Erdogan condemns ‘burn and destroy’ Taksim protesters

Turkish prime minister Tayyip Erdogan condemned the “burn and destroy” tactics of some of those involved in days of violent protests, and promised to press ahead with plans to build on an Istanbul park which triggered the unrest.

Speaking on a visit to Tunisia, Erdogan said “terror groups” were manipulating what had started as an environmental campaign, and added that seven foreigners were among those arrested.

“If you say: ‘I will hold a meeting and burn and destroy’, we will not allow that,” he told reporters after meeting his Tunisian counterpart. “We are against the majority dominating the minority and we cannot tolerate the opposite.”