(Der Spiegel-Germany) Ozlem Gezer, Maximilian Popp and Oliver Trenkamp - Increasingly, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is looking like an autocratic ruler whose people are no longer willing to tolerate him. He began governing in the same autocratic style for which he had bitterly criticized his predecessors. Demonstrations have been reported in more than 40 cities. In Istanbul, people have begun whispering that the military is distributing gasmasks - but to the demonstrators rather than to the police. The message: The military supports the protests. Turkish law prohibits Erdogan from running for another term. However, he appears to be leaning toward the model followed by Russian President Putin and is seeking to increase the powers of the Turkish presidency, preparatory to taking over the position himself in 2014.
2013-06-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive