Erdogan defends stance on protests
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he carried out his “duty” by deploying riot police who evicted thousands of activists behind an 18-day sit-in at an Istanbul park that had become a centre of protests against his 10 years in office.
In a thunderous speech to hundreds of thousands of supporters in western Istanbul today, Mr Erdogan also railed against foreign media coverage and social media amid criticism over his government’s handling of the protests.
