantled a barricade constructed from scrap metal and trashed cars that had separated Gezi Park from Taksim Square for about two weeks and that, they said, was generating a bad image of the demonstrators.