Erdogan: We only care about what people say

Addressing members of security forces in Ankara on Wednesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that there has been constant dark propaganda on media outlets and social media networks about the Turkish police's attitude during the Gezi Park protests. "We are frequently witnessing attempts at defaming our police in the media and social media through dark propaganda. Turkish people know very well their police, and we only care about what people say. It is not the headlines of some newspapers that we care about, but the headlines of our people," Erdogan said. Stating that security forces have responded with huge democratic patience to street incidents that took place in the cities in the last two months, Erdogan said that western police couldn't do that, adding that the police's attitude towards citizens in Western countries was much more backward compared to that of the Turkish police. Erdogan also acknowledged that some errors had been committed during the nationwide Gezi Park protests, but stressed that the government would not let the entire police forces be blamed by putting forward those who made mistakes. In his address to security forces, Erdogan said, "They can do any improper action to provoke you, but you should give them a lesson by acting lawfully, with civility and morals. The indecent are afraid of civility, don't forget that," adding, "If you protect the state against its citizens, this state becomes cruel and poised to collapse. A state that sees its own citizens as a threat is a cruel and tyrannical state. We can't have such a perspective."