- Title: TURKEY: Protesters dismiss Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's demands
- Date: 7th June 2013
- Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (JUNE 7, 2013) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PEOPLE AT A LOCAL COFFEE SHOP IN GEZI PARK WATCHING TURKISH PRIME MINISTER TAYYIP ERDOGAN'S SPEECH PROTESTER WITH MASK WATCHING ERDOGAN'S SPEECH (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) UNNAMED PROTESTER SAYING: "I am surprised to see that he does not realise that the country was brought to this point because of what he did. I am surprise
- Embargoed: 22nd June 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA6STMJ9N9VZOQQU06L2B5YSTQ0
- Story Text: Protesters occupying Gezi Park in Taksim Square gathered at a local coffee shop on Friday (June 7) to watch Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's remarks on television.
At a Turkey-European Union conference, Erdogan accused protesters of manipulating the incidents and placing themselves ahead of others who need their democratic rights.
One protesters said that Erdogan didn't understand why so many Turks were protesting, adding that by not choosing his words carefully he was stoking the situation.
"I am surprised to see that he cannot realize that the country was brought to this point because of what he did. I am surprised to see that he is still using a provocative tone, raising tensions" the un-named protester said.
While another protester said that Erdogan's anger was blinding him to what was happening.
"The Prime Minister is furious. Therefore I believe that his advisers cannot brief him, give him accurate information about what is going on and therefore he cannot truly understand what is going on." he said.
The focal point of the protest is Istanbul's Taksim Square, which is now occupied by thousands around the clock, as protesters watched a broadcast of Erdogan's address many chanted "Tayyip resign".
In the capital Ankara, the Kugulu Park echoed to anti-government slogans, while protesters danced or sang the national anthem.
Erdogan on Friday flew back to a Turkey rocked by days of anti-government unrest on Friday and declared before a sea of flag-waving supporters at Istanbul airport: "These protests must end immediately."
Western governments including the United States, which sees Turkey as a key NATO ally in the Middle East, bordering Iran, Iraq and Syria, have expressed concern about heavy-handed police action. Washington has projected Turkey under Erdogan as an example of a Muslim democracy that could be emulated by other countries in the region, such as Egypt.
Speaking from an open-topped bus at the airport, his wife at his side, Erdogan acknowledged police might have used excessive force in crushing a small demonstration against a building project last Friday (May 31) - the action that triggered nationwide protests against his 10-year-old rule.
He gave no indication of any immediate plans to remove the makeshift protest camps that have appeared on Taksim Square and a park in the capital, Ankara. But the gatherings mark a clear challenge to a leader whose authority is built on three successive election victories.
Erdogan has pressed many democratic reforms, taming a military that had toppled four governments in four decades, starting entry talks with the European Union, reining in police rights abuses and forging peace talks with Kurdish rebels to end a three-decades-old war that has cost 40,000 lives.
Per capita income has tripled in nominal terms and business boomed at home and beyond Turkish frontiers.
But in recent years critics say his style, always forceful and emotional, has become authoritarian. Media have come under pressure, and arrests of military and other figures over alleged coup plots as well as moves such as alcohol sale restrictions have unsettled especially secular middle classes sensitive to any encroachment of religion on their daily lives.
Erdogan has made clear he has no intention of stepping aside, pointing to 50 percent of the vote at the last election. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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