Britons warned to steer clear of Turkey as 1,700 protesters arrested after riots rock the country for a third day

Protests erupted again today against Turkey’s conservative government
Thousands took to the streets in rallies and demonstrations in three cities
Britons warned to avoid all but essential travel to parts of Turkey

PUBLISHED: 11:24 EST, 2 June 2013 | UPDATED: 05:36 EST, 3 June 2013

The Foreign Office has warned against travel to various parts of Turkey except in cases of emergency following another day of rioting.

Tens of thousands took to the streets in the country’s four biggest cities yesterday – the third day of anti-government protests – with demonstrators clashing with riot police, who repelled them with tear gas.

The unrest initially erupted on Friday when trees were torn down at a park in Istanbul’s main Taksim Square under government plans to redevelop the area. But they have widened into a broad show of defiance against the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).

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Blaze: An anti-government protester holds Turkey’s national flag with a portrait of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on it

Gas: Police use water cannon as protesters run to avoid tear gas during the third day

Choke: Turkey’s prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan rejected claims that he is a ‘dictator,’ dismissing protesters as an extremist fringe

Riot: A protester falls down as he tries to throw back at police a tear gas canister

Prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan blamed the main secular opposition party for inciting the crowds, and said the protests were aimed at depriving his ruling AK Party of votes as elections begin next year.

Erdogan said the plans to remake the square, long an iconic rallying point for mass demonstrations, would go ahead, including the construction of a new mosque and the rebuilding of a replica Ottoman-era barracks.

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And he said the protests – which were started by a small group of environmental campaigners but mushroomed when police used force to eject them from the park on Taksim Square – had nothing to do with the plans. Continue reading “Culture Clash (Ataturk vs Erdogan) – Britons warned to steer clear of Turkey – Daily Mail Re-Blog” →