Turkish government offers apology for violent crackdown on protests

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has apologized for the government’s violent crackdown on demonstrators opposing the demolition of an Istanbul park.

Arinc told a news conference in the capital Ankara on Tuesday that the original protests over the redevelopment of Gezi Park were “just and legitimate.”

“The excessive violence that was used in the first instance against those who were behaving with respect for the environment is wrong and unfair,” the Turkish deputy prime minister stated.

“I apologize to those citizens. But,” he added, “I don’t think we owe an apology to those who have caused damage in the streets and tried to prevent people’s freedom.”

Since Friday, tens of thousands of anti-government protesters have held demonstrations in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, and many other cities and towns.

According to the Turkish Human Rights Association, two protesters died and over 2,800 protesters were injured in the past five days. It added that 791 protesters were arrested by the police.

On Sunday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan termed the protesters demonstrating against his government extremists, adding that he is not a dictator as they call him.

“If they call someone who has served the people a ‘dictator,’ I have nothing to say,” Erdogan said. “My only concern has been to serve my country.”

“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,” he added.

The Turkish prime minister called the protests “ideological” and organized by an opposition “unable to beat (the government) at the ballot box.”

The anti-government unrest began after police broke up a sit-in staged in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Friday to protest against the demolition of Gezi Park.

The protesters say Gezi Park, which is a traditional gathering point for rallies and demonstrations as well as a popular tourist destination, is the city’s last green public space.

Amnesty International censured the Turkish police for the tactics they used to control the protests.

“The use of violence by police on this scale appears designed to deny the right to peaceful protest altogether and to discourage others from taking part,” John Dalhuisen, the director of the Europe and Central Asia Programme of Amnesty International, said on Saturday.

“The Turkish authorities must order police to halt any excessive use of force and urgently investigate all reports of abuse. They have a duty to ensure that people can exercise their right to free expression and assembly,” Dalhuisen added.