Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have one question before we conclude. When I visited Turkey earlier in the year, I met the mayor of Beyoğlu in Istanbul. He told me about his plans for the centre of Istanbul and the proposals to redevelop parts of the city. It was just after I left that we saw an element of unrest on the streets of Istanbul and throughout Turkey. I know from recent news reports that there is still some unrest out there. Could Mr. Acikgoz give us his views on what the situation is and how he thinks it can be resolved for everybody's benefit?

I will try to give my views on this issue. I believe it will be very beneficial for the committee to listen to my colleague from the main opposition party so she will brief it about the opinion of the opposition. In my view, this started with an attempt to rebuild Gezi Park in Istanbul as it appeared in the past. When our Prime Minister announced this project to the public, some artists began to protest against it. An intervention took place and all sides admitted that the force used was disproportionate. There were investigations into what took place and some cases have been brought to court and are still in progress. We have also declared that even though the decision coming out of these courts would be in favour of the project, we would still opt for a plebiscite and ask the opinion of the public in Istanbul.

This began with respect to environmental sensitivity but evolved into a political protest in Turkey. There were major uprisings in major cities where the resignation of the Prime Minister was asked for. Demonstrations did not take place during the school summer holidays. There were expectations that this unrest would resume after the end of the school holidays but we have not seen that happen. These have become politicised and we believe that the events that began about Gezi Park are now evolving into demonstrations that relate to the issue of Syria as well. We are working on a package to convince public opinion. This has become a political issue and this democratic package will be announced by our Prime Minister this weekend. We hope to meet some of the requirements and demands of people regarding freedom and human rights issues so that these issues cannot be used as an excuse for these kinds of demonstrations. Although they are few in number, some radical groups are trying to make use of these kinds of demonstrations and issues to destabilise Turkey. It is not widespread but as I mentioned, the committee should also listen to the perspective of the opposition.