Baku-APA. Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu has reacted to the consecutive statements issued by the United States expressing concern over the ongoing protests in Turkey during a phone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday.
Describing the protests against the demolition of Gezi Park as “tests of democracies,” DavutoÄŸlu told his American counterpart that similar protests have taken place in Europe and the US such as the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, APA reports quoting Today’s Zaman.
DavutoÄŸlu also said that while similar protests in other democratic countries are seen as normal, the protests in Turkey are reflected differently. The Turkish foreign minister underlined that the way that the protests are reflected in the media depict Turkey as a “second class democracy.”
Noting that Turkey respects people's right to protest, DavutoÄŸlu stressed that there are marginal groups who want to hijack the environmental protests. He added that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan is able to distinguish between peaceful protests and those by marginal groups.
Turkey's allies as well as international bodies have voiced concerns over the protests, particularly the police violence reported during the clashes.
A new round of concern was expressed by US Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday, who urged Turkey's government to respect the rights of its political opponents.
Biden, speaking to the American-Turkish Council, said Turkey stood a chance to reach its goal of becoming one of the world's 10 largest economies by 2023, but that it should not stray from democracy.
"Turkey's future belongs to the people of Turkey and no one else. But the United States does not pretend to be indifferent to the outcome," Biden said.
The protests that started as an objection to the demolition of Gezi Park in Ä°stanbul's Taksim Square evolved into anti-government demonstrations when marginal groups and foreign agents reportedly hijacked the campaign. More than a thousand protesters and hundreds of policemen have been injured in demonstrations that have turned into the most violent rioting that Turkey has seen for decades.
As opposed to the defiant tone used by Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan who accused “thugs” and the country's main opposition, Republican People's Party (CHP), for the violence, deputy Prime Minster Bülent Arınç and President Abdullah Gül sent more conciliatory messages to the protestors. On Tuesday, Arınç apologized for the undue and disproportionate police force against an initially peaceful group of protestors in Gezi Park, while Gül said that they “got the message” of protestors.
According to the US vice president, countries with open societies, political systems and economies; democratic institutions; and a firm commitment to universal human rights are the countries that will thrive and be the most powerful nations of the 21st century.
"Today's Turkey has a chance to demonstrate that there's no need to choose between economic advancement and democracy, the system that empowers the winners of elections and yet protects those who are in the opposition," Biden said.
Separately, White House spokesman Jay Carney noted Arınç's apology and added: "We hope that ... the Turkish government will handle this in a way that respects the rights of free speech and assembly that are elemental to democracies. And we welcome the deputy prime minister's comments apologizing for excessive force and we continue to welcome calls for these events to be investigated," Carney stated at a briefing.
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