June 10, 2013 -- Updated 1805 GMT (0205 HKT)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed protesters on the
tenth day of demonstrations against his government, warning that "even
patience has an end." FULL STORY
|
ERDOGAN: FROM VICTIM TO VILLAIN
June 9, 2013 -- Updated 2311 GMT (0711 HKT)
Medics carry Yasin Ayhan, 23, a
protester who broke his leg in a raid early Monday, June 10, in Kugulu
Park. Riot police doused thousands of protesters in Ankara with tear gas
and jets of water for a second straight night. The protests began as a demonstration against the planned demolition of a park and have grown to general anti-government dissent.
HIDE CAPTION
Anti-government riots erupt in Turkey
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- The prime minister criticizes and challenges protesters
- "Let's face off at the ballot box," he says
- Anti-government demonstrations stretch into tenth day
He gave a series of speeches to supporters in the nation's capital, Ankara, as well as in the southern city of Adana.
"We have been patient. We
will be patient, but even patience has an end! And look, the people who
are hiding behind the demonstrators, and seeking to do politics from
it, must first learn what politics is! We are not the ones who fall for
the provocations on the streets. But they are," he said.
Demonstrators have
demanded Erdogan's resignation, accusing his government of creeping
authoritarianism. The protests have united disparate groups dissatisfied
with Erdogan and angry over what protesters and international critics
have described as a heavy-handed response by security forces.
The result has been the
biggest challenge to Erdogan and his governing Justice and Development
Party during their decade in power.
Are protests in Turkey a new Arab Spring?
Turkish protest letter goes viral
Turkey's media in crisis
Tensions rise in Antakya
The prime minister remained defiant.
He criticized protesters' tactics and challenged them to beat him at the ballot box.
"All they do is destroy.
They attacked public buildings; they burned public buildings. They
burned the cars of civilians," he said.
"Let's face off at the
ballot box in seven months. If you are saying democracy and freedom, if
you are saying rights and freedoms, you cannot achieve that with
violence. Only within the laws, you can achieve it."
Since the demonstrations
started May 31, two protesters have been killed. One was hit by a car
in Istanbul; the other was shot in the head by unknown assailants in
Antakya, near the border with Syria.
A police captain died after falling from a bridge last week, the Adana governor's office told CNN.
More than 4,300 people have been wounded in clashes over the past week, the Turkish Medical Association has said.
Protests continued
Sunday, as riot police fired tear gas and blasted water at demonstrators
in central Ankara, images from the DHA news agency showed.
"We could tell the
police were getting ready to intervene, then they did. First, they used
tear gas and sound bombs. Then, the water cannons and the armored
vehicles came," said Mehmet Ferit Aka, a protester.
"We tried to gather again, but every time we try, they intervene very roughly."
The demonstrations in
Turkey started as a small sit-in over plans to bulldoze Gezi Park -- the
last green space in central Istanbul -- and replace it with a shopping
mall housed inside a replica of a 19th-century Ottoman barracks.
After riot police moved
in to break up the protest with tear gas and pepper spray, demonstrators
set up barricades and hurled bottles at police.
Analysts say the
protests have provided a channel for Turks alienated from and frustrated
by Erdogan's government. Opposition parties are weak and divided,
observers say, and have failed to convincingly challenge the governing
party during its decade in power.
But they also point to
widespread popular support for Erdogan. Under his government, the
Turkish economy has grown and his party has been rewarded with
comfortable victories at the ballot box.
Gul Tuysuz reported in Istanbul; Dana Ford reported and wrote in Atlanta.
TOP EUROPE STORIES
- 4 teens arrested after fire at Muslim school near London
- Author Iain Banks dies ahead of final novel's release
- UK police probe 'suspicious' fire at Muslim school
- Hungary fears Danube, Elbe floods Germany
- Two French journalists missing in Syria
- UK's Prince Philip has 'exploratory' surgery
- Russian president Putin announces divorce
- The grand slam that got away from tennis legends
- Who wins? Euro wine vs. China solar panels
- COPY http://edition.cnn.com
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário