Turkish police cleared Gezi Park and Taksim Square of anti-government protestors to facilitate a Sunday rally in support of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, The Christian Science Monitor reports. The move came two weeks after demonstrators occupied the area in what they say was a reaction to excessive force by police in the wake of a peaceful protest against government plans to redevelop the park. Police reportedly used tear gas and water canons to clear the demonstrators, and also fired tear gas into a hotel where protesters were hiding.

The pro-government demonstration is reported to have attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators. Ruveyda Alkan, an Erdogan supporter, said, “We are the silent majority, not the riff-raff who are trying to frighten us.”