Govt spokesperson Cicek: "We should leave the may day incidents behind us"

Government spokesperson and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek held a press conference after yesterday's Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Asked about trade unions saying they would complain to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) over violence on May Day, Cicek said, "Some unpleasant events occurred on May Day. I believe that we should leave all this behind us. We can discuss an issue, but when necessary we have to put an end to it. These things shouldn't have happened, but they did. They were looked at. I'm of the opinion that these events shouldn't be carried to other venues." Asked if the police treatment of demonstrating workers that day was in line with EU norms, Cicek said "The government listens to the EU. If we don't carry through the legal arrangements enough, there are some mistakes in the implementation. This comes from education. Vocational retraining is necessary."