Erdogan meets with university students in Erzurum

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday met with representatives of universities in Erzurum, visiting the eastern city for the current 2011 Winter Universiade. Erdogan characterized the Erzurum meeting as a continuation of a meeting he held with university rectors in December, adding that he will continue to meet with students. During yesterday's meeting, referring to frequent clashes between leftist and rightist university students in the 1970s before the 1980 coup, Erdogan said, "We've come a long way since those days, when the streets ran like rivers of blood. Today, we can clearly see who won and who lost 30 years ago. Those who had sinister intentions against Turkey won. The fine children of Anatolia and their families were the losers." Stating that he can't tell the students not to protest the government, Erdogan nevertheless urged them not to get involved with "ill-intentioned" groups.