After an intense night of street clashes that represented the worst
violence in nearly three weeks of protests, Mr. Erdogan rallied hundreds
of thousands of his supporters on Sunday — many of them traveling on
city buses and ferries that the government had mobilized for the event —
at an outdoor arena on the shores of the Sea of Marmara. In some of his
toughest language yet, he called his opponents terrorists and made
clear that any hope of a compromise to end the crisis was gone.
“It is nothing more than the minority’s attempt to dominate the
majority,” he said of the protesters. “We will not allow it.”
The escalating tensions have raised the risk of an extended period of
civil unrest that could undermine Turkey’s image as a rising global
power and a model of Islamic democracy, which Mr. Erdogan has cultivated
over a decade in power.
