ISTANBUL/ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday his patience had run out after almost two weeks of anti-government protests and gave a final warning to those occupying a central Istanbul park to leave.
In a speech at a meeting of his Justice and Development (AK) Party, Erdogan struck back at criticism from the European Parliament over the ferocity of a police crackdown and accused some international media of exaggerated reporting.
“Our patience is at an end. I am making my warning for the last time. I say to the mothers and fathers please take your children in hand and bring them out ... Gezi Park does not belong to occupying forces but to the people,” he said.
A heavy-handed police crackdown on Gezi Park nearly two weeks ago triggered an unprecedented wave of protest against Erdogan and his AK Party — an association of centrists and conservative religious elements — drawing in secularists, nationalists, professionals, unionists and students.
Erdogan, who has accused foreign forces, international media and market speculators of stoking the unrest and trying to undermine the Turkish economy, said he would “share with the nation” at another AKP meeting on Friday details of what he termed a “game being played with Turkey.”
“It is as if the whole of Turkey is on fire, as if the whole of Turkey is collapsing,” he said of some media coverage, describing it as “deceptive and unethical.”
Riot police looked on from the fringes of Taksim Square, the epicenter of the protests, overnight as crowds mingled, some chanting and dancing, others applauding a concert pianist who took up residence with a grand piano on the square.
It was a contrast to the scene 24 hours earlier, when tear gas sent thousands scurrying into side streets before authorities bulldozed barricades and reopened the square to traffic for the first time since the troubles began.
Police fired tear gas and water cannon day after day in cities including Ankara last week while youths threw stones and petrol bombs. Three people, one a policeman, died and about 5,000 thousand people were injured, according to the Turkish Medical Association.
Erdogan met a group of academics, artists and students who support the Gezi Park protests on Wednesday and AK Party deputy chairman Huseyin Celik said they had discussed the possibility of a referendum on the plans to build on the park.
The offer is one of the only concessions the authorities have publicly floated after days of firm rhetoric from Erdogan refusing to back down. Celik gave few details of how a referendum would be carried out, saying it could either be held across Istanbul, or just in the district near Taksim.
The protesters in Gezi Park, camped out in a ramshackle settlement of tents, were skeptical.
“The people the prime minister spoke to he chose. He said they will be the ones representing us. But they don’t represent us. They have nothing to do with what we think,” said Aylin Kaplan, 24, a student who has been in the park from the start.
“From the beginning we have said we have specific requests, we have been clear and open. We do not need a referendum,” she said, repeating the main demand that the government abandon plans to build a replica Ottoman-era barracks on the park.
President Abdullah Gul, who has struck a more conciliatory tone than Erdogan, said he had also privately met with some protesters. He has said the government should engage its critics, but appeared to close ranks with the prime minister on Wednesday, saying violent protests were a different matter.
“Yesterday’s meeting was important. I have also met with those who are protesting ... I have had meetings without telling the press,” he said. “It is very important to listen first. A middle way has to be found.”
EUROPEAN WARNING
Erdogan’s tough talk has endeared him to voters for the past decade, but his opponents say it has now poured fuel on the flames. On Tuesday he said he would not kneel before the protesters and that “this Tayyip Erdogan won’t change.”
The United States, which has held up Erdogan’s Turkey in the past as an example of Muslim democracy that could benefit other countries in the Middle East, expressed concern about events and urged dialogue between government and protesters.
The European Parliament on Thursday warned the government against the use of “harsh measures” against peaceful protesters and urged Erdogan to take a “unifying and conciliatory” stance.
In a resolution adopted in Strasbourg, the European Parliament expressed its deep concern “at the disproportionate and excessive use of force by Turkish police to break up peaceful and legitimate protests in Istanbul’s Gezi Park.”
The lawmakers also said they believed that the wave of protests reflected the growing discontent that minority voices lack representation.
Erdogan argues that the broader mass of people have been manipulated by extremists and terrorists and says his political authority derives from his popular mandate in three successive election victories.
Turkey has been locked in protracted negotiations over EU membership since 2005 and Erdogan slammed the resolution.
“How can you take this kind of a decision about Turkey which isn’t even an EU member but a candidate,” he said.
“You should know your place.”
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Turkey’s Erdogan says patience run out with protesters
Turkey’s Erdogan says patience run out with protesters
Why did Xi hold back-to-back calls with Putin, Trump?
BEIJING: China’s leader Xi Jinping held back-to-back calls with Russia’s Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump this week, timing analysts said on Thursday was rare and significant as Beijing positions itself as a stable global power.
Here is what to know about the talks:
Why on the same day?
Xi’s video call with Putin on Wednesday afternoon was followed just hours later by a phone call with Trump.
“The timing of the call is rare and interesting. It is not common for Xi to have two calls with Putin and Trump,” George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group wrote in an online commentary.
Xi and Putin spoke for 1.5 hours, according to the Kremlin’s foreign policy aide, while Trump said they had a “long and thorough” conversation.
“It does demonstrate that Xi can hold court and easily pick up the phone to speak with the two ‘strong’ leaders of the world,” said Dylan Loh, an associate professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
Russia and the United States are two of the “most consequential” countries to China, Loh said, though he cautioned that the timing could have been “a simple scheduling issue.”
What was discussed?
Trump said he and Xi discussed trade, Russia’s war in Ukraine and Iran.
He also said that China had committed to increasing soybean purchases from the United States to 20 million tons in the current season.
The call confirmed that “in spite of what’s happened around the world, there is going to be a short-term tactical stabilization of US-China relations,” Loh said.
The purchase of soybeans, he said, is a “low-hanging fruit.”
On Taiwan, however, Xi warned Washington to exercise caution in arms sales to the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own territory and has vowed to retake by force if necessary.
Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP that “we don’t worry too much about this whole telephone communication.”
“In fact, we believe that it will contribute to stabilize the situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Xi and Putin hailed the strengthening of Chinese-Russian ties as they try to present a united front against the West.
The two countries have drawn closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which left Moscow diplomatically isolated.
The calls took place as Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators met in Abu Dhabi for a new round of talks on ending the almost four-year war.
Putin and Xi discussed their “opinions” on the United States, and “special attention was given to the tense situation in Iran,” the Kremlin said.
How important were the talks?
Xi is seeking to position himself as equidistant from Putin and Trump, Ho said.
“China is trying to seek international maneuver space to ensure that whatever happens globally, it does not get fenced into a corner,” he told AFP.
Domestically, China is reeling from a recent corruption probe into Zhang Youxia, a top military general in the People’s Liberation Army, which sent shockwaves through defense observers.
Analysts said that while Zhang’s investigation would likely not have been discussed with Putin and Trump, the timing of the calls could be a way for Xi to project confidence domestically.
Faced with uncertain and fragile domestic conditions, the “two-timing” calls were “probably for domestic posturing to demonstrate Xi’s political standing in the global theater,” Ho said.
What do the calls mean for ties?
Putin accepted invitations during the call to visit China in the first half of 2026, according to the Kremlin, while Trump said he was looking forward to his previously announced trip to Beijing in April.
Putin will also attend the APEC regional summit hosted by Xi in November.
The calls follow a slew of recent meetings between Xi and various leaders, as he seeks to present China as a stable alternative to Washington.
Some analysts cautioned that China-Russia relations “are not ironclad” while both Beijing and the mercurial Trump administration could yet make unattainable demands of each other.
Neither the US nor China will fully commit to Russia, as “both are primarily focused on stabilising their bilateral relationship,” said Yue Su at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“Meaningful Chinese cooperation would likely require a very attractive deal from the US in exchange.”
Here is what to know about the talks:
Why on the same day?
Xi’s video call with Putin on Wednesday afternoon was followed just hours later by a phone call with Trump.
“The timing of the call is rare and interesting. It is not common for Xi to have two calls with Putin and Trump,” George Chen, a partner at The Asia Group wrote in an online commentary.
Xi and Putin spoke for 1.5 hours, according to the Kremlin’s foreign policy aide, while Trump said they had a “long and thorough” conversation.
“It does demonstrate that Xi can hold court and easily pick up the phone to speak with the two ‘strong’ leaders of the world,” said Dylan Loh, an associate professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.
Russia and the United States are two of the “most consequential” countries to China, Loh said, though he cautioned that the timing could have been “a simple scheduling issue.”
What was discussed?
Trump said he and Xi discussed trade, Russia’s war in Ukraine and Iran.
He also said that China had committed to increasing soybean purchases from the United States to 20 million tons in the current season.
The call confirmed that “in spite of what’s happened around the world, there is going to be a short-term tactical stabilization of US-China relations,” Loh said.
The purchase of soybeans, he said, is a “low-hanging fruit.”
On Taiwan, however, Xi warned Washington to exercise caution in arms sales to the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own territory and has vowed to retake by force if necessary.
Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Chen Ming-chi told AFP that “we don’t worry too much about this whole telephone communication.”
“In fact, we believe that it will contribute to stabilize the situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Xi and Putin hailed the strengthening of Chinese-Russian ties as they try to present a united front against the West.
The two countries have drawn closer since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which left Moscow diplomatically isolated.
The calls took place as Russian, Ukrainian and US negotiators met in Abu Dhabi for a new round of talks on ending the almost four-year war.
Putin and Xi discussed their “opinions” on the United States, and “special attention was given to the tense situation in Iran,” the Kremlin said.
How important were the talks?
Xi is seeking to position himself as equidistant from Putin and Trump, Ho said.
“China is trying to seek international maneuver space to ensure that whatever happens globally, it does not get fenced into a corner,” he told AFP.
Domestically, China is reeling from a recent corruption probe into Zhang Youxia, a top military general in the People’s Liberation Army, which sent shockwaves through defense observers.
Analysts said that while Zhang’s investigation would likely not have been discussed with Putin and Trump, the timing of the calls could be a way for Xi to project confidence domestically.
Faced with uncertain and fragile domestic conditions, the “two-timing” calls were “probably for domestic posturing to demonstrate Xi’s political standing in the global theater,” Ho said.
What do the calls mean for ties?
Putin accepted invitations during the call to visit China in the first half of 2026, according to the Kremlin, while Trump said he was looking forward to his previously announced trip to Beijing in April.
Putin will also attend the APEC regional summit hosted by Xi in November.
The calls follow a slew of recent meetings between Xi and various leaders, as he seeks to present China as a stable alternative to Washington.
Some analysts cautioned that China-Russia relations “are not ironclad” while both Beijing and the mercurial Trump administration could yet make unattainable demands of each other.
Neither the US nor China will fully commit to Russia, as “both are primarily focused on stabilising their bilateral relationship,” said Yue Su at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
“Meaningful Chinese cooperation would likely require a very attractive deal from the US in exchange.”
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