Erdogan rejects 'dictator' claims

GOD Almighty Say in the HOLY 'QURAN: 'No Reward Do I Ask Of You For It: MY REWARD IS ONLY FROM THE LORD OF THE UNIVERSE'. (QS 26:109)

Erdogan rejects 'dictator' claims

by MrLVtrade | Suara Rakyat@1WORLDCommunity

(Tinjauan 1WC'sChannel 2013) Photo: AP gelombang demonstrasi bendera kebangsaan sebagai pertembungan penunjuk perasaan Turki dengan polis rusuhan berhampiran bekas istana Uthmaniyyah, Dolmabahce, di mana Perdana Menteri Turki Recep Tayyip Erdogan mengekalkan pejabat di Istanbul, Turki. Protes di Istanbul, Ankara dan beberapa bandar-bandar Turki nampaknya telah reda Ahad, selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan. 

(REVIEW 1WC'sChannel 2013) Photo: AP A demonstrator waves a national flag as Turkish protesters clash with riot police near the former Ottoman palace, Dolmabahce, where Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains an office in Istanbul, Turkey. Protests in Istanbul, Ankara and several other Turkish cities appear to have subsided Sunday, after days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP penunjuk perasaan berdiri di atas sebuah kereta dimusnahkan semasa perhimpunan di dataran Taskim di Istanbul awal Ahad 2 Jun, 2013. Kemarahan orang ramai telah dibakar di kalangan orang bandar Turki dan sekular selepas polis ganas berpecah satu perkembangan anti-‘sit-in’ di dalam mercu tanda Taksim Square, dengan protes merebak ke berpuluh-puluh bandar-bandar lain seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan .

Photo: AP A protester stands atop of a destroyed car during a rally at the Taskim square in Istanbul early Sunday, June 2, 2013. Public anger has flared among urban and secular Turks after police violently broke up an anti-development sit-in in the landmark Taksim Square, with protests spreading to dozens of other cities as demonstrators denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP Penunjuk perasaan melihat sebuah kereta dimusnahkan semasa perhimpunan di dataran Taskim di Istanbul awal Ahad JUN 2, 2013. Kemarahan orang ramai telah dibakar di kalangan orang Turki bandar dan sekular selepas polis ganas berpecah satu perkembangan anti ‘sit-in’ di dalam mercu tanda Taksim Square, dengan protes merebak ke berpuluh-puluh bandar-bandar lain seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan .

Photo: AP Protesters look a destroyed car during a rally at the Taskim square in Istanbul early Sunday, June 2, 2013. Public anger has flared among urban and secular Turks after police violently broke up an anti-development sit-in in the landmark Taksim Square, with protests spreading to dozens of other cities as demonstrators denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP Penunjuk perasaan berkumpul di sekitar api yang ditetapkan oleh mereka semasa perhimpunan di dataran Taskim di Istanbul awal Ahad, 2 Jun, 2013. Kemarahan orang ramai telah dibakar di kalangan orang Turki bandar dan sekular selepas polis ganas berpecah satu perkembangan anti ‘sit-in’ di dalam mercu tanda Taksim Square, dengan protes merebak ke berpuluh-puluh bandar-bandar lain seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan .

Photo: AP Protesters gather around a fire set by them during a rally at the Taskim square in Istanbul early Sunday, June 2, 2013. Public anger has flared among urban and secular Turks after police violently broke up an anti-development sit-in in the landmark Taksim Square, with protests spreading to dozens of other cities as demonstrators denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP penunjuk perasaan Turki berhadapan polis rusuhan berhampiran bekas istana Uthmaniyyah, Dolmabahce, di mana Perdana Menteri Turki Recep Tayyip Erdogan mengekalkan pejabat di Istanbul, Turki, lewat Sabtu, 1 Jun, 2013. Polis Turki berundur dari Istanbul dataran utama Sabtu, menghapuskan sekatan dan membenarkan beribu-ribu penunjuk perasaan dalam usaha untuk meredakan ketegangan selepas marah protes anti-kerajaan bertukar pusat bandar ke dalam medan perang. Satu hari ke-2 protes kebangsaan lebih serbuan polis ganas satu perkembangan anti ‘sit-in’ di dalam persegi Taksim telah mendedahkan kedalaman kemarahan terhadap Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan, yang bangsa Turki, banyak pandangan yang semakin autoritarian dan mengetepikan menentang pandangan.

Photo: AP Turkish protesters confront riot police near the former Ottoman palace, Dolmabahce, where Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains an office in Istanbul, Turkey, late Saturday, June 1, 2013. Turkish police retreated from a main Istanbul square Saturday, removing barricades and allowing in thousands of protesters in a move to calm tensions after furious anti-government protests turned the city center into a battlefield. A second day of national protests over a violent police raid of an anti-development sit-in in Taksim square has revealed the depths of anger against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who many Turks view as increasingly authoritarian and dismissive of opposing views.

Photo: AP penunjuk perasaan cuba untuk menggantung bendera Turki kecil di patung Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, pengasas Republik Turki, semasa perhimpunan di dataran Taskim di Istanbul awal Ahad, 2 Jun, 2013. Kemarahan orang ramai telah dibakar di kalangan orang Turki bandar dan sekular selepas polis ganas berpecah satu perkembangan anti ‘sit-in’ di dalam mercu tanda Taksim Square, dengan protes merebak ke berpuluh-puluh bandar-bandar lain seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan .

Photo: AP A protester tries to hang a small Turkish flag on the statue of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, during a rally at the Taskim square in Istanbul early Sunday, June 2, 2013. Public anger has flared among urban and secular Turks after police violently broke up an anti-development sit-in in the landmark Taksim Square, with protests spreading to dozens of other cities as demonstrators denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP penunjuk perasaan berkumpul untuk hari ke-3 protes di seluruh negara anti-kerajaan di dataran Taskim di Istanbul, Ahad 2 JUN, 2013. Selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo: AP Protesters gather for the third day of nationwide anti-government protest at the Taskim square in Istanbul, Sunday, June 2, 2013. After days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP pertembungan penunjuk perasaan Turki dengan polis rusuhan berhampiran bekas istana Uthmaniyyah, Dolmabahce, di mana Perdana Menteri Turki Recep Tayyip Erdogan mengekalkan pejabat di Istanbul, Turki. Protes di Istanbul, Ankara dan beberapa bandar-bandar Turki nampaknya telah reda Ahad, selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo: AP Turkish protesters clash with riot police near the former Ottoman palace, Dolmabahce, where Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains an office in Istanbul, Turkey. Protests in Istanbul, Ankara and several other Turkish cities appear to have subsided Sunday, after days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP membetulkan HARI Sabtu Dalam foto ini diambil lewat Sabtu 1 Jun, 2013, api rusuhan polis, kerana mereka bertembung dengan penunjuk perasaan, berhampiran bekas istana Uthmaniyyah, Dolmabahce, di mana Perdana Menteri Turki Recep Tayyip Erdogan mengekalkan pejabat di Istanbul, Turki. Protes di Istanbul, Ankara dan beberapa bandar-bandar Turki nampaknya telah reda Ahad, selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo: AP CORRECTS DAY TO SATURDAY In this photo taken late Saturday, June 1, 2013, riot police fire, as they clash with protestors, near the former Ottoman palace, Dolmabahce, where Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains an office in Istanbul, Turkey. Protests in Istanbul, Ankara and several other Turkish cities appear to have subsided Sunday, after days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP Seorang lelaki jam tangan sebagai pertembungan penunjuk perasaan Turki dengan polis rusuhan berhampiran bekas istana Uthmaniyyah, Dolmabahce, di mana Perdana Menteri Turki Recep Tayyip Erdogan mengekalkan pejabat di Istanbul, Turki. Protes di Istanbul, Ankara dan beberapa bandar-bandar Turki nampaknya telah reda Ahad, selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo: AP A man watches as Turkish protesters clash with riot police near the former Ottoman palace, Dolmabahce, where Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan maintains an office in Istanbul, Turkey. Protests in Istanbul, Ankara and several other Turkish cities appear to have subsided Sunday, after days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP penunjuk perasaan Nasionalis memegang bendera Turki kerana mereka berarak di Ankara, awal AHAD, 2 Jun, 2013. Protes di Istanbul, Ankara dan beberapa bandar-bandar Turki nampaknya telah reda Ahad, selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo: AP Nationalist protesters hold a Turkish flag as they march in Ankara, early Sunday, June 2, 2013. Protests in Istanbul, Ankara and several other Turkish cities appear to have subsided Sunday, after days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP Penunjuk perasaan melihat sebuah kereta dimusnahkan semasa perhimpunan di dataran Taskim di Istanbul awal Ahad JUN 2, 2013. Kemarahan orang ramai telah dibakar di kalangan orang bandar Turki dan sekular selepas polis ganas berpecah satu perkembangan anti ‘sit-in’ di dalam mercu tanda Taksim Square, dengan protes merebak ke berpuluh-puluh bandar-bandar lain seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai semakin style autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan .

Photo: AP Protesters look a destroyed car during a rally at the Taskim square in Istanbul early Sunday, June 2, 2013. Public anger has flared among urban and secular Turks after police violently broke up an anti-development sit-in in the landmark Taksim Square, with protests spreading to dozens of other cities as demonstrators denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP penunjuk perasaan menimbulkan perisai polis, membaca ‘Killer’ semasa hari ke-3 protes anti-kerajaan di seluruh negara di dataran Taskim di Istanbul, Ahad, 2 Jun, 2013. Selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai semakin gaya autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo: AP A protester raises a police shield, reading ''Killer'' during the third day of nationwide anti-government protest at the Taskim square in Istanbul, Sunday, June 2, 2013. After days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP Seorang wanita Turki meliputi mulut dan hidung beliau untuk melindungi diri daripada sisa gas pemedih mata yang digunakan oleh pasukan keselamatan terhadap penunjuk perasaan, di ibu negara Turki, Ankara, Ahad Jun 2, 2013. Protes di Istanbul, Ankara dan beberapa bandar-bandar Turki nampaknya telah reda Ahad, selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo: AP A Turkish woman covers her mouth and nose to protect herself from the remnant of tear gas used by security forces against protesters, in the Turkish capital, Ankara, Sunday, June 2, 2013. Protests in Istanbul, Ankara and several other Turkish cities appear to have subsided Sunday, after days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

Photo: AP Seorang budak lelaki di atas bahu seorang lelaki yang memakai topeng kerana beliau mengibar bendera Turki pada hari ke-3 negara protes anti-kerajaan, di dataran Taskim di Istanbul, Ahad JUN 2, 2013. Selepas hari pertempuran sengit berikutan tindakan keras polis pada perhimpunan aman seperti penunjuk perasaan mengecam apa yang mereka lihat sebagai gaya semakin autoritarian Perdana Menteri Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Photo: AP A boy on a man's shoulders wears a mask as he waves a Turkish flag during the third day of nationwide anti-government protests, at the Taskim square in Istanbul, Sunday, June 2, 2013. After days of fierce clashes following a police crackdown on a peaceful gathering as protesters denounced what they see as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's increasingly authoritarian style.

(REVIEW/Tinjauan 1WC’Channel 2013) ISTANBUL (AP) - Turkey's prime minister on Sunday rejected claims that he is a "dictator," dismissing protesters as an extremist fringe, even as thousands returned to the landmark Istanbul square that has become the site of the fiercest anti-government outburst in years.

Over the past three days, protesters around the country have unleashed pent-up resentment against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who after 10 years in office many Turks see as an uncompromising figure with undue influence in every part of life.

A huge, exuberant protest in Taksim Square subsided overnight, but an estimated 10,000 people again streamed into the area on Sunday, many waving flags, chanting "victory, victory, victory" and calling on Erdogan's government to resign.

About 7,000 people took part in protests in Ankara, the capital, that turned violent on Sunday, with demonstrators throwing fire bombs and police firing tear gas. Scores of protesters were detained. Some protesters have compared Erdogan to a sultan and denounced him as a dictator. Scrambling to show he was unbowed and appealing to a large base of conservative Turks who support him, Erdogan delivered two speeches on Sunday and appeared in a television interview.

With Turkish media otherwise giving scant reports about the protests, many turned to social media outlets for information on the unrest. "There is now a menace which is called Twitter," Erdogan said. "The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society."

Under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey has boosted economic growth and raised its international profile. But he has been a divisive figure at home, with his government recently passing legislation curbing the sale of alcohol and taking a strong stand against the Syrian regime that some believe has put security at risk.

The White House on Sunday night called for all parties in Turkey to "calm the situation." In a statement, spokeswoman Laura Lucas said the U.S. believes peaceful public demonstrations "are a part of democratic expression." And she said Turkey's long-term stability is best guaranteed by upholding "the fundamental freedoms of expression, assembly and association."

The White House statement in particular called on security forces in Turkey to "exercise restraint." The demonstrations were ignited on Friday by a violent police crackdown on a peaceful sit-in to prevent the uprooting of trees at Taksim Square in Istanbul and have since spread around the country. The Turkish Doctors Association said the three days of demonstrations have left 1,000 people injured in Istanbul and 700 in Ankara.

Sunday's violence occurred in Ankara when the protesters tried to march toward Erdogan's office from the city's main square. A group of youths formed a barricade and hurled fire bombs or threw back gas canisters at police.

An Associated Press reporter saw at least eight injured people being carried away, and police appeared to directly target journalists with tear gas. The state-run Anadolu Agency said 200 demonstrators were detained.

In Istanbul's Taksim Square on Sunday, dozens of people climbed on the roof of a cultural center that Erdogan says will be demolished and turned into an opera hall. A banner reading "Don't yield" was hung from the building.

"If they call someone who has served the people a 'dictator,' I have nothing to say," Erdogan said in an address to a group representing migrants from the Balkans. "My only concern has been to serve my country."

In another speech delivered an hour later, Erdogan said: "I am not the master of the people. Dictatorship does not run in my blood or in my character. I am the servant of the people." Police and protesters also clashed violently on Friday and Saturday. Clouds of tear gas overwhelmed Istanbul's normally touristy city center.

Interior Minister Muammer Guler said some 1,750 people had been detained since Tuesday, but most had since been released. Erdogan called the protests "ideological" and manipulated by an opposition "unable to beat (the government) at the ballot box." He said 89 police vehicles, 42 private cars, four buses and 94 businesses were destroyed by the "vandalism" of the past two days.

Alluding to his party's strong base, Erdogan said he had the power to summon much larger numbers of his supporters at rallies. "Our supporters are calling and saying 'are we going to stay silent?' but I am urging calm," he said in an interview with Haberturk television.

Erdogan reiterated that his government would not back away from plans to uproot trees at Taksim as part of his urban renovation plans for the area. In a statement that could cause more controversy, he also declared that a mosque would be built at Taksim.

The mosque plans have long been contentious because it would further shrink the green spaces in Istanbul's city center. Some argue that there are already plenty of mosques around Taksim. "I am not going to seek the permission of the (the opposition) or a handful of looters," Erdogan said.

He also defended his government's environmental record, saying it had planted two billion trees and built 160 parks since coming to office in 2002. In Berlin, meanwhile, about 500 people staged a peaceful solidarity protest outside the Turkish Embassy.

"The people are finally standing up, speaking up and fighting for their rights," said Hakan Tas, a deputy for the Left Party in Berlin's local assembly, who took part in the protest. In Greece's second largest city, Thessaloniki, 1,000 people, many of them Turkish students, marched peacefully to the Turkish consulate, shouting slogans against Erdogan. Police blocked them from reaching the building.

Fraser, Burhan Ozbilici and Ezgi Akin reported from Ankara. Frank Jordans in Berlin, and Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki, Greece, contributed.