A defiant Erdogan shows no inclination to give in to protesters' demands.

On Monday, he dismissed allegations that security forces used excessive force, and denied that Turkey could be on the cusp of its own "Arab Spring." "We are servants of the people, not masters. We did not use violence," he said before leaving for a four-day trip to North Africa.

Citaat:

"Those in Turkey who speak of the Turkish Spring are right; the season is, in fact, spring," he said. "But there are those trying to turn it into a winter."

He said opponents who had failed to defeat his party in elections were trying to beat it "by other means." "The issue of trees in Gezi Park thing is just the trigger," he said.

A government tyrannizing its people, has lost its legality.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan