Turkey

Erdogan: Protest 'will be over in 24 hours'

The Turkish Prime Minister says protests at Taksim Square and Gezi Park 'will be over in 24 hours.' This comes hours after Tayyip Erdogan met a group of activists, in an attempt to start dialog, and vowed to put an end to the gatherings.

RT,

12 June, 2013

“I have given orders to the interior minister,” Erdogan said. “This will be over in 24 hours.”  Erdogan said the protests were hurting Turkey’s image and economy.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Huseyin Celik has said a referendum might be held to decide whether to build barracks in Gezi Park or leave it as it is.

Earlier on Wednesday the Turkish Prime Minister spoke to a group of 11 people as part of the government’s attempt to listen to the demands of the demonstrators. The participants included artists, academics and students, as well as the Interior Minister, Environment and Urban Minister, Tourism and Culture Minister and the vice chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

As the PM spoke, another group of protesters prepared to assemble on Taksim Square, just a day after thousands of like-minded people were driven back in a night of violence, complete with tear gas and water cannon. The police had invaded the square twice on Tuesday. 

In the 12 days of anti-government anger, three protesters and one policeman have lost their lives, prompting Turkey’s Human Rights Foundation to open an investigation into excessive use of force by the police. The number of injured stands above 5,000.

Elements within the protest camp appeared not to waiver in the face of Erdogan’s warnings, with the Taksim Solidarity Group – an umbrella unit representing the protestors – urging the crowds to return to the square at 7PM. The group reiterated its earlier demands, which included for the government to cancel plans for destroying Gezi Park, just meters away from Taksim Square; for police chiefs in cities with a particularly high rate of violence against protesters to be sacked; and for the release of those that have been detained over the 12 days.

The group of 11 people who spoke to Teyyip Erdogan included celebrity activists too – among them a noted actress and a singer. But the Taksim Solidarity Group has said the celebrity connection was useless as long as police violence continued.

The country’s President, Abdullah Gul, who has been known for being more lenient than the prime minister in the midst of the protesting, has tried to unite the bickering sides, urging them to open a dialog free of violence, and for the more extreme elements in the protest to stop their anti-social behavior.

He told reporters: “I am hopeful that we will surmount this through democratic maturity… If they have objections, we need to hear them, enter into a dialog. It is our duty to lend them an ear… Those who employ violence are something different and we have to distinguish them.”

The government’s actions during the protest have aroused criticism from European leaders – among them German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who spoke of the Taksim chaos seen in the pictures as “disturbing”. He said that “We expect Prime Minister Erdogan to de-escalate the situation, in the spirit of European values, and to seek a constructive exchange and peaceful dialogue.”

High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union, Catherine Ashton, also opposed the way in which the situation was handled, encouraging an investigation into police action and criticizing the government’s social media blockade.

Lady Ashton told reporters that “Democratically elected governments – even the most successful of them, which have enjoyed three election victories and have half the population’s support – still need to take account of the needs and expectations of those who don’t feel represented… And peaceful demonstrations are a legitimate way for such groups to express their views.”

A police state

Istanbul, june 11, 2013.

Photo by agence france-presse.

A police state is a state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic, and political life of the population. the inhabitants of a police state experience restrictions on their mobility, and on their freedom to express or communicate political or other views, which are subject to police monitoring or enforcement.

A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism and social control, and there is usually little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.