ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met eight artists and representatives of Taksim Solidarity late Thursday for about four hours at the Official Residence in capital Ankara as part of his talks related to the Gezi Park protests.
Erdogan received the spokesmen of Taksim Solidarity, NGOs representing city planners, trade unions, professional organisations of electrical engineers and architects, singers and actors who came from Istanbul late Thursday to Ankara to meet Turkish PM and convey their assessments on Taksim Gezi Park incidents and demands concerning the demolition and construction plans of Istanbul Municipality for Gezi Park.
The meeting was held thanks to the initiative of singers and actors, most of whom actively joined the protests in Gezi Park, submitting the demand for a meeting with PM Erdogan on behalf of Taksim Solidarity, NGOs and other singers and actors.
From the government's side, Deputy Chairman of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party Huseyin Celik, Minister of Environment and Urbanization Erdogan Bayraktar, Minister of the Interior Muammer Guler, Minister of Culture and Tourism Omer Celik, several high level officials as well as Prime Minister Erdogan's daughter and advisor Sumeyye Erdogan also attended the meeting.
The representatives of the NGOs attending the meeting were KESK (Confederation of Public Laborer's Unions) Women's Secretary Canan Calagan, DISK (Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions) Secretary General Arzu Cerkezoglu, Secretary General of Istanbul Chamber of Medical Doctors Dr. Ali Cerkezoglu, Head of Istanbul Branch of the Chamber Union of Turkish Architects and Engineers (UCTEA) Tayfun Kahraman, Head of Istanbul Branch of the Chamber of Electrical Engineers Beyza Metin, member of Chamber of Architects Derya Karadag and the Spokesman of District Associations Can Tuzun.
KESK and DISK had already held nation-wide demonstrations and strike to protest the government in the first week of the protests. The Chamber of Architects also actively sided with the protests in Gezi Park.
Following the meeting, Tayfun Kahraman, a city planner of UCTEA's Chamber of City Planners, made a statement to the press on behalf of Taksim Solidarity.
He noted, thanking PM Erdogan and the ministers for accepting their demand for meeting, "We conveyed our assessment regarding the incidents. PM Erdogan told us that they would hold a plebiscite across Istanbul and will implement the final result. He also guaranteed that investigation would be conducted regarding the claims of excessive use of power by the police. We will closely follow his promises and the process. Unfortunately four people died in the incidents. We still feel the pain of their death. We will organize an activity in Gezi Park tomorrow, a commemoration for the dead as a lament and expression of deep sorrow."
Among the singers and actors attending the meeting were Halit Ergenc, the leading actor in the world-famous Turkish soap opera "Muhtesem Yuzyil (Era of the Magnificent Suleyman)," Sunay Akin, a Turkish poet, Yavuz Bingol, singer and actor, Ceyda Duvenci, a soap opera actress, Sertab Erener, singer and the winner of the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Everyway That I Can," Mahsun Kırmızıgul, singer, Nebil Ozgentürk, writer and television producer, and Ali Sunal, actor.
Actor Halit Ergenc spoke to the press in the name of the singers and actors. "We reflected to PM Erdogan what we experience and what we see in Gezi Park within the process as well as our concerns. PM Erdogan listened to us all ears. He stressed that the government respects the judicial process and would implement the final ruling. He guaranteed us that the protesters staying in Gezi Park can go home and sleep weighting off our minds. We conveyed our concerns and uneasiness in the face of violence and use of power. Erdogan asked us to deliver the images and such evidences of violence without distinction," he said.
Poet Sunay Akin highlighted that the process of searching for a common ground for Taksim Gezi Park is not only comprised of the meetings with Turkish Premier Erdogan, mentioning their previous hours-long meetings with Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas and Istanbul Governor Huseyin Avni Mutlu and thanking them for their efforts. He also pointed out that they only use democratic and peaceful means for seeking solution in Gezi Park.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, AK Party Deputy Chairman Huseyin Celik also made a statement that "A plebiscite will be held to sound Istanbul people out to determine what they want and do not want. We will definitely respect the final decision of the people of Istanbul no matter what the outcome will be. Our government will no doubtedly implement the decision of Istanbul people."
Celik finally announced that Gezi Park would be kept untouched until court's decision, stressing the meeting is nothing but a sign of reconciliation between the government and Gezi Park protesters.
