Turkish protesters clashed with riot police early Monday, setting fire to the Izmir offices of the ruling AK party as the fiercest anti-government demonstrations the country has seen in years entered their fourth day.
Roads around Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office in Istanbul remained sealed Monday, after security forces had to use tear gas to ward off hundreds of protesters who tried to storm the building the previous day.
The wave of protests sweeping through Turkey began last week as a peaceful sit-in against redevelopment plans in Gezi Park, a public park in Istanbul's Taksim Square. Nationwide riots ensued following the local police's brutal crackdown on the protesters.
More than 10,000 people flooded Taksim Square on Sunday after security forces began pulling out of the area. The protesters -- liberal youth and elderly citizens who wish to preserve the secular legacy of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the modern-day Republic of Turkey -- flocked to Taksim Square, chanting, "Victory, victory, victory," "Erdogan, you're a dictator, resign!" and "Erdogan thinks he is a sultan."
The protesters directed their wrath at the police and the local media as well as at Erdogan: "The media obeys Erdogan completely and they don't show our protest," Yasmin, one of the protesters, said.
"People were hurt, some were almost killed, but the media barely reported it. The police do his bidding as well. The Interior Ministry has even disrupted the Internet in many part of Istanbul on his orders," she said. "Erdogan, [Foreign Minister Ahmet] Davutoglu and the rest of their gang have to realize one thing -- Turkey is not Iran. We will stay here for months if we have to."
Interior Minister Muammer Guler said some 1,750 people had been detained since May 28, but most had since been released.
Blame it on social media
Turkey's prime minister on Sunday rejected allegations that he was ruling the country as if he were a "dictator," further dismissing the protesters as an extremist fringe. Scrambling to show he was unbowed and appealing to a large base of conservative Turks who support him, Erdogan delivered two speeches on Sunday and appeared in a television interview.
With Turkish media otherwise giving scant reports about the protests, many turned to social media outlets for information on the unrest. "There is now a menace which is called Twitter," Erdogan said. "The best examples of lies can be found there. To me, social media is the worst menace to society."
Under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey has boosted economic growth and raised its international profile, but he has been a divisive figure at home, with his government recently passing legislation curbing the sale of alcohol and taking a strong stand against the Syrian regime that some believe has put the country's security at risk.
"If they call someone who has served the people a 'dictator,' I have nothing to say," Erdogan said in an address to a group representing migrants from the Balkans. "My only concern has been to serve my country."
In another speech delivered an hour later, Erdogan said: "I am not the master of the people. Dictatorship does not run in my blood or in my character. I am the servant of the people."
Erdogan called the protests "ideological" and manipulated by an opposition "unable to beat [the government] at the ballot box." He said 89 police vehicles, 42 private cars, four buses and 94 businesses were destroyed by the "vandalism" of the past two days.
Alluding to his party's strong base, Erdogan said he had the power to summon much larger numbers of his supporters at rallies: "Our supporters are calling and saying, 'Are we going to stay silent-' but I am urging calm," he said in an interview with Haberturk television.
Erdogan reiterated that his government would not back away from plans to uproot some 600 trees at Taksim as part of his urban renovation plans for the area. In a statement that could spark more controversy, he also declared that a mosque would be built at Taksim.
The mosque plans have long been contentious because it would further shrink the green spaces in Istanbul's city center. Some argue that there are already plenty of mosques around Taksim.
"I am not going to seek the permission of [the opposition] or a handful of looters," he said. Erdogan also defended his government's environmental record, saying it had planted 2 billion trees and built 160 parks since coming to office in 2002.
In Berlin, meanwhile, about 500 people staged a peaceful solidarity protest outside the Turkish Embassy.
"The people are finally standing up, speaking up and fighting for their rights," said Hakan Tas, a deputy for the Left Party in Berlin's local assembly, who took part in the protest.
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