Erdogan gives 'final warning' to protesters
Source: Agencies |
June 14, 2013, Friday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TURKEY'S prime minister issued a "final warning" to protesters yesterday, demanding that they end their occupation of a park next to Istanbul's landmark Taksim Square.
Sticking to his trademark defiant tone, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also rejected condemnation by the European Parliament over the excessive use of force by Turkish riot police against demonstrators.
The comments show that Erdogan appears determined to end two weeks of widespread protests that have trained an unflattering spotlight on his Islamic-rooted government and have morphed into the biggest street unrest of his 10-year tenure.
"We have arrived at the end of our patience," Erdogan told local party leaders in Ankara, the capital.
"I am giving you my final warning," he said, issuing the ultimatum to the thousands of holdouts in a sit-in in Istanbul's Gezi Park, which is next to the square. He urged parents with children at the park to convince them to pack up and go home.
The protests erupted on May 31 after a violent police crackdown on a sit-in by activists objecting to a development project that would cut down the trees in Gezi Park and replace them with a replica of Ottoman-era barracks.
The demonstrations then spread to dozens of cities, rallying tens of thousands of people each night, and shifted into a broader protest over Erdogan's rule.
Police have repeatedly fired water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters; five people, including a police officer, have died and over 5,000 people and 600 police have been reported injured.
Protesters object to what they say is the prime minister's increasingly authoritarian style and his perceived attempts to impose his religious and conservative views on a country with secular laws - charges he rejects.
Erdogan also lashed out at the European Parliament over its non-binding resolution yesterday. In a show-of-hands vote suggestive of a broad majority, the EU Parliament expressed its deep concern over "the disproportionate and excessive use of force" by Turkish police.
Erdogan drew raucous applause among Turkish party leaders by saying: "I won't recognize the decision that the European Union Parliament is going to take about us ... Who do you think you are by taking such a decision?"
On Wednesday, in an effort to calm the protests, Erdogan's Justice and Development party proposed holding a referendum on the Gezi Park development plan.
In his speech yesterday, Erdogan said he had instructed police that "we cannot allow lawbreakers to hang around freely in this square ... We will clean the square."
Sticking to his trademark defiant tone, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also rejected condemnation by the European Parliament over the excessive use of force by Turkish riot police against demonstrators.
The comments show that Erdogan appears determined to end two weeks of widespread protests that have trained an unflattering spotlight on his Islamic-rooted government and have morphed into the biggest street unrest of his 10-year tenure.
"We have arrived at the end of our patience," Erdogan told local party leaders in Ankara, the capital.
"I am giving you my final warning," he said, issuing the ultimatum to the thousands of holdouts in a sit-in in Istanbul's Gezi Park, which is next to the square. He urged parents with children at the park to convince them to pack up and go home.
The protests erupted on May 31 after a violent police crackdown on a sit-in by activists objecting to a development project that would cut down the trees in Gezi Park and replace them with a replica of Ottoman-era barracks.
The demonstrations then spread to dozens of cities, rallying tens of thousands of people each night, and shifted into a broader protest over Erdogan's rule.
Police have repeatedly fired water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the protesters; five people, including a police officer, have died and over 5,000 people and 600 police have been reported injured.
Protesters object to what they say is the prime minister's increasingly authoritarian style and his perceived attempts to impose his religious and conservative views on a country with secular laws - charges he rejects.
Erdogan also lashed out at the European Parliament over its non-binding resolution yesterday. In a show-of-hands vote suggestive of a broad majority, the EU Parliament expressed its deep concern over "the disproportionate and excessive use of force" by Turkish police.
Erdogan drew raucous applause among Turkish party leaders by saying: "I won't recognize the decision that the European Union Parliament is going to take about us ... Who do you think you are by taking such a decision?"
On Wednesday, in an effort to calm the protests, Erdogan's Justice and Development party proposed holding a referendum on the Gezi Park development plan.
In his speech yesterday, Erdogan said he had instructed police that "we cannot allow lawbreakers to hang around freely in this square ... We will clean the square."
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
