Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he set apart those ‘environmental protesters’ at Taksim Gezi Park in central Istanbul from ‘extremists’ who took park in terrorist acts as well as staging attacks on the US Embassy in the Turkish capital, Ankara.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Tunisian Prime Minister Ali el- Urayyid, Erdogan said Deputy PM Bulent Arinc made the necessary remarks regarding the protests and responded to the questions.
“Representatives of Taksim Platform held a press conference following the meeting with Arinc. What we said about the protests is obvious. We have talked about holding a referendum but the representatives of the Taksim Platform made a statement saying ‘It was out of question to hold a referendum’,” said Erdogan.
Regarding allegations that foreign nationals carrying diplomatic passports were arrested at Gezi Park protests, Erdogan said, “It is not true that seven (foreign) nationals who were arrested were carrying diplomatic passports. Six of the foreigners are at the prosecutor’s office and one is under police custody. Investigating who they are, where they come from and how they took part in the protests is the duty of security forces and judicial authorities.”Erdogan said he set apart those ‘environmental potesters’ from ’extremists’ who took park in terrorist acts.
Anatolia News Agency
