World From Berlin: Turks 'Have Simply Had Enough'

World From Berlin: Turks 'Have Simply Had Enough'.HT: Spiegel.

With his efforts to quash the protest movement on Taksim Square in Istanbul on Tuesday, German editorialists fear Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan has become an "autocrat." Some argue he is threatening his country's very future.

Istanbul's most important square was clouded in tear gas and drenched by water cannons as police moved to clear it of protesters on Tuesday, escalating tensions that have been brewing since demonstrators began camping out at the site two weeks ago. Dozens of injuries have been reported by demonstrators.
By Wednesday morning, only police and bulldozers could be seen on Taksim Square, and barricades and debris from the protests had already been cleared away. Although local officials had assured they didn't want to clear the protest camp at Gezi Park, activists claimed police entered during the night. Hundreds remain camped out in the park.

Hours earlier, in a televised speech before members of parliament with his Justice and Development Party (AKP), Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for an end to the protests at Taksim Square and elsewhere across Turkey. "For those who want to continue, it is over," he warned. Starting immediately, there would be "no tolerance," he said. Erdogan has also said he would meet on Wednesday with protest leaders.
Tuesday's crackdown has drawn criticism from the international community. "With its reaction to the protests so far, the Turkish government is sending the wrong signal -- both within the country and to Europe," German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said in Berlin on Wednesday. The foreign minister described freedom of speech and assembly as "inalienable" basic rights in every democracy. "We expect Prime Minister Erdogan to de-escalate the situation in the spirit of European values, and to seek a constructive exchange and peaceful dialogue."
The developments come at an awkward time for the European Union, which is considering steps later this month to move forward accession talks with Turkey that have been largely stalled since 2005. The rotating Irish EU presidency has been pushing for at least one more of the 35 negotiating chapters to be opened. So far, only one has been completed, with accession talks largely hindered by a failure to reach a deal over divided Cyprus.
 From the left to the right across the political spectrum, editorialists at leading German newspapers are roundly critical of Erdogan's heavy-handed response to the protests, with a number ridiculing the Turkish leader as an "autocrat."


Center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:

"Ever since he became prime minister, an air of distrust has surrounded Ergodan. How democratic is this man? Initially, it was Erdogan's religious roots that fueled this distrust, especially the religious character of his moderate Islamist AKP. Fears of an Islamization of Turkey dominated the first phase of a reign that has already lasted for 10 years. During this time, he used brutal means to force the military stronghold of the generals under the primacy of politics. He played with Turkey's Islamic character, particularly in terms of foreign policy. He wanted to make Turkey an example for a secular but still Islamically molded society. It was to take on a leadership role in the region."

"Today it is clear that it Islam isn't really Erdogan's greatest temptation. It is power itself -- a pure lust for power that has gone to his head. 

Erdogan has continuously expanded his power base. His party men now hold positions in justice and in the business sector and the media seem to try to outdo each other in glorifying him. There doesn't appear to be any opposition left within the apparatus. ... Erdogan is playing a dangerous game. ... At the most important moment of his time governing, he has decided to become a total autocrat."

 The conservative Die Welt writes:

"Taksim Square will go down in history not as an environmental project, but as the scene of a clash of cultures that divides the Western-oriented secular Turkey from the Islamic-conservative Turkey. Here, tensions are being discharged that run right through Turkish history -- before and especially after the founding of the Turkish state by Kemal Pasha 'Atatürk,' a revolutionary act that shattered the country's traditional forms and remains traumatic today."Read the full story here.