World press on political crisis in Turkey (December 23, 2013)

"Erdogan Vows to Fight Groups Undermining Turkish Government" is an article published today by Bloomberg Businessweek magazine. 

"Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, embattled by a corruption probe that has rocked his government, vowed to purge his administration of groups he said are plotting against it," the article reads. 

Commenting on the economic outcome of the crisis, Bloomberg reports that "the Borsa Istanbul 100 Index (XU100) has fallen 8.2 percent since the operation began. The latest drop has sent stocks down a total of 24.6 percent since Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke first discussed tapering the U.S.’s bond-buying program on May 22. The lira was unchanged at 2.0915 against the dollar at 1:21 p.m. today in Istanbul."

"As police used water cannons and tear gas against anti-government protesters in Istanbul, Erdogan was welcomed yesterday by a group of supporters in white burial shrouds in the Black Sea port city of Trabzon who chanted, “We are with you even if it means death,” according to Hurriyet newspaper."

"Gulen yesterday appealed to the government to cleanse itself rather than purge opponents, saying “nothing can be fixed this way,” according to a website, Herkul, where followers post his speeches or videos of his sermons. Gulen also accused Erdogan’s government of violating Islam for referring to Muslims as gangs and bandits."

"In Turkey, Anti-Corruption Protesters Clash With Police As Minister Offers Resignation" is another article on the subject published today by Huffington Post. 

"The Turkish leader... again dismissed the scandal Sunday as a shadowy international plot against his government, while Turkish authorities pressed ahead with a purge of the police officials allegedly investigating the case," the article reads.

"The probe poses a strong challenge to Erdogan's long-time Islamic-led government, which weathered a wave of nationwide protests against its rule this summer," the author of the article believes. 

"Turkish commentators say the investigation and the arrests are the result of a power struggle between Erdogan's government and an influential Islamic movement led by the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, which is widely believed to hold sway within Turkey's police and judiciary... Opposition parties have accused Erdogan of trying to whitewash the scandal. Authorities on Sunday also began barring reporters from entering police buildings unless invited for news conferences, Anadolu reported, drawing protests from journalism groups, which said the move amounted to a censorship of the scandal."