Phone Record Shows Erdoğan's Unyielding Stance During Gezi Protests

The recording of a phone conversation between former Interior Minister Muammer Güler and businessman Ömer Faruk Kalyoncu, which recently emerged online, shows that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time of the recording, was adamant in continuing his staunch stance against Gezi protesters' demands.

In the summer of 2013, massive protests across Turkey were held against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and Prime Minister Erdoğan. The protests initially started in reaction to police brutality shown towards protesters trying to protect a rare green area in İstanbul from demolition to make room for a new shopping mall in the Taksim area, in the city's center.

The recently emerged voice recording, which has now become evidence against police officers who are being accused of spying on the AK Party over their role in the uncovering of alleged government corruption in an investigation that has now stalled, was recorded on June 5, 2013, when the protests -- which lasted about one-and-a-half months -- were ongoing.

In the recording, Minister Güler tells businessman Kalyoncu, who says Erdoğan should soften his uncompromising tone regarding the protesters, that “it has been a blessing” that Erdoğan -- who continued to provoke the protesters with his harsh statements during the events -- went on a visit to Morocco.

The interior minister also says in the recording, which was recorded under a legal warrant as part of a major graft investigation that would eventually lead to various government members, including then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, “We keep hitting them with batons, and they move on,” of Gezi protesters.

In the conversation, both Kalyoncu and Güler seem to find Erdoğan too harsh. “He should be more inclusive,” Güler says, speaking of the life-styles of the Gezi protesters and people who consume alcohol now and then. He says someone he talked to recalled that Erdoğan, prior to his mayoral election campaign in İstanbul, visited alcohol-serving establishments one by one. “Mehmet Ali Şahin said Erdoğan visited a brothel once,” Güler also says in the conversation.

Kalyoncu says somebody should convince Erdoğan to take a softer stance. However, Güler says Erdoğan is obstinate in his stance. The two men also criticize provocative statements made by Erdoğan that have offended secular segments, Alevis and Kemalists of Turkey. “There is the alcohol law [which had introduced restrictions to alcohol consumption], there is the issue he took with city theaters; it's just wrong to bother with those.”

Another conversation

As part of the spying and coup attempt investigation into the police officers who were detained on July 22 after exposing alleged government corruption, another voice recording that has been included in the file against the police officers, clearly indicates that Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan ordered former Habertürk Deputy Executive Chief Fatih Saraç to publish stories targeting the fashion designer Barbaros Şansal, who was an outspoken supporter of the Gezi protesters. The two men also use derogatory remarks referring to Şansal's sexual orientation.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)