Turkish police push past Istanbul protesters' barricades Updated 3:15 a.m. ISTANBUL Hundreds of police in riot gear forced through barricades in Istanbul's central Taksim Square early Tuesday, pushing many of the protesters who had occupied the square for more than a week into a nearby park. CBS News' Holly Williams, who was there, reports there was evidence of the widespread police use of tear gas and water cannons, prompting many of the protesters to flee the square into Gezi Park, where many had been camping. There were also strong signs that police had used rubber bullets, she says. But some groups clashed with police at one edge of the square, firing fireworks, firebombs and stones at police water cannons. Police made frequent announcements through loudspeakers, asking the group to stop attacking police, before firing tear gas. Earlier, demonstrators had manned the barricades and prepared for a possible intervention when officers began massing in the area. Police took down large banners that had been hung by protesters on a building on the edge of the square. They replaced them with a large Turkish flag and a banner with a picture of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the beloved founder of the secular republic 89 years ago after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Huseyin Avni Mutlu, Istanbul's governor, said in a message issued on his Twitter account that the police operation was to dismount the banners hung on the building and at a monument on the square. He said people occupying the park at the square would not be touched. Turkey's most widespread anti-government protests in decades erupted on May 31 after a violent police crackdown on a peaceful sit-in by protesters objecting to a project replacing the park with a replica Ottoman-era barracks. As police clashed with some activists, bulldozers and garbage trucks began cleaning up some of the barricades on the square. A group of protesters was seen at another corner of the square, apparently trying to negotiate with police. A statement from Mutlu's office said the banners of various groups taking part in the protests were making the square look as though it was under "occupation" and was "negatively affecting our country's image in the eyes of the world opinion and leading to reaction from within the society." Before the police action, the protests appeared to be diminishing, with the smallest number of demonstrators in the past 12 days gathering in Taksim on Monday night. The protesters occupying Gezi Park had remained, however. Smaller protests occurred in Ankara, as well, with about 5,000 people demonstrating. Police there have used water cannons and tear gas to break up demonstrations almost every night. Three people have died and more than 5,000 have been treated for injuries or the effects of gas during the protests. The government says 600 police officers have also been injured. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said he would meet with the Gezi Park protesters on Wednesday, following a request by some of the protesters.