Free Republic

The rise of Islamism can continue only if the economy weathers the demonstrations.Rebellion has shaken Turkey since May 31. Is it comparable to the Arab upheavals that have overthrown four rulers since 2011; to Iran’s Green Movement of 2009, which led to an apparent reformer’s being elected president last week; or perhaps to Occupy Wall Street, which had negligible consequences? The unrest marks a deeply important development with permanent implications. Turkey has become a more open and liberal country, and its leaders face democratic constraints as never before. But how much this unrest will be able to change the role...

The Turks are marching, yelling, protesting, throwing bombs, burning cars, and destroying businesses as officials try to restore order. Istanbul’s center is burning. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan reported that 89 police vehicles, 42 private cars, four buses and 94 businesses had been destroyed by the “vandalism” in two days. Protestors charge that the prime minister is moving the nation toward extreme Islam and many of the people don’t want to go there. The same is happening in America but no one is protesting! Do we want to go there? Erdogan is identified as a Muslim “moderate”; however, his own...

Within an hour of a warning from Erdogan that central Istanbul would be cleared by Sunday whether or not protesters left voluntarily, security forces using loudspeakers told people in Taksim and Gezi Park to leave, the report said. Hundreds of black-clad riot police wearing gas masks started to rush the park, using tear gas and water cannons to chase protesters from the area. Remaining was a mess of soggy tents, banners and debris that sanitation workers quickly moved to clear. Opposition leaders said Saturday that Erdogan had destroyed his chances for a dialogue, according to the Washington Post. Erdogan had...

Weekend Edition Saturday Host Scott Simon talks to award winning Turkish novelist Elif Shafak about the nature and deeper causes of the protests in Turkey, which erupted two weeks ago.

After two weeks of protests, each side in the Turkish tumult is starting to produce its own narrative, explain the origin of the protest and plan the next step. … (O)ver the last few days and especially since returning from a visit to north Africa, the Turkish PM has constructed his own theory of the ongoing events. At first he comprised a long lists of supposed suspects behind the protests—opposition supporters, hooligans, foreign governments—but recently, the government’s narrative is taking a more stable shape and accusations are mostly directed at businessmen and large-scale investors Erdogan has been terming “the interests...

For years, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Erdogan was generally considered an example of “moderate Islamism”, a loose label that was generally based on a comparison with other Islamist dictatorships, like Iran, or with the various semi-secular autocratic regimes that dot the Arab and Muslim world. There was never a comparison with a liberal Muslim democracy, simply because none existed. In other words, Erdogan earned his credential as the moderate, Islamist democrat in the Middle East, partly because of his success in Turkey, but also due to the lack of any democratic competitors. Admittedly, it was not just the west that...

ISTANBUL – Riot police firing tear gas and water cannons re-entered Istanbul's Taksim Square on Tuesday night after defiant protesters swarmed back in by the thousands. It was the latest sign that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government may have run out of patience after 12 days of unrest in Turkey's largest city and beyond. Earlier in the day, he accused the protesters of sullying Turkey's image, raising the possibility that he had ordered police to show no restraint in clearing Taksim Square. In the chaos of a confrontation that began about 8:45 p.m., several fires burned in the square...

[more background info on events in turkey; read the article at WSJ.Com, with the link provided]

Turkish protestors have clashed with police in Istanbul overnight, in some of the worst violence since unrest erupted three days ago. Protesters in Beskitas district tore up paving stones to build barricades, and police responded with tear gas and water cannon. The violence was sparked by plans to build on a city park but have broadened into nationwide anti-government unrest. Protesters say the Turkish government is becoming increasingly authoritarian. They fear Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to impose conservative Islamic values on the officially secular country and infringe on their personal freedoms. correspondents...

Hundreds of protestors have returned to the streets of Istanbul and Ankara after two days of unrest that have seen more than 1,700 arrests. Largely peaceful protesters waved flags in Istanbul's Taksim Square but there were reports that police had fired tear gas in Kizilay Square. PM Tayyip Erdogan said protestors were trying to undermine democracy. The protests began over redeveloping a park near Taksim Square but broadened into anti-government unrest...... Correspondents say many people are fed up with the government which they believe is becoming increasingly authoritarian and trying to take away some of their personal freedoms.

Police in the Turkish city of Istanbul have pulled out of Taksim square, where the largest anti-government protests in years are taking place. Thousands of people are gathered in the square after days of violence sparked by plans to redevelop a nearby park. Police have fired tear gas and water cannon several times to break up the riots, and rioters have thrown rocks at police. Turkey's President Abdullah Gul has called for “common sense” to prevail, admitting that the Taksim square protests had reached a “worrisome level”. He called on all sides to be "mature", urging police to "act in...