Turkish PM Demands Immediate End to Protests

Insists Rallies Against His Rule 'Border on Illegality'

With the demonstrations growing and moving into their second week, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to angrily rail against the notion of protesting in general, and has demanded an immediate end to all protests in the nation.

“These protests that are bordering on illegality must come to an end as of now,” Erdogan said, a statement punctuated by pro-government forces demanding to be sent into the streets to “smash” the demonstrations against Erdogan’s increasingly autocratic rule.

Erdogan has repeatedly referred to the demonstrators as “terrorists” and insists that they will face a reckoning for their roles in what initially began as an environmentalist protest against tearing down a park in Istanbul.

The small protest could’ve been the beginning and the end of things, but brutal police crackdowns, which have wounded thousands and killed at least three people have struck a chord nationwide, igniting a series of rallies across the political spectrum demanding that Ergodan rein in the security forces. Bolstered by other officials in his ruling party insisting they will defend his rule under any circumstances, Erdogan has taken a hard line, assuming the demonstrators will eventually be buffaloed into accepting the status quo.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.