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TURKISH GOVERNMENT SAYS IT MAY USE ARMY TO END PROTESTS
17 June 2013 Last updated at 13:00 GMT
Anti-government protests continued in Istanbul and Ankara on Sunday
night
The Turkish government has said it could use the army to end nearly
three weeks of unrest by protesters in Istanbul and other cities.
The government would use "all its powers" and the armed forces if
necessary, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on state-run
television.
It is the first time the Islamist-rooted ruling party has raised the
prospect of deploying the armed forces.
The issue is sensitive as the army is seen as a bastion of secularism.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told hundreds of thousands of
supporters at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday that the protesters were
manipulated by "terrorists".
Trade unions have called a strike to protest against the police
crackdown on demonstrators which has seen some 500 people arrested.
Medical officials estimate that 5,000 people have been injured and
at least four killed in the unrest.
The protests began on 28 May against a plan to redevelop Istanbul's
Gezi Park, on the city's central Taksim Square, but it snowballed into
nationwide anti-government protests after the perceived high-handed
response of the authorities under their three-term prime minister.
Gendarmes Mr Arinc told state-run TV that "the innocent demonstrations
that began 20 days ago" had "completely ended".
Any further demonstrations would be "immediately suppressed", he added.
Protest timeline
28 May: Protests begin in Gezi Park over plans to redevelop one of
Istanbul's few green spaces
30-31 May: Police raids on protest camp culminate in mass unrest
3 June: Protesters establish camps with makeshift facilities from
libraries to food centres
4-10 June: Protests widen into show of anti-government dissent in towns
and cities across Turkey; clashes between police and demonstrators
11/12 June: Night of clashes see riot police disperse anti-government
demonstrators in Taksim Square, which adjoins Gezi Park; camps in
the park remain
13 June: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issues a "final warning"
to protesters to leave Gezi Park
14 June: Government agrees to suspend Gezi Park redevelopment plans
until a court rules on the issue, PM holds talks with members of a
key protest group
15 June: Police move in, clearing protesters from Gezi Park
"Our police, our security forces are doing their jobs," he said. "If
it's not enough then the gendarmes will do their jobs. If that's not
enough... we could even use elements of the Turkish armed forces."
The deployment of gendarmes - a military unit under control of the
interior ministry in peacetime - shocked some protesters in Istanbul
this weekend.
In a separate interview, Interior Minister Muammer Guler stressed
that he had not called on the army to help police the protests.
But he argued that the use of the gendarmerie was "quite normal",
the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports.
Bloggers reacted with scepticism to news that the army might be
deployed. "And this coming from the same people who always claim they
liberated Turkish democracy from army intervention," one wrote.
In the capital, Ankara, riot police could be seen facing off with
trade union activists on Monday.
Police officers used megaphones to order workers to stop their march
towards the central Kizilay district, reports Reuters news agency.
"Those of you on the streets must stop blocking the streets," they
said. "Do not be provoked. The police will use force."
Union marches were also being planned for Istanbul, where police
evicted protesters from their camp in Gezi park over the weekend.
The Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) and Confederation
of Progressive Trade Unions (DISK), along with three professional
organisations, announced a one-day work stoppage to demand an end to
"police violence".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22938860
17 June 2013 Last updated at 13:00 GMT
Anti-government protests continued in Istanbul and Ankara on Sunday
night
The Turkish government has said it could use the army to end nearly
three weeks of unrest by protesters in Istanbul and other cities.
The government would use "all its powers" and the armed forces if
necessary, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on state-run
television.
It is the first time the Islamist-rooted ruling party has raised the
prospect of deploying the armed forces.
The issue is sensitive as the army is seen as a bastion of secularism.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told hundreds of thousands of
supporters at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday that the protesters were
manipulated by "terrorists".
Trade unions have called a strike to protest against the police
crackdown on demonstrators which has seen some 500 people arrested.
Medical officials estimate that 5,000 people have been injured and
at least four killed in the unrest.
The protests began on 28 May against a plan to redevelop Istanbul's
Gezi Park, on the city's central Taksim Square, but it snowballed into
nationwide anti-government protests after the perceived high-handed
response of the authorities under their three-term prime minister.
Gendarmes Mr Arinc told state-run TV that "the innocent demonstrations
that began 20 days ago" had "completely ended".
Any further demonstrations would be "immediately suppressed", he added.
Protest timeline
28 May: Protests begin in Gezi Park over plans to redevelop one of
Istanbul's few green spaces
30-31 May: Police raids on protest camp culminate in mass unrest
3 June: Protesters establish camps with makeshift facilities from
libraries to food centres
4-10 June: Protests widen into show of anti-government dissent in towns
and cities across Turkey; clashes between police and demonstrators
11/12 June: Night of clashes see riot police disperse anti-government
demonstrators in Taksim Square, which adjoins Gezi Park; camps in
the park remain
13 June: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issues a "final warning"
to protesters to leave Gezi Park
14 June: Government agrees to suspend Gezi Park redevelopment plans
until a court rules on the issue, PM holds talks with members of a
key protest group
15 June: Police move in, clearing protesters from Gezi Park
"Our police, our security forces are doing their jobs," he said. "If
it's not enough then the gendarmes will do their jobs. If that's not
enough... we could even use elements of the Turkish armed forces."
The deployment of gendarmes - a military unit under control of the
interior ministry in peacetime - shocked some protesters in Istanbul
this weekend.
In a separate interview, Interior Minister Muammer Guler stressed
that he had not called on the army to help police the protests.
But he argued that the use of the gendarmerie was "quite normal",
the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reports.
Bloggers reacted with scepticism to news that the army might be
deployed. "And this coming from the same people who always claim they
liberated Turkish democracy from army intervention," one wrote.
In the capital, Ankara, riot police could be seen facing off with
trade union activists on Monday.
Police officers used megaphones to order workers to stop their march
towards the central Kizilay district, reports Reuters news agency.
"Those of you on the streets must stop blocking the streets," they
said. "Do not be provoked. The police will use force."
Union marches were also being planned for Istanbul, where police
evicted protesters from their camp in Gezi park over the weekend.
The Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) and Confederation
of Progressive Trade Unions (DISK), along with three professional
organisations, announced a one-day work stoppage to demand an end to
"police violence".
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22938860