Syria slams Erdogan for violence against protesters
Syrian minister urges Egypt president to halt violent repression of peaceful protests or resign.
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syria gleefully turned the tables on Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday over his response to anti-government demonstrations, calling on him to halt the violent repression of peaceful protests or resign.
Erdogan, a former ally of Bashar al-Assad, turned against him after the Syrian president sought to crush largely peaceful protests which broke out in March 2011 and have since descended into a brutal civil war that has left at least 80,000 dead.
Syrian state television broadcast hours of live footage from Istanbul, where thousands of protesters clashed for a second day with riot police who fired teargas and water cannons.
The unrest was triggered by government plans for a building complex in Istanbul s Taksim Square, long a venue for political protest, but widened into a show of defiance against Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP).
"The demands of the Turkish people don t deserve all this violence," Syrian television quoted Information Minister Omran Zoabi as saying. "If Erdogan is unable to pursue non-violent means, he should resign."
"Erdogan s repression of peaceful protest ... shows how detached he is from reality."
The Turkish prime minister turned against Assad after he said the Syrian leader had rejected Ankara s advice for political reform in response to protests which erupted in Syria two years ago, inspired by uprisings across the Arab world.
It now hosts Assad s political and military opponents, infuriating Damascus which accuses Erdogan of fuelling the bloodshed in Syria.
