http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/i-dont-recognize-european-parliament-decision-turkish-pm-erdogan-says.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48730&NewsCatID=338
I don't recognize European Parliament decision, Turkish PM Erdoğan says
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures while addressing lawmakers and supporters of his ruling Justice and Development Party at Parliament, on Tuesday, June 11, 2013. AP Photo
The prime minister said the body’s decisions were not binding for Turkey, which is not an EU member.
Erdoğan’s rage also targeted Stefan Füle, calling him “that one who is responsible of expansion of the union.”
“He did not once give me a counterargument during his time with me, and then he exited the room and tweeted,” Erdoğan said in fury.
Turkey's EU Ministry criticizes EP's statement
Turkey’s European Affairs Ministry also criticized the European Parliament’s attitude, releasing a statement accusing the Parliament of “getting excited in the heat of the moment.”
“Some Parliaments should understand that there is a price for talking so freely and boldly about Turkey’s domestic affairs. They should not be fooled by manipulations and slander and be part of dirty plans both national and international,” the statement said.
“Turkey is a democratic, secular state of law that knows fully how to govern within its own democratic tradition. I hope that they have calculated the price of getting excited in the heat of the moment and target not just our government but the Turkish Republic as well,” the statement added.
The Parliament, shortly after Erdoğan’s angry words, passed a harshly worded proposal against the Turkish government about the recent Gezi protest events.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry responded quickly, calling the decision “of a nature that harms our mutual aims.”
“The decision passed by the Parliament on the ongoing situation in Turkey is of a nature that harms our mutual aims of strengthening and spreading democracy, and one that has no relation to reality. In that sense, it is null and void to us.”
June/13/2013
'Everyone Is Afraid': Erdogan Regime Cows Embattled Media
There are more journalists in prison in Turkey than in any other country. Prime Minister Erdogan tolerates no criticism, and aggressive prosecution of journalists on often questionable charges has fostered an atmosphere of anxiety and self-censorship.
It was mostly angry office workers from Istanbul's Maslak banking district who appeared on Monday, June 3, during their lunch break at the editorial offices of the NTV news channel. "Stop acting as if nothing were happening," they chanted, as they railed against what they called the "bought media." "We can pay you, too," the roughly 3,000 demonstrators shouted, mocking the NTVemployees who had managed to completely ignore the anti-government protests that had already been going on for three days. The protestors had glued Turkish lira bank notes to their banners.
The editors at CNN Türk also fell short of expectations. While CNNInternational showed live images of the dramatic clashes between police and protesters, the Turkish channel aired a documentary about penguins. Many newspapers complied with the de facto news blackout. Whether the journalists were following government instructions or simply suppressing the news in an act of preemptive obedience is still unclear.
I heard on the news last night that two Canadian journalists with the CBC were arrested in Istanbul yesterday...and their fate remains unknown. This is another story from the German website spiegel.de...and I thank Roy Stephens for sending it along late yesterday morning.
World From Berlin: Turks 'Have Simply Had Enough'
With his efforts to quash the protest movement on Taksim Square in Istanbul on Tuesday, German editorialists fear Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has become an "autocrat." Some argue he is threatening his country's very future.
Istanbul's most important square was clouded in tear gas and drenched by water cannons as police moved to clear it of protesters on Tuesday, escalating tensions that have been brewing since demonstrators began camping out at the site two weeks ago. Dozens of injuries have been reported by demonstrators.
By Wednesday morning, only police and bulldozers could be seen on Taksim Square, and barricades and debris from the protests had already been cleared away. Although local officials had assured they didn't want to clear the protest camp at Gezi Park, activists claimed police surrounded it and pelted it with tear gas canisters during the night. Hundreds remain camped out in the park.
The German press tees off against Turkish P.M. Erdogan in this short spiegel.depiece from yesterday afternoon Europe time...and it's courtesy of Roy Stephens.
Turkey's Gamble: Crackdown Threatens E.U. Accession Talks
The crackdown against protesters in Istanbul by the Turkish government creates a dilemma for the EU. The Europeans don't want to tolerate violence against demonstrators, but they also don't want to lose Erdogan as a partner.Once again, images of violence in Istanbul have been broadcast to living rooms across Europe. They showed Turkish police advancing on Taksim Square during the night with bulldozers and water cannons. For hours, officers in riot gear engaged in street fighting with protesters. On Wednesday morning, the remnants of those clashes could be seen on the cleared square.
The drastic measures taken by the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have created a dilemma for Turkey's partners in the European Union. Since the escalation of the civil protests at Gezi Park at the end of May, the Europeans have been helplessly observing as events unfold. Besides an appeal or warning here and there, so far there has been no substantial reaction from Brussels, Berlin, Paris or London.
They are worried that the violent excesses in Turkey could destroy progress made in recent months. After years of stalling, diplomats had worked painstakingly to get talks over Turkey's future European Union accession back on track. On June 26, EU foreign ministers had hoped to open a new chapter in accession talks with Turkey for the first time in three years. It would be the 19th of 35 chapters that must be completed before Ankara can join the European club.
This is another article from the spiegel.de website on Wednesday...and it'sworth reading. I thank Roy Stephens for his final contribution to today's column.
Erdoğan's chilling warning: 'these protests will be over in 24 hours'
'We have not responded to punches with punches. From now on security forces will respond differently,' Turkish PM says
Email
Protesters at the entrance to Gezi Park, which Istanbul's governor has ordered them to clear for their own safety. Photograph: Sedat Suna/EPA
Turkey's prime minister defied a growing wave of international criticism on Wednesday and issued a chilling warning to the protesters who have captured central Istanbul for a fortnight, declaring that the demonstrations against his rule would be over within 24 hours.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's ultimatum, which he said was conveyed to his police chief and interior minister, ratcheted up the tension in Turkey after a relatively calm day following the mass teargas attacks by riot police in Istanbul city centre on Tuesday evening.
"We have not responded to punches with punches. From now on security forces will respond differently," Erdoğan said after meeting a team said to be representing the protesters for the first time. "This issue will be over in 24 hours."
The sense of a looming denouement at Gezi Park off Taksim Square in central Istanbul was reinforced when a deputy leader of Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) said the park had to be cleared of demonstrators as soon as possible.
Thousands of protesters again gathered at the park yesterday, with phalanxes of riot police marshalling nearby.
The ruling party's deputy chairman and government Hüseyin Çelik added that a city-wide referendum could be held on the initial issue that sparked the wave of national protest – whether the park should be demolished to make way for a shopping mall and a replica of an old military barracks.
The belligerent statement, contrasting with more conciliatory language from President Abdullah Gül, who urged dialogue with legitimate peaceful protesters, the vast majority of the tens of thousands who have taken to the streets over the past two weeks.
The sense of a final showdown was reinforced by Istanbul's governor, Hüseyin Avni Mutlu, who ordered the protesters to clear the park for their own "safety".
"Families should take their children out of there," he warned.
Protest leaders in the park, however, pledged to stay put as around 1,000 lawyers also took to the streets in an unusual escalation of the demonstrations to complain about the detention of 45 of their colleagues on Tuesday and to voice solidarity with the "resistance".
Activist Tekin Deniz said of the talks in Ankara: "This delegation is made up by the prime minister, it does not represent any of us. These meetings are a joke."
The umbrella group behind the protest uniting dozens of trade and professional associations, Taksim Solidarity, denounced the talks with the prime minister in Ankara as illegitimate.
"No meeting, while the police violence disregarding right to life so relentlessly continues in and around the Gezi Park, will produce results," it said. "We are waiting for you in Gezi Park. We are here and we are not leaving."
In the strongest criticism yet of Erdoğan's hard line, the European Unioncontradicted the prime minister and voiced support for the protesters, saying they had been largely peaceful and subject to indiscriminate violence from riot police. It demanded an investigation of the extreme reaction, and called on Erdogan to cancel big rallies of his Justice and Development party (AKP) scheduled for the coming weekend.
"There is a real polarisation of opinion. Major AKP rallies in Istanbul and Ankara this weekend would risk adding to the tension when we need to see a de-escalation," said Catherine Ashton, the EU's foreign policy chief.
Guido Westerwelle, the German foreign minister, added:
"We expect Prime Minister Erdoğan to de-escalate the situation and to seek a constructive exchange and peaceful dialogue."
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/tv-watchdog-fines-live-streaming-of-gezi-protests-for-harming-development-of-children-youth-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48655&NewsCatID=341
TV watchdog fines live streaming of Gezi protests for ‘harming development of children, youth’
The Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) has fined a number of channels for 'harming the physical, moral and mental development of children and young people.' DAILY NEWS photo / Selahattin SÖNMEZ
Ulusal TV, Cem TV and EM TV were also among the fined networks.
Halk TV, in particular, has gained unexpected popularity over its 24-hour live streaming of events around Istanbul, at a time when many mainstream media outlets gave little coverage to the ongoing protests.
The channel had been previously warned by RTÜK about a video clip the regulator deemed to be humiliating to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Although it does not have an organic link with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the station is known to have been financially supported by the CHP during the leadership of Deniz Baykal.
After being elected the new leader in May 2010, current CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlureportedly cut financial support to the channel, which is known for its antigovernment broadcasts.
June/12/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkeys-occupied-taksim-starts-calm-new-day-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=48658&NewsCatID=341
Turkey’s ‘occupied’ Taksim starts calm new day
Istanbul’s Taksim Square and Gezi Park started a calm day on the 16th day of unrest shaking Turkey. DHA photo
Istanbul Gov. Hüseyin Avni Mutlu and Istanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın visited the square last night after the police took partial control following a harsh crackdown on protesters two times that day.
The police officers played football in the square as protestors built new barricades to protect the remaining occupation area in Gezi Park, Anatolia news agency reported.
Dozens of police officers stood guard near the Atatürk Cultural Center and around theAtatürk statue.
Mutlu posted on Twitter that he was on duty in the square and extended his gratitude to police officers.
Then Mutlu participated in a live interview with CNNTürk from the square and called on “parents” to take their children back home.
June/12/2013
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ruling-akp-spokesperson-condemns-cnn-and-bbc-reporting-of-gezi-park-protests.aspx?PageID=238&NID=48651&NewsCatID=338
Ruling AKP spokesperson condemns CNN and BBC reporting of Gezi Park protests
AKP Spokesperson Hüseyin Çelik said that it was possible to organize a referandum in the Beyoğlu district that comprises the Taksim area, or even in Istanbul for determining Gezi Park’s faith. DHA photo
“CNN International and BBC have shown [the protests] as if there were hundreds of funerals. [Syrian President] Bashar al-Assad is slaughtering his people, but there is no coverage on Syria,” Çelik, who is also AKP’s deputy head responsible for media issues, told private broadcaster NTV late on June 11.
Çelik also called on protesters to stop their demonstrations before things become “unpleasant.” “Leave [Taksim Square] and end it. Don’t play into the hands of the illegal organizations,” he said, adding that the demands of the Taksim Solidarity Platform that met Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç last week were extreme.
“Anyone can speak with us but this government won’t surrender to these excessive demands. It will also not accept those who choose violence as counterparts,” he said.
Çelik also mentioned that a referendum can be organized in the Beyoğlu district that comprises the Taksim area, or even in Istanbul for determining Gezi Park’s faith.
Çelik said that what was happening in Taksim was an attempt to prevent Turkey from becoming stronger after a month of May full of achievements, from the start of the withdrawal of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants to the laying of the foundations of Istanbul’s third bridge. “Turkey is at the point of takeoff, so some people are trying to trip it up. We have seen these films and these scenarios a lot.”
He also said the continuation of the protests would only result with the consolidation of the AKP’s voter base.
Çelik also did not give any details on who would represent the protesters in a meeting with the prime minister on June 12. Taksim Platform members have said they have not been contacted by officials and did not know who would take part in the delegation representing the demonstrators.
June/12/2013
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-318048-erdogan-convenes-party-administration-ahead-of-meeting-with-protesters.html
Erdoğan convenes party administration ahead of meeting with protesters
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addresses members of Parliament from his ruling AK Party during a meeting at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara on June 11, 2013. (Photo: Reuters, Ümit Bektaş)
12 June 2013 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday convened the Central Executive Board (MYK) of his party to discuss the ongoing protests that started two weeks ago in İstanbul.
The MYK meeting comes hours before Erdoğan -- who has struck an openly disdainful tone in reference to the protests -- is scheduled to meet with 11 protesters to discuss their demands. Interior Minister Muammer Güler, Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik, Environment and Urban Planning Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik will accompany Erdoğan at the meeting.
It was unclear exactly who would be taking part in the meeting scheduled for 4 p.m. at Erdoğan's office in Ankara, and whether they will have any impact in brokering an end to the protests.
Activists had doubts about the talks' legitimacy: Only an actor and a singer -- with unclear connections to the protesters -- had agreed to take part, and some leaders of civil society groups, including Greenpeace, had previously said they would not participate because of an "environment of violence."
A peaceful demonstration against the government's plan to redevelop İstanbul's Gezi Park that began more than two weeks ago has grown into the biggest test of Erdoğan's authority, sparked by outrage over a violent police crackdown on May 31 against a peaceful sit-in in the park.
The unrest has spread to 78 cities across the country, with protesters championing their objections to what they call the prime minister's increasingly authoritarian leadership and attempts to impose a religious and conservative lifestyle on a country with secular laws -- charges he rejects.
President Abdullah Gül, seen by many as a more moderate voice, said the government could not stand more unrest that had disrupted daily life for nearly two weeks, but authorities would listen to protesters' grievances.
"I am hopeful that we will surmount this through democratic maturity," Gül told reporters. "If they have objections, we need to hear them, enter into a dialogue. It is our duty to lend them an ear."
Gül also lashed out at foreign media, as international investors have been concerned about how the disturbances could affect Turkey's fast-growing economy -- prompting a double-digit percentage drop in the main stock index.
Clashes in İstanbul extend into night in Taksim, police clear square
Police intervened in protests using water cannon and tear gas in Taksim Square on Tuesday night. (Photo: Today’s Zaman, Selahattin Sevi)
12 June 2013 /AP, İSTANBUL
Riot police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets in day-long clashes that lasted into the early hours Wednesday, battling protesters who have been occupying İstanbul's central Taksim Square and its adjacent Gezi Park in the country's most severe anti-government protests in decades.
Throughout the protests, Erdoğan has maintained a defiant tone, insisting he would not be bowed by what he described as a vocal minority. On Tuesday, as police clashed with protesters in Taksim, he insisted again that the unrest was part of a conspiracy against his government.
The demonstrators, he said, " are being used by some financial institutions, the interest rate lobby and media groups to (harm) Turkey's economy and (scare away) investments."
A peaceful demonstration against the park's redevelopment that began more than two weeks ago has grown into the biggest test of Erdoğan's authority, sparked by outrage over a violent police crackdown on May 31 against a peaceful sit-in in the park.
The unrest has spread to 78 cities across the country, with protesters championing their objections to what they say is the prime minister's increasingly authoritarian style and his perceived attempts to impose a religious and conservative lifestyle on a country with secular laws - charges he rejects.
Four people have been killed, including a policeman, and about 5,000 have been treated for injuries or the effects of tear gas, according to the Turkish Human Rights Foundation.
Thousands of police moved in early Tuesday, pushing past improvised barricades set up by the protesters who have swarmed through the massive square and park in the tens of thousands for the past 12 days.
Police fired repeated rounds of tear gas that rose in stinging plumes of acrid smoke from the square in running battles with groups of protesters hurling fireworks, bottles, rocks and firebombs in a cat-and-mouse game that lasted through the day and into the night.
More than 30,000 converged on the square again as dusk fell and were repelled by water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas after İstanbul's governor, Hüseyin Avni Mutlu, said the police came under attack from "marginal groups."
By the early hours of Wednesday, cleanup crews had moved into Taksim Square, clearing the debris and dismantling the makeshift shelters the protesters had set up.
Protesters set up barricades of metal railings and smashed vehicles at the edge of the square leading into Gezi Park, where hundreds returned despite repeated rounds of tear gas being fired into their midst. Fearing injury, many protesters scrawled their blood type on their forearms with marker pens.
The area reverberated with the echoes of exploding tear gas canisters into the night, while volunteers ferried the injured to waiting ambulances.
Gezi Park, with its thousands of camped-out demonstrators young and old, has become the symbol of the protests. Both the governor and the police initially promised that only Taksim Square would be cleared, not the park.
But late into the night, the governor indicated a more muscular police sweep was imminent.
"We will open the square when everything normalizes in the area, and our security forces completely control the area," Mutlu told A Haber news channel. "Our children who stay at Gezi Park are at risk, because we will clean the area of the marginal groups," he said, referring to what the government has said are troublemakers among the protesters.
"We won't allow our government to be seen as weak."
In the capital, Ankara, police fired water cannon and tear gas to disperse several hundred protesters - some throwing stones - who gathered in sympathy with their İstanbul counterparts. In the early hours of Wednesday, police moved in to Kugulu Park where protesters had been camping. They made dozens of protesters pack up their tents, and arguments broke out with those unwilling to move.
Tuesday's clashes came a day after Taksim saw its smallest gathering since the demonstrations began. The government had said Erdoğan would meet with some of those occupying the park on Wednesday to hear their views.
Erdoğan, a devout Muslim, says he is committed to Turkey's secular laws and denies charges of an authoritarian manner. As he defended his tough stance, he gave critics little hope of a shift in his position.
"Were we supposed to kneel before them and say, 'Please remove your pieces of rags?'" he asked, referring to the dozens of banners and flags the protesters had festooned in the square. "They can call me harsh, but this Tayyip Erdoğan won't change."
Confident of his position of power after winning the last elections in 2011 with 50 percent of the vote, Erdoğan has insisted he will prevail. He made it clear that he has come to the end of his patience with the protesters, whom he accused of sullying Turkey's image abroad and being vandals and troublemakers.
"To those who ... are at Taksim and elsewhere taking part in the demonstrations with sincere feelings: I call on you to leave those places and to end these incidents and I send you my love. But for those who want to continue with the incidents I say: 'It's over.' As of now we have no tolerance for them."
"Not only will we end the actions, we will be at the necks of the provocateurs and terrorists, and no one will get away with it," he added.
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