Turkey's Army Could Be Used Against Protesters, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc Says

Deputy PM: Turkey Could Use Army Against Protesters
Turkish soldiers wait at the entrance of Bosphorus bridge on Anatolian side in Istanbul, on June 16, 2013. Police fired tear gas and jets of water to disperse hundreds of demonstrators in Istanbul's Taksim Square, shortly after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned police would intervene to end protesters' occupation of a park bordering the square. Turkish protesters today had refused to budge from an Istanbul park at the centre of nationwide anti-government demonstrations after rejecting a government olive branch aimed at ending two weeks of deadly unrest. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)
Turkish soldiers wait at the entrance of Bosphorus bridge on Anatolian side in Istanbul, on June 16, 2013. Police fired tear gas and jets of water to disperse hundreds of demonstrators in Istanbul's Taksim Square, shortly after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned police would intervene to end protesters' occupation of a park bordering the square. Turkish protesters today had refused to budge from an Istanbul park at the centre of nationwide anti-government demonstrations after rejecting a government olive branch aimed at ending two weeks of deadly unrest. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

ANKARA, June 17 (Reuters) - Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said on Monday Turkey could deploy "elements of the armed forces" to help quell anti-government protests if needed, after more than two weeks of violent demonstrations in several cities.

"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," Arinc told Turkey's state-run TRT television. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk; Writing by Nick Tattersall; Editing by Ayla Jean Yackley)

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