- Title: TURKEY: Erdogan urges protesters to withdraw from central Istanbul
- Date: 11th June 2013
- Summary: ANKARA, TURKEY (JUNE 11, 2013) (REUTERS) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, ADDRESSING MEMBERS OF HIS RULING AK PARTY DEPUTIES LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRIME MINISTER, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, SAYING: "The efforts to distort Turkey's image have been put into place with a systematic plan. Turkey's power and reputation have been targeted during this process." DEP
- Embargoed: 26th June 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Turkey
- Country: Turkey
- Topics: Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA7HDZGUEH8VPPRT5X5CHCDOAB3
- Story Text: Turkey's prime minister called on protesters to withdraw from central Istanbul on Tuesday (June 11), saying a wave of anti-government demonstrations was part of a deliberate attempt to damage Turkey's image and economy.
"The efforts to distort Turkey's image have been put into place with a systematic plan. Turkey's power and reputation have been targeted during this process," Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told members of his ruling AK Party.
Turkish riot police fired tear gas and water cannon at hundreds of protesters armed with rocks and fireworks on Tuesday as they tried to take back control of a central Istanbul square at the heart of fierce anti-government demonstrations.
Hundreds of riot police backed by armoured vehicles surrounded Taksim Square as bulldozers began removing barricades of paving stones and corrugated iron built by the protesters. What began as a protest at redevelopment plans for the adjoining Gezi Park has grown into an unprecedented challenge to Erdogan's Islamist-rooted government and divided Turks.
The prime minister said the protesters' actions were casting a negative light on the country.
"I ask the protesters to look at the bigger picture, to understand what kind of game is on display and to withdraw from there if they are sincere. I expect this as Prime Minister," he said.
Days of unrest have damaged investor confidence in Turkey, previously an emerging market success story. The central bank said it would intervene if needed to support the lira, after the currency fell to its weakest against its dollar/euro basket since October 2011.
Police moved in to break up the protests shortly after dawn, and a day after Erdogan agreed to meet protest leaders, whose peaceful demonstrations two weeks ago spiralled into anti-government protests in cities across the country.
Three people have been killed and about 5,000 hurt in the disturbances and Erdogan said the government was running out of patience.
"I urge the young people, who I believe are there with sincere feelings, to put an end to this protest and I call on those who insist on continuing. This is over. We won't put up with this any longer," he said.
Erdogan has made many democratic reforms, taming a military that toppled four governments in four decades, starting entry talks with the European Union, reining in rights abuses by police and forging peace talks with Kurdish rebels to end a three-decades-old war that has cost 40,000 lives.
His AK Party has taken Turkey from a crisis-prone economy to Europe's fastest-growing over the past decade, and has won three successive elections, each time with a higher share of the vote.
But the protests have shaken Turkey's reputation for stability. The ferocity of the initial police crackdown has drawn criticism from the West and Erdogan has increasingly accused foreign forces of trying to aggravate the troubles. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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