Erdogan says Turkish democracy and economy passed the test

During a meeting of the Advisory Committee for Turkish Citizens Abroad, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday in Ankara that Turkish democracy and economy passed the test they faced during the course of two-week long protests centered on Istanbul's Taksim Square. "These protests directly targeted Turkey's economy and democracy, but neither our economy, nor our democracy received any damage, thanks to the solid foundations we have laid down." Erdogan also continued his harshly-worded criticisms against the EU yesterday, accusing Brussels of being "undemocratic" in his latest reaction against the recent European Parliament resolution critical against of the government's handling of the ongoing protests. "Do you have the right to take such a decision? You stay silent about what's happening in France, in England and elsewhere in Europe, and you dare to take a decision on our security forces, who are exercising their duty of law enforcement against those demonstrators. You are anti-democratic," Erdogan said. Accusing the EU of not respecting democracy, Erdogan said, "Your definition of freedom is different. You support those who attack the freedom of others."
Describing the activities of the Gezi Park activists as an attempt to restrict the freedom of him and others, Erdogan repeated his attack on the European Parliament by saying he did not recognize it.