Double faced US calls for investigation of Turkey police violence

The United States has called on Turkey to carry out an investigation into the police’s violent crackdown on anti-government protesters described by defiant Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as extremists.

“We are concerned by the reports of excessive use of force by police,” US Secretary of State John Kerry told reporters on Monday. “We obviously hope that there will be a full investigation of those incidents and full restraint from the police force.”

On the fourth day of the anti-government protests, Turkish police used teargas and water cannon to disperse the demonstrators who had gathered in the downtown Kizilay Square in the capital Ankara to demand Erdogan’s resignation. The protests in the city continued into the early hours of Tuesday.

Riot police fired teargas to disperse thousands of protestors massing near his Istanbul office in the Besiktas district late Monday.

In Taksim Square, the focal point of the protests, a helicopter hovered over thousands of demonstrators who were shouting “Tayyip, resign!” and wafted teargas into the square.

The violence, which erupted on Friday over plans to build over Gezi Park in Istanbul, has so far claimed the life of one protester who was killed when a car crashed into a crowd of demonstrators in the Mayis district of the city on Sunday.

More than 1,000 people have been injured in the crackdown on protests in Istanbul with 700 wounded in Ankara, according to rights groups and doctors. Over 2,000 protesters have also been arrested.

The Turkish police’s use of “excessive force” against protesters has been followed by irritating comments by Erdogan who called the protesters “extremists” and “vandals.”

White House spokesman Jay Carney said US officials think most of the protesters in the streets have been ordinary citizens engaged in peaceful demonstrations.

Kesk, a left-wing trade union confederation, has said it will start a two-day strike from Tuesday to support the protesters.

The Turkish prime minister, who started a four-day tour of Morocco on Monday despite the widespread protests, told a news conference in Rabat the “The situation (in Turkey) is now calming down… On my return from this visit, the problems will be solved.”