Turkey's Erdogan dismisses protests: 'What is the message?'
Far from softening in the face of a public backlash, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took a combative tone with reporters.
Far from softening in the face of a public backlash, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan took a combative tone with reporters.
As his country experienced the fourth day of street protests against his administration, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan today dismissed the demonstrations, shrugging off comparisons to the Arab Spring and other movements that have shaken Turkey's Middle Eastern neighbors.
The Associated Press reports that Mr. Erdogan appeared "defensive and angry" when asked by reporters whether his government would soften its tone and whether it understood "the message" of the protesters opposed to what they say is the creeping Islamization of Turkey by his AKP party's government.
He also waved off comparisons to the Arab Spring, saying 鈥淲e already have a spring in Turkey,鈥� alluding to the nation鈥檚 free elections. 鈥淏ut there are those who want to turn this spring into winter."
The comparisons come after a weekend of protests involving tens of thousands of demonstrators opposed to AKP policies聽that started last week in Istanbul's Taksim Square and spread to cities across the country.聽Though the protest initially stemmed from government plans to bulldoze Gezi Park, a small green square near Taksim, to build a shopping and luxury apartment complex, it exploded into a broader demonstration complete with running battles with police. More than 1,000 have been injured in the fighting since, reports Reuters.
Taksim's historical significance
Reuters also notes that Taksim holds a "particular resonance" for Turks.
海角大神's Scott Peterson reports that those in Taksim dislike the comparisons between their protests and the Arab Spring that felled regimes across the Middle East. "Those were distinctly Arab events, they say, while Turkey鈥檚 protest is about more inclusive democratic leadership," he writes.
Similarly, the BBC's Paul Mason writes that despite the comparisons that some have drawn to recent protest movements around the world, the Taksim demonstrations are distinct.
But Mr. Mason also distinguishes it from Egypt.
Time Magazine writes that "For Erdogan, the greatest danger is that conservative Muslims, who form the AKP鈥檚 base, will flinch at the images of police brutality and begin to join the protesters鈥� ranks."