Turkish government says it may use army to end protests

The Turkish government has said it could use the army to end nearly three weeks of unrest by protesters in Istanbul and other cities.

The government would use "all its powers" and the armed forces if necessary, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on state-run television.

It is the first time the Islamist-rooted ruling party has raised the prospect of deploying the armed forces.

The issue is sensitive as the army is seen as a bastion of secularism.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told hundreds of thousands of supporters at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday that the protesters were manipulated by "terrorists".

Trade unions have called a strike to protest against the police crackdown on demonstrators which has seen some 500 people arrested.

Medical officials estimate that 5,000 people have been injured and at least four killed in the unrest.

The protests began on 28 May against a plan to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park, on the city's central Taksim Square, but it snowballed into nationwide anti-government protests after the perceived high-handed response of the authorities under their three-term prime minister.

Mr Arinc told state-run TV that "the innocent demonstrations that began 20 days ago" had "completely ended".

Any further demonstrations would be "immediately suppressed", he added.

Anna van Densky

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