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Turkey’s Declining Image Alarms Gul

President Abdullah Gul worries about the costs for Turkey of toeing the line that the protests are part of a “grand international and domestic conspiracy.”
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (L) and Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend a graduation ceremony for 226 cadets at the Air Force war academy in Istanbul August 30, 2011. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY EDUCATION) - RTR2QJGQ

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, a staunch supporter of Ankara’s EU perspective and the democratization this has been bringing to the country, is expressing alarm over the negative image of Turkey that is emerging internationally due to the anti-government protests that have been raging for over three weeks now.

Talking to reporters after a promotional gathering at the presidential palace in Ankara on June 18, Gul was asked if he had evidence that the latest events in Turkey were “part of a great game being played against the country,” as Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ministers are claiming.

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