The founders of Hong Kong’s Occupy Central protest movement have called on demonstrators to pull back from their encampment outside government buildings. Thousands of students have camped out for weeks in a campaign for the right to hold free elections. On Tuesday, movement co-founder Benny Tai said protesters should pull back to avoid more police repression, and said he and two others would surrender themselves to authorities.

Benny Tai: “We are furious at the government’s heartless indifference. A government that uses police batons to maintain its authority is a government that is beyond reason. For the sake of the Occupy’s safety, for the sake of our original intention of love and peace, as we prepare to surrender, we three urge the students to retreat, to put down deep roots in the community and transform the movement to extend the spirit of the umbrella movement.”