Turkey's deputy prime minister said on Monday that the armed forces could be called up if needed to help quell the popular protests that have swept Turkish cities in the last two weeks, Reuters reports.
Bulent Arinc made the remarks in Ankara, where 1,000 striking trade union workers faced off briefly against police backed by several water cannon, before the police retreated and the crowd dispersed.
"Our police, our security forces are doing their jobs. If it's not enough, then the gendarmes will do their jobs. If that's not enough ... we could even use elements of the Turkish Armed Forces," Reuters quotes Arinc.
