Turkey to take legal action against British daily The Times

Source : Xinhua | English.news.cn

ISTANBUL, July 26 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said here on Friday that legal action would be taken against British daily The Times and those who wrote an open letter ad criticizing him for Turkish police violence during the Gezi park unrest in Turkey.

Erdogan said in Istanbul: "These are people who have rented out their minds. If they were sincere about democracy they would not act so immorally as to call a prime minister who was elected by receiving 50 percent of the vote a dictator."

"There are such media groups in Turkey that do every kind of defamation. How can they defame us when they are jailed? They are doing it because they do not know Turkey. The Times rents its page, this is their lack of morality," he added.

A group of internationally renowned artists and scholars condemned the Turkish authorities' heavy-handed crackdown on the Gezi park protests in the full-page letter published on July 24 in British broadsheet The Times, addressed to Erdogan.

The signatories, including figures known for their activism such as Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, Ben Kingsley and movie director David Lynch, described the Turkish government as "a dictatorial rule" and slammed Erdogan's uncompromising stance regarding the protesters' demands.

The prime minister's orders "led to the deaths of five innocent youths," the letter said, adding that he might be called to render account to the European Court of Human Rights for the police's violence.

They also compared the counter-rallies organized by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to the annual Nuremberg rallies organized by the Nazis.

Turkey to Hold Pro-Government Rallies Next Weekend

Source : RIA Novosti

MOSCOW, June 9 (RIA Novosti) – Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is expected to hold pro-government rallies next weekend in Ankara and Istanbul in a bid to fight back against mass anti-government protests, local media said on Sunday.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has earlier held two rallies in Adana and Mersin, on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, the Hürriyet Daily News has reported.

"We are going to show patience, but patience has a limit as well. Those who hide behind the protestors should first learn what politics is," Erdogan said on Sunday showing no signs of cancelling a redevelopment project in Istanbul despite mass protests.

The Turkish prime minister rejected on Saturday the protestors’ demand for snap elections, saying that "you don't decide on early elections because people are marching on the streets."

The civil unrest in major Turkish cities was sparked by the government’s plans to demolish Gezi Park in central Istanbul and replace it with a rebuilt Ottoman barracks and a shopping mall.

As the number of people protesting the mooted demolition of the park gradually increased, police moved in to disperse the crowds last Saturday by using tear gas. Outraged protesters reportedly responded by hurling stones and bottles at policemen. Over 3,000 people have been injured and at least three people have died in demonstrations across the country in the past week.

Most of the casualties were reported in Istanbul, where demonstrations began before spreading to Ankara, Antalya, Izmi Adana and other Turkish cities. Erdogan blamed the protests on extremists.