‘Protests threaten Turkey Olympic hopes’

Istanbul’s mayor Kadir Topbas has cautioned that the protests in Turkey could turn the country’s hopes of hosting the 2020 Olympics into a “dream.”

On Monday, Topbas called on the protesters not to continue the demonstrations because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will decide on the host city in less than three months.

“We have now entered the final stages of the 2020 Olympic (bidding),” Topbas said.

“If these (incidents) continue and there are problems, the 2020 games will be nothing but a dream,” he added.

“The (Turkish nation) stands to lose, Istanbul stands to lose. We all know who will gain,” he said.

Istanbul is competing against Madrid and Tokyo for the Olympics. The IOC will select the host city on September 7 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Recent anti-government protests in the country and the government’s use of violence during the protests have posed a serious challenge to the country’s bid for the Olympics.

The unrest in Turkey began on May 31 after police broke up a sit-in at Istanbul’s Taksim Square to protest against a proposal to demolish Gezi Park.

The protesters said Gezi Park, which is a traditional gathering point for rallies and demonstrations as well as a popular tourist destination, is one of Istanbul’s last green public spaces.

On Sunday, thousands of people and human rights activists staged a demonstration near the Taksim Square, condemning what they called Erdogan’s authoritarian rule and demanding his resignation.

Riot police on Saturday cleared protesters from Taksim Square, while the prime minister was addressing his supporters in the coastal city of Samsun.

Five people, including a police officer, have died in the clashes and more than 5,000 protesters and 600 police officers have been injured.