Turkey unions join raging protests, launch strike

ISTANBUL: Public workers in Turkey launched a two-day strike Tuesday in support of raging anti-government protests as the United States appealed for restraint in the worst political crisis to confront the 10-year-old Islamic-rooted government.

Overnight, riot police in Istanbul and Ankara fired tear gas and water

cannon at protesters who set cars ablaze, hurled stones and bellowed angry slogans in a fifth day of demonstrations that have now cost the lives of two people.

While US Secretary of State John Kerry voiced concern about excessive

police force, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has remained defiant, lashing out at "extremists" he blames for the worst anti-government unrest since he first took office in 2002.

A second protester was killed in the southern city of Antakya on Monday,

local officials said, after a young man was killed in Istanbul when a car ploughed into a crowd of demonstrators in Turkey's largest city on Sunday.

The violence first erupted after police cracked down on a peaceful rally in Istanbul against plans to build over Gezi Park, a rare green spot adjoining the city's main Taksim Square, but quickly mushroomed into broader protests in dozens of other cities by Turks who accuse the government of pushing conservative Islamic reforms.

The Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK) launched a two-day

strike from Tuesday over alleged heavy-handed police action in almost a week of clashes that rights group say have left hundreds of people wounded.

"The state terror implemented against entirely peaceful protests is

continuing in a way that threatens civilians' life safety," the KESK said in a statement, saying the crackdown showed the Islamic-rooted government's "enmity to democracy".

The confederation counts about 240,000 members and the action will likely affect schools, universities and public offices across Turkey, a predominantly Muslim country of 75 million people sitting at the crossroads of east and west.

While Erdogan has largely dismissed the protests, insisting they did not

represent a "Turkish spring," his ally President Abdullah Gul has been more conciliatory, telling demonstrators that their concerns were being heard.

"The situation (in Turkey) is now calming down... On my return from this

visit, the problems will be solved," Erdogan said at a press conference in Rabat, where he kicked off a tour of north Africa despite the problems at home.

Erdogan, whose Justice and Development Party (AKP) first took power in 2002 and has won two further national votes, has accused "vandals" and opponents including the main opposition Republican People's Party of having a hand in the protests.

Opponents have accused Erdogan of repressing critics, including

journalists, Kurds and the military, and pushing conservative Islamic policies including religious education reforms and a law curbing the sale of alcohol.

Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc also sought to ease the concerns of

protesters, saying Turkey's government "respects and is sensitive towards different lifestyles".

But the violence showed no signs of abating in the early hours of Tuesday, with thousands of protesters gathered on Taksim square, the heart of the demonstrations, as white fumes hung in the air in surrounding streets.

"Tayyip, resign!" they yelled, waving red flags and banners and whistling. AFP reporters saw many demonstrators being carried away by medics.

In Antakya, the local governor's office said Tuesday that a 22-year-old

man, Abdullah Comert, had died after being shot in the head by an unidentified person on Monday but the Anatolia news agency, citing the public prosecutor's office, said an autopsy revealed no gunshot wounds but that he had suffered a blow to the head.

Rights groups and doctors say more than 1,000 people had been wounded in

Istanbul and 700 in Ankara. The government had previously put the figure at 58 civilians and 115 security forces injured, but has not given an updated estimate since Sunday, when it said 1,700 people had been arrested and many since released.

Turkey's Western allies have voiced mounting alarm over the crisis in the country, which for years has been trying to join the European Union.

Kerry said Washington was "deeply concerned about the numbers of people

injured," urging all sides to "avoid any provocations or violence."

"We are concerned by the reports of excessive use of force by police,"

Kerry told reporters. "We obviously hope that there will be a full

investigation of those incidents and full restraint from the police force with respect to those kinds of incidents."

NATO-member Turkey is a key regional ally for the United States, and the

two countries have been working together closely, particularly over the brutal conflict in neighbouring Syria.

Erdogan told protesters they should wait to express their views in

elections next year, when observers expect him to make a run for president. "For me, democracy comes from the ballot box."

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Fresh violence erupts despite Turkey govt. apology

ISTANBUL: Fresh violence erupted early Wednesday as protesters defied a government plea to end days of deadly unrest, the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decade-long rule.

Police used tear gas and water cannon on hundreds of protesters, who

ignored warnings to disperse in Istanbul, Ankara and the southeastern city of Hatay, where a young protester died a day earlier.

The violence came after a second major trade union confederation announced it would join protests against the government, calling a strike for Wednesday. In the western city of Izmir, police detained at least 25 people early Wednesday for tweeting "misleading and libellous information", state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc apologised to legitimate

demonstrators injured by the security forces, a gesture welcomed by the United States. But that did not appease outraged protestors.

Thousands gathered at Istanbul's Taksim Square for a sixth day Wednesday, yelling defiance at Erdogan, who earlier had dismissed the protesters as "extremists" and "vandals". He was in Algeria on the second day of a four-day official visit to north Africa.

"The vandals are here! Where is Tayyip?" yelled the crowd. They accuse Erdogan, who has won three successive national elections, of

imposing conservative Islamic reforms on the predominantly Muslim but

constitutionally secular nation.

But the festive atmosphere in the square was a change from the tense

rallies of the previous five days. Turkish pipe music and singing blared over speakers as the crowd clapped along. Even fans from rival football teams Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce linked arms, united in protest.

The wave of protests broke out on Friday after police tear-gassed

demonstrators at a peaceful rally against plans to build on an Istanbul park. On Tuesday, Arinc said sorry to those who had been caught up in that initial violence.

"I apologise to those who were subject to violence because of their

sensitivity for the environment," he said, though he added that his apology excluded "the rioters".

"The government has learnt its lesson from what happened," he added. "We do not have the right and cannot afford to ignore people. Democracies cannot exist without opposition." He called on "responsible citizens" to stop the protests.

Two people have been killed in the clashes, officials and medics say, and rights groups say thousands have been injured. The government puts the figure at around 300.

Erdogan, whose Justice and Development Party (AKP) first took power in

2002, has accused the main opposition Republican People's Party of having a hand in the protests.

The Turkish Confederation of Public Workers' Unions (KESK), which

represents 240,000 employees, lent its weight to the protests when it launched a two-day strike on Tuesday.

Spokesman Baki Cinar dismissed Arinc's conciliatory statement.

"The apology is just damage control and only because they know they are

stuck," he told AFP.

On Tuesday, an even bigger union grouping, DISK, which claims 420,000

members, said it would join the strike and demonstrations on Wednesday.

The United Nations joined Turkey's key strategic ally the US and other

Western partners in voicing concern about reports of police violence. It called for an independent investigation into the allegations.

The White House praised Arinc for his statement on Tuesday.

"We welcome the deputy prime minister's comments apologising for excessive force, and we continue to welcome calls for these events to be investigated," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

Turkey, a country of 75 million people, is an important ally of the US in the region and has backed it notably in opposing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war.

Sitting at the crossroads of East and West, Turkey has long aspired to join the European Union, which sets strict requirements on human rights standards for prospective members.

Opponents have accused Erdogan of repressing critics -- including

journalists, minority Kurds and the military -- and of pushing conservative Islamic policies such as religious education reforms and a law curbing the sale of alcohol.

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Erdogan told protesters they should wait to express their views in

elections next year, when observers expect him to run for president.

"For me, democracy comes from the ballot box," he said, insisting the

disturbances would calm down by the time he had returned to Turkey on Thursday.

Italy said Tuesday that it considered the violence had not undermined

Turkey's chances of joining the EU. "We are confident that Turkey will overcome this difficult moment, proving itself to be a mature democracy," Foreign Minister Emma Bonino said in a statement.

Although the Istanbul stock market had closed 10 percent lower on Monday it recovered by nearly five percent on Tuesday after Arinc's comments.

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Turkey protesters defiant after government apology

ISTANBUL: Fresh violence erupted early Wednesday as protesters defied a government plea to end days of deadly unrest, the biggest challenge yet to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's decade-long rule.

Police used tear gas and water cannon on hundreds of protesters, who ignored warnings to disperse in Istanbul, Ankara and the southeastern city of Hatay, where a young protester died a day earlier.

The violence came after a second major trade union confederation announced it would join protests against the government, calling a strike for Wednesday.

In the western city of Izmir, police detained at least 25 people early Wednesday for tweeting "misleading and libellous information", state-run Anatolia news agency reported.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc apologised to legitimate demonstrators injured by the security forces, a gesture welcomed by the United States.

But that did not appease outraged protestors.

Thousands gathered at Istanbul's Taksim Square for a sixth day Wednesday, yelling defiance at Erdogan, who earlier had dismissed the protesters as "extremists" and "vandals". He was in Algeria on the second day of a four-day official visit to north Africa.

"The vandals are here! Where is Tayyip?" yelled the crowd.

They accuse Erdogan, who has won three successive national elections, of imposing conservative Islamic reforms on the predominantly Muslim but constitutionally secular nation.

But the festive atmosphere in the square was a change from the tense rallies of the previous five days. Turkish pipe music and singing blared over speakers as the crowd clapped along.

Even fans from rival football teams Galatasaray, Besiktas and Fenerbahce linked arms, united in protest.

The wave of protests broke out on Friday after police tear-gassed demonstrators at a peaceful rally against plans to build on an Istanbul park.

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