In a press conference this morning, the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on the occasion of his departure from Morocco, spoke about the traditional relations of his country with Morocco, the important trade agreements and the financial cooperation between Turkey and the north African states. He also said that he has been a supporter of the Arab spring and therefore he supports the development prospects of Tunisia.
Answering to a journalist's question, about what message he has received from the recent riots and if his administration intends to take any initiatives,
Erdoğan's answer was: "what message have you received?". He added that it is not about Gezi park, but the fact that his political opponents cannot hurt him politically using democratic means through elections, and they choose the way of riots.
The Turkish Prime Minister also said that the riots are instigated from within Turkey and abroad. To the question "who are the instigators", he answered that the issue is being investigated by the Turkish intelligence agencies and that the government will react based on the result of this investigation.
It is notable that Erdoğan was aggressive and sarcastic to the citizens that take part in the uprising, while at some point he mentioned that "160 from my police officers were injured, because they were peaceful". In response to a journalists remark about the Arab Spring, he said that in Turkey there is spring as well and "we will not let them transform it into winter".
Erdoğan was sarcastic even to the journalists. When one of them asked if he would use a "softer tone", the answer was "What softer tone? Teach it to me". He also attacked a journalist from Reuters, saying that he (the journalist) is giving false information to the international press agency and preaching to him about the Turkish Constitution. He finally mentioned that he "is keeping millions of his supporters in their homes", a statement that he is not making for the first time.
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