Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told a rally of thousands flag-waving supporters on Sunday that his patience with anti-government protests had its limits,while tens of thousands flooded an Istanbul square demanding his resignation. At Ankara airport,one of six rallies planned for Sunday,Erdogan accused the protesters of drinking beer in mosques and insulting women wearing headscarves both accusations likely to anger his supporters. Erdogan belittled the protesters,again calling them capulcu, the Turkish word for looters or vandals. All they do is to break and destroy,to attack public buildings . They didnt stop at that, Erdogan said. They attacked daughters who wear headscarves. They entered Dolmabahce mosque with beer bottles and shoes. We were patient,we will be patient,but there is a limit to our patience, Erdogan said. At a rival rally at Gezi Park in Istanbuls central Taksim Square tens of thousands chanted for Erdogan to resign. Speaking earlier in the southern Mediterranean coastal city of Adana where pro- and anti-government protesters clashed Saturday night Erdogan dismissed the protesters and told cheering crowds to teach them a lesson at the ballot box next year,when Turkey holds local and presidential elections. The turmoil in Turkey erupted when police cracked down on a small campaign against an Istanbul park redevelopment on May 31,and ballooned into nationwide protests against Erdogan,seen as increasingly authoritarian. More than 4,000 people have been injured and three have died in the clashes so far,tarnishing Turkeys image as a model of Islamic democracy.
