Ismail Ertug, a member of the European Parliament and Germany’s Social Democratic Party, spoke with DW about the clash between the Turkish police and demonstrators. The path to EU accession, he says, is still long.

Deutsche Welle: There is mounting criticism from Europe of the excessive force that Minister President Erdogan has used against demonstrators and his limited tolerance of their right to assemble. Is the criticism justified?

Ismail Ertug: The excessive use of force by the police is, I believe, indisputable. This is a development that we are seeing not only right now, but we have seen it on various other occasions in Turkey as well. It has nothing to do with ideology or group thinking. The excessive use of force, sadly, has happened often in the past. So we should be able to say: hey people, this isn’t right! Peaceful protests by citizens and civil society must be allowed. That wasn’t the case last Friday and that’s why the criticism is justified.

Were you surprised how massive the protests became in many cities? How do you explain that?

I believe the political elite have done everything wrong that they could possibly do. If they had allowed the protests and demonstrations to take place peacefully, they would have given people an opportunity to be heard. If officials like President Gul had expressed understanding for people’s concerns, the situation would not have escalated. But the tough rhetoric and unreasonable use of force only added fuel to the protests, which have spread to various provinces in Turkey.

How much influence does Europe have on Prime Minister Erdogan’s government? Can Brussels have any impact?

Ismail Ertug is a member of the European Parliament

I think so, and the European Union is already doing so. European Parliament President Martin Schulz and Lady Ashton, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, have voiced their concerns, as have others including German Foreign Minister Westerwelle and US government representatives. These are attempts, mostly through appeals, to exert moderate influence. We shouldn’t leave Turkey alone at this point but rather offer some well-intended mediation between those who feel oppressed and the political elite. I believe we can help coordinate and serve as a mediator.

The accession negotiations between the EU and Turkey have been stagnating for years. Would you agree that what’s happening now is probably not very helpful in moving the talks forward?

Correct, the talks have bogged down but for a specific reason: the unresolved issue with Cyprus. And on this issue, there are two sides. On the one side, you have Turkey, which is not prepared to implement the Ankara Protocol [the recognition of Cyprus as a member of the EU]. On the other, you have the behavior of the EU, especially that of former French President Sarkozy who constantly behaved provocatively towards Turkey. That explains the escalation on both sides. Besides that, the EU has problems beyond EU accession at the moment, namely the financial crisis, the economic crisis and youth unemployment. And Turkey can imagine other options right now, given its economic growth and rising importance in foreign policy. I assume that even if the current government doesn’t show it, the recent incidents could be an opportunity for it to reflect on whether the confrontational approach and highly authoritarian leadership are the right policy right now. I see all of this more as an opportunity than a threat.  But, of course, we need to wait until the demonstrations die down.

That means that the current demonstrations and the harsh response show that Turkey still lacks what it needs as a democracy to join the European Union?

Of course, Turkey isn’t ready yet. No one expects that. The accession and negotiation phase is a transition phase. Countries that want to join the EU always face a number of years of implementing reforms to become fit for entry. If you look at how long the smaller eastern European countries have required, then you see how difficult it is, especially for Turkey with 74 million people, a multi-ethnic country in a difficult geographical situation. It needs time. No one sees Turkey ready today to join the EU. Change is necessary, also in the way people think, towards a younger generation. These young people have a European education. They have more contact than the current political elite, which grew up in a Turkey that was a closed society for 30 to 40 years. I believe that the way with a younger generation will be simpler, but Turkey still has a long way to go.

Ismail Ertug, 37, has been a member of the European Parliament since 2009. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party representing part of Bavaria. Ertug is a member of the Parliament’s EU-Turkey Committee, which promotes cooperation between the Turkish parliament and the European Parliament. His parents moved to Germany from Turkey in 1972.

via ‘Turkey needs time to change’ | Europe | DW.DE | 04.06.2013.

• Associated Press in Ankara

Turkey’s deputy PM, Bulent Arinc, whose comments were in contrast to those of the prime minister, who called protesters ‘looters’. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Turkey’s deputy prime minister has offered an apology in an effort to appease anti-government protesters across the country as hundreds of riot police deployed around the prime minister’s office in the capital for a fifth day.

Bulent Arinc, who is standing in for the prime minister while he is out of the country, said the crackdown was “wrong and unjust”.

It was unclear, however, whether Arinc was giving the government line. The prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is visiting Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, has undermined statements by his ministers in the past. He has previously called protesters “looters” and dismissed the protests as acts by fringe extremists.

Thousands have joined anti-government rallies across Turkey since Friday, when police launched a pre-dawn raid against a peaceful sit-in over plans to uproot trees in Istanbul’s main Taksim Square. Since then the demonstrations by mostly secular-minded Turks have spiralled into Turkey’s biggest anti-government disturbances in years, and have spread to many of the biggest cities.

A 22-year-old man died during an anti-government protest in a city near the border with Syria, with officials giving conflicting reports on what caused his death.

Protests were directed at what critics say is Erdogan’s aggressive and authoritarian style of governance. Many accuse him of forcing his conservative, religious outlook on lives in the mainly Muslim but secular nation. Erdogan rejects the accusations, says he respects all lifestyles and insists he is the servant not the master of the people.

Speaking on Tuesday, Arinc said that, “in that first [protest] action, the excessive violence exerted on people who were acting out of environmental concerns was wrong and unjust”. He added: “I apologise to those citizens.”

Arinc said the government was sensitive to the demands of the largely urban, pro-secular section of society that had not voted for Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted party.

“I would like to express this in all sincerity: everyone’s lifestyle is important to us and we are sensitive to them.”

Arinc was speaking after a meeting with the president, Abdullah Gul, who, contrary to Erdogan, has praised the mostly peaceful protesters as expressing their democratic rights.

Gul and Erdogan could face off next year in Turkey’s presidential election.

The Hatay province governor’s office initially said the man who died, Abdullah Comert, had been shot on Monday during a demonstration in the city of Antakya. It backtracked after the province’s chief prosecutor’s office said an autopsy showed Comert had received a blow to the head and that there was no trace of a gunshot wound.

Arinc said the government was taking measures to ensure that similar “bad incidents” were not repeated as police subdued protests.

Clashes continued late into the night on Monday in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities, but Arinc said the more violent protests were subsiding.

The Turkish Human Rights Association said some 3,300 people nationwide had been detained during four days of protests, although most have since been released. At least 1,300 people were injured, the group said, although it said the true figures were difficult to come by.

On Tuesday hundreds of riot police backed by water cannon were stationed around Ankara’s main square near the prime minister’s office.

In Istanbul many people slept in the shade of trees on the grass of the park that sparked the protests, while others walked around with bags cleaning up trash. Protesters have set up an area in the centre where they are collecting food donations.

On Taksim Square protesters sat under makeshift awnings. Overturned cars and burnt-out vans stood on the edges and further in the square, spray-painted with graffiti.

via Turkey: deputy PM apologises for ‘excessive violence’ against protesters | World news | guardian.co.uk.