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As protests roil Turkey, Erdogan banks on conservative base | BLOUIN BEAT: Politics

As protests roil Turkey, Erdogan banks on conservative base

September 12, 2013 by Lara Vergnaud in Europe.

Anti-government demonstrations across Turkey dragged into their fourth day Thursday, ignited by the death of Ahmet Atakan, 22, on Monday night, allegedly by security forces, at a protest against government plans to build over forest land in Ankara. (Turkish police reps have countered that Atakan died from a fall.) In Istanbul, Ankara, and other cities, thousands gathered in scenes reminiscent of the wave of protests that swept Turkey in June, and quickly coalesced into a general revolt against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s creeping authoritarianism.

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