Turkish PM to Meet with Protesters
Amid demands that the "illegal" actions stop
Turkey's prime minister will meet with a group of protesters occupying Istanbul's central Taksim Square this week, the deputy prime minister said Monday, as the government sought a way out of the impasse that has led to hundreds of protests in dozens of cities.
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said, however, the government would no longer tolerate "illegal acts," and implied that the occupation of Taksim and its accompanying Gezi Park would be over by the weekend.
"Illegal acts in Turkey from now won't be allowed and whatever needs to be done according to the law will be done," he said after a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "All necessary actions against illegal acts will have been completed, and we will see this all together, by the weekend."