Turkish police yesterday used teargas in central Istanbul to disperse protesters seeking to mark the one-year anniversary of the biggest anti-government demonstrations in decades.

Several hundred people gathered on streets leading to Taksim Square, shouting for the government's resignation, when police fired teargas at the crowd, which quickly scattered.

In May last year, police forcibly removed protesters after they occupied the square for two weeks in anger over what they saw as growing authoritarianism.