Turkey not to tolerate more violence: Erdogan
Iran Press TV
Sat Mar 15, 2014 5:22PM GMT
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned that his party would not tolerate any more violence in the country two weeks before the key local elections.
Erdogan made the remarks on Saturday while addressing a campaign rally in the city of Adana.
'We will not tolerate new waves of tension and death. We will never let the streets become battlegrounds," he said.
The Turkish Premier also accused his rivals of fomenting the violence in country, saying 'We do not want anyone to equip our youngsters with Molotov cocktails, stones, and knives and send them to the streets.'
On Wednesday, clashes erupted in several cities in Turkey following the death on Tuesday of Berkin Elvan, a 15-year-old boy who died from his injuries during an anti-government protest in 2013.
Erdogan said that Elvan was connected to a "terrorist organization" and claimed that opponents were seeking to spark unrest ahead of March 30 elections.
'It is obvious that those who gave up hope in the ballot box are looking to the streets. I call on the leaders of opposition parties to act responsibly,' he added.
On May 31, 2013, Turkish police broke up a sit-in held at Istanbul's Taksim Square against a proposal to demolish Gezi Park.
The violence turned into nationwide demonstrations against Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), with police using water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets against the demonstrators.
The protests saw an estimated 2.5 million people take to the streets across Turkey over three weeks to demand Erdogan's resignation. More than 8,000 people were injured in the demonstrations, according to medics.
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