Turkey's PM remains defiant, lambasts protesters
Source: Agencies |
June 10, 2013, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
TURKEY'S prime minister climbed on top of a bus to give a fiery speech to thousands of his supporters yesterday, challenging increasingly angry anti-government protesters to beat his party at the ballot box after they also flooded the streets for a 10th day of demonstrations.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to two cities where unrest has occurred and again condemned his detractors as "a handful of looters" and vandals.
In the southern city of Adana, where pro- and anti-government protesters clashed on Saturday night, Erdogan greeted supporters from the top of a bus before lashing out at his opponents.
"We won't do what a handful of looters have done. They burn and destroy. ... They destroy the shops of civilians. They destroy the cars of civilians," Erdogan told supporters who had greeted him at Adana airport. "They are low enough to insult the prime minister of this country."
He urged his supporters to avoid violence and predicted that his Islamic-rooted party would defeat opponents in local elections in March.
The nationwide anti-government protests were sparked by outrage over police use of force against an environmental protest in Istanbul on May 31, and have grown into a display of discontent toward Erdogan's government.
He then traveled to the city of Mersin, where anti-protests have been held, and made a similar speech defending his government's democratic credentials and criticizing protesters for not taking to the streets to defend the rights of female students who were barred from studying at Turkish universities because of previous governments' bans on Islamic-style head scarves.
"What did you do for the freedom of those who couldn't go to universities?" he said.
Erdogan's refusal to moderate his tone caused dismay in the capital Ankara, where thousands of protesters yesterday again gathered in a central square close to government offices, a day after police used tear gas and water cannons to oust them from the area.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Istanbul's Taksim Square, where a violent police crackdown on a sit-in to prevent the demolition of its Gezi Park sparked the unrest.
The government has vowed to go ahead with plans to redevelop Taksim, replacing the park with a replica Ottoman barracks. It has scrapped plans to build a shopping mall.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to two cities where unrest has occurred and again condemned his detractors as "a handful of looters" and vandals.
In the southern city of Adana, where pro- and anti-government protesters clashed on Saturday night, Erdogan greeted supporters from the top of a bus before lashing out at his opponents.
"We won't do what a handful of looters have done. They burn and destroy. ... They destroy the shops of civilians. They destroy the cars of civilians," Erdogan told supporters who had greeted him at Adana airport. "They are low enough to insult the prime minister of this country."
He urged his supporters to avoid violence and predicted that his Islamic-rooted party would defeat opponents in local elections in March.
The nationwide anti-government protests were sparked by outrage over police use of force against an environmental protest in Istanbul on May 31, and have grown into a display of discontent toward Erdogan's government.
He then traveled to the city of Mersin, where anti-protests have been held, and made a similar speech defending his government's democratic credentials and criticizing protesters for not taking to the streets to defend the rights of female students who were barred from studying at Turkish universities because of previous governments' bans on Islamic-style head scarves.
"What did you do for the freedom of those who couldn't go to universities?" he said.
Erdogan's refusal to moderate his tone caused dismay in the capital Ankara, where thousands of protesters yesterday again gathered in a central square close to government offices, a day after police used tear gas and water cannons to oust them from the area.
Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Istanbul's Taksim Square, where a violent police crackdown on a sit-in to prevent the demolition of its Gezi Park sparked the unrest.
The government has vowed to go ahead with plans to redevelop Taksim, replacing the park with a replica Ottoman barracks. It has scrapped plans to build a shopping mall.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 娌狪CP璇侊細娌狪CP澶05050403鍙-1
- |
- 浜掕仈缃戞柊闂讳俊鎭湇鍔¤鍙瘉锛31120180004
- |
- 缃戠粶瑙嗗惉璁稿彲璇侊細0909346
- |
- 骞挎挱鐢佃鑺傜洰鍒朵綔璁稿彲璇侊細娌瓧绗354鍙
- |
- 澧炲肩數淇′笟鍔＄粡钀ヨ鍙瘉锛氭勃B2-20120012
Copyright 漏 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
