ISTANBUL, Turkey (CNN) — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed protesters Sunday, the tenth day of demonstrations against his government, warning that “even patience has an end.” 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 [...] → Read the full article…
President Abdullah Gül has approved the controversial bill restricting the sale and advertising of alcohol, Anatolia news agency reported June 10. The 15 day limit allocated for the president’s decision was set to end as of June 11. “If I see constitutional problems [in the bill], I will do what’s necessary,” Gül had told the Confederation of Turkish Craftsmen and [...] → Read the full article…
Famous actor Memet Ali Alabora has said he is being threatened by unknown people over his support for the Gezi Park protests, after a Turkish daily showed him as one of the leading figures of “a plan to topple the Turkish Government.” Daily Yeni Şafak claimed on June 10 that a theatre play called “Mi Minor,” allegedly supported by an [...] → Read the full article…
Six Turkish policemen have committed suicide since the Gezi Park protests started, according the police union Emniyet-Sen head Faruk Sezer. Police forces have been targeted by heavy criticism over their excessive use of force and practices of brutality amid clashes, but Sezer claimed the forces too have been suffering extensively by being forced to work under severe conditions. Policemen who [...] → Read the full article…
In a series of increasingly belligerent speeches to cheering supporters Sunday, Turkey’s prime minister demanded an end to the 10-day anti-government protests that have spread across the country, saying those who do not respect the government will pay. Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his patience was running out with the protesters, who have occupied Istanbul’s main Taksim Square for more than [...] → Read the full article…
Tens of thousands of Turks mass again in Taksim Square, where activists have been sleeping in tents and buses Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdoğan’s AK party has ruled out early elections as tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators defied his call for an immediate end to protests. Hüseyin Çelik, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development (AK) party founded by [...] → Read the full article…
ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s prime minister convened his party leadership on Saturday to discuss anti-government protests that have entered their ninth day, as an opposition party leader urged the government to call early elections and renew its mandate. With thousands of people still occupying Istanbul’s central Taksim Square, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, met with top officials from his Justice and Development [...] → Read the full article…
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has decided June 8 to hold two mass rallies as a response to the protests that spread all across the country over the demolition of Gezi Park at the heart of Istanbul. Following a meeting of the party’s Central Decision and Executive Council (MKYK) in Istanbul June 8, two “unity and solidarity” rallies [...] → Read the full article…
Tens of thousands filled Taksim Square June 8 a week after the police’s withdrawal from Gezi Park to hold one of the biggest demonstrations since the beginning of the protests. The ultras of two irreconcilable football clubs of Istanbul – Beşiktaşand Fenerbahçe – had called on supporters to join the demonstration and stood in the forefront of the massive protest. Fans of Galatasaray and other [...] → Read the full article…
(Reuters) – Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party on Saturday ruled out early elections as thousands of anti-government demonstrators defied his call for an immediate end to protests. Huseyin Celik, deputy chairman of the Justice and Development (AK) Party founded by Erdogan just over a decade ago, said local and presidential elections would be held next year as planned, [...] → Read the full article…