Mass demonstrations erupted in Turkey between May 31-June 2, 2013. The spark of the unrest was related to the closure of a public park for private usage in Istanbul., a photo by Pan-African News Wire File Photos on Flickr.
Turkey's PM rejects protesters' dictator label
'My only concern has been to serve my country'
The Associated Press Posted: Jun 2, 2013
Turkey's prime minister on Sunday rejected claims that he is a "dictator," dismissing protesters as an extremist fringe, even as thousands returned to the landmark Istanbul square that has become the site of the fiercest anti-government outburst in years.
Over the past three days, protesters around the country have unleashed pent-up resentment against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who after 10 years in office many Turks see as an uncompromising figure with undue influence in every part of life.
A huge, exuberant protest in Taksim Square subsided overnight, but an estimated 10,000 people again streamed into the area on Sunday, many waving flags, chanting "victory, victory, victory" and calling on Erdogan's government to resign.
About 7,000 people took part in protests in Ankara, the capital, that turned violent on Sunday, with demonstrators throwing fire bombs and police firing tear gas. Scores of protesters were detained.
Some protesters have compared Erdogan to a sultan and denounced him as a dictator. Scrambling to show he was unbowed and appealing to a large base of conservative Turks who support him, Erdogan delivered two speeches on Sunday and appeared in a television interview.
With Turkish media otherwise giving scant reports about the protests, many turned to social media outlets for information on the unrest.
"There is now a menace which is called Twitter," Erdogan said. "The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society."
Under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey has boosted economic growth and raised its international profile. But he has been a divisive figure at home, with his government recently passing legislation curbing the sale of alcohol and taking a strong stand against the Syrian regime that some believe has put security at risk.
The demonstrations were ignited on Friday by a violent police crackdown on a peaceful sit-in to prevent the uprooting of trees at Taksim Square in Istanbul and have since spread around the country. The Turkish Doctors Association said the three days of demonstrations have left 1,000 people injured in Istanbul and 700 in Ankara.
Turkish protesters swarm Istanbul square
Sunday's violence occurred in Ankara when the protesters tried to march toward Erdogan's office from the city's main square. A group of youths formed a barricade and hurled fire bombs or threw back gas canisters at police.
An Associated Press reporter saw at least eight injured people being carried away, and police appeared to directly target journalists with tear gas. The state-run Anadolu Agency said 200 demonstrators were detained.
In Istanbul's Taksim Square on Sunday, dozens of people climbed on the roof of a cultural centre that Erdogan says will be demolished and turned into an opera hall. A banner reading "Don't yield" was hung from the building.
"If they call someone who has served the people a 'dictator,' I have nothing to say," Erdogan said in an address to a group representing migrants from the Balkans. "My only concern has been to serve my country."
In another speech delivered an hour later, Erdogan said: "I am not the master of the people. Dictatorship does not run in my blood or in my character. I am the servant of the people."
Police and protesters also clashed violently on Friday and Saturday. Clouds of tear gas overwhelmed Istanbul's normally touristy city centre.
Interior Minister Muammer Guler said some 1,750 people had been detained since Tuesday, but most had since been released.
Erdogan called the protests "ideological" and manipulated by an opposition "unable to beat (the government) at the ballot box." He said 89 police vehicles, 42 private cars, four buses and 94 businesses were destroyed by the "vandalism" of the past two days.
Alluding to his party's strong base, Erdogan said he had the power to summon much larger numbers of his supporters at rallies. "Our supporters are calling and saying 'are we going to stay silent?' but I am urging calm," he said in an interview with Haberturk television.
Erdogan reiterated that his government would not back away from plans to uproot trees at Taksim as part of his urban renovation plans for the area. In a statement that could cause more controversy, he also declared that a mosque would be built at Taksim.
The mosque plans have long been contentious because it would further shrink the green spaces in Istanbul's city centre. Some argue that there are already plenty of mosques around Taksim.
"I am not going to seek the permission of the (the opposition) or a handful of looters," Erdogan said.
He also defended his government's environmental record, saying it had planted two billion trees and built 160 parks since coming to office in 2002.
In Berlin, meanwhile, about 500 people staged a peaceful solidarity protest outside the Turkish Embassy.
"The people are finally standing up, speaking up and fighting for their rights," said Hakan Tas, a deputy for the Left Party in Berlin's local assembly, who took part in the protest.
In Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki, 1,000 people, many of them Turkish students, marched peacefully to the Turkish consulate, shouting slogans against Erdogan. Police blocked them from reaching the building.
2 June 2013 Last updated at 19:19 ET
BBC
Turkey protests: Third day of anti-government unrest
Tens of thousands of people have staged a third day of protests in Turkish towns and cities.
Protesters erected barricades near the prime minister's office in Istanbul's Besiktas district, and police responded with water canon and tear gas.
The protests were sparked by plans to build on an Istanbul park but have broadened into anti-government unrest across the country.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the protesters are undemocratic.
He has accused opposition parties of provoking the demonstrations, which represents the most sustained anti-government unrest for a number of years.
Interior Minister Muammer Guler told state media more than 1,700 people had been arrested during protests in 67 cities, though many had since been released.
Hundreds of people are reported to have been injured in the clashes.
Barricades
Protests over the demolition of Gezi Park to make way for the rebuilding of an Ottoman era barracks, reportedly to house a shopping centre, began on a small scale earlier this week.
Protesters said the park was one of the few green spaces in Istanbul, and were angry at the loss of public space for commercial purposes.
But after police used tear gas and water cannon were used to break up the protests, triggering accusations of excessive force, the numbers in Taksim Square, next to the park, rocketed.
Ten of thousands of people took to the streets of towns and cities, many calling on the government to resign.
Police pulled out on Saturday afternoon, reportedly after President Abdullah Gul urged restraint, and by Sunday there was a carnival atmosphere.
But clashes continued, including in the Besiktas district, where police fired tear gas against protesters, some of whom built barricades or threw stones at Mr Erdogan's Istanbul office.
In Ankara, police fired tear gas at thousands of protesters who were attempting to march on the prime minister's office there.
There were further reports of tear gas in Izmir, on the Aegean coast, and in Adana in the south.
The BBC's James Reynolds in Istanbul says the protests reflect the public's anger with the Turkish government, which they believe is becoming increasingly authoritarian.
They fear Mr Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to impose conservative Islamic values on the officially secular country and infringe on their personal freedoms, our correspondent says.
'A few looters'
Last week the government quickly passed legislation curbing the sale and advertising of alcoholic drinks, which analysts say alarmed secularists.
Many felt insulted when he defended the legislation by calling people who drink "alcoholics".
In a televised interview on Sunday, Mr Erdogan, in power since 2002, denied accusations of being a dictator, saying he was "a servant of the people".
He said the protests were being provoked by the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and that those taking part were trying to undermine democracy, dismissing them as "a few looters".
Mr Erdogan also criticised social media, through which the protests have been co-ordinated and discussed, calling Twitter a "curse" and an "extreme version of lying".
The crackdown has been condemned by rights groups and by the US.
Are you in Turkey? Are you taking part in protests? What is your reaction to recent events? You can send us your comments.
Political chaos pushes Turkey to front of emerging market rout
Turkey's financial markets are braced for trouble this week after five days of anti-government protests across the country that left at least 79 people injured, gravely damaging the image of Europe’s rising star.
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard10:13PM BST 02 Jun 201312 Comments
The political crisis comes at a highly sensitive moment as emerging markets across the world face intense pressure, with a sudden exodus of capital flows from those deemed most at risk from trade deficits and political risk.
The Turkish lira fell to a 17-month low against the dollar last week while yields on 10-year Turkish bonds spiked 40 basis points. “We may see some further sell-off in Turkish assets. The Istanbul 100 index may start trading [today] with a sharp drop,” said Tufan Comert from Garanti Securities.
The moves so far reflect the broader flight from emerging markets as hedge funds liquidate their bond holdings on fears over a dollar rally and a withdrawal of dollar-based liquidity as the US Federal Reserve prepares to slow its bond purchases. Morgan Stanley called it a “mini sudden stop” in external funding across the world.
Turkey has been a stellar performer over the past decade and is expected to grow by 4pc this year and next, far outstripping Brazil or Russia, but imbalances are rising. “Our risk indicator suggests that Turkey is one of the emerging markets most vulnerable to an economic crisis,” said William Jackson from Capital Economics.
The worry for Turkey is that it could lose the benefit of the doubt and become lumped together with South Africa, which has suffered the biggest currency rout this year as clashes between miners and police cause a deep crisis of confidence.
Mr Jackson said the current account deficit is 6pc of GDP and “funded almost entirely by short-term, and potentially volatile, portfolio inflows and borrowing from banks abroad”.
Moody’s upgraded Turkey to investment status last month, citing a fall in public debt to 36pc of GDP, a shift from foreign currency to lira debt, and a lengthening in debt maturity to 4.6 years, as well as a shift to nuclear power to reduce energy imports. But the agency also said a “sudden and sustained halt in foreign capital flows” could tip the country back into the junk debt category.
Spain and Ireland also had very low public debt levels before tipping into crisis, dragged down by the excesses of their banks and developers. Capital Economics said Turkey could equally find itself “on the hook” for the large foreign debts of its companies if there were an external shock.
Mr Jackson said Turkish lenders are more exposed than in 2008 before the Lehman crisis. The external debt of the banks has risen from 8pc to 14pc of GDP, the highest in more than 20 years.
Roughly 70pc of the loans have to be rolled over during the next 12 months and the loan-to-deposit ratio now exceeds 100pc. “We’re not forecasting a banking crisis, but vulnerabilities could lead to an economic hard-landing down the road,” he said.
Economics commentator Ugur Gurses told The Wall Street Journal that trouble was brewing even before the protests, and could now snowball. “We could see significant capital outflows,” he said.
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