Foreign powers and the Jewish diaspora have triggered the recent unrest in Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay has said adding that the international media had also played a key role in “the conspiracy”.

Foreign powers and the Jewish diaspora have triggered and fomented the unrest in Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay said Monday in the Central Anatolian province of Kırıkkale.

He also said Monday that the international media had played a key role in “the conspiracy,” adding that “they bought it and started broadcasting immediately.” The nationwide protests, which began on May 31, were triggered when police cracked down on activists staging a sit-in demonstration to save Gezi Park, located near Istanbul’s iconic Taksim Square.

Atalay also said the international media had played a key role in “the conspiracy”. “The ones trying to block the way of Great Turkey will not succeed,” he said.

“There are some circles that are jealous of Turkey’s growth,” Atalay said. “They are all uniting, on one side the Jewish diaspora. You saw the foreign media’s attitude during the Gezi Park incidents; they bought it and started broadcasting immediately, without doing an evaluation of the [case].”

The Gezi protests began on May 31, triggered by Istanbul’s plans to remove Gezi Park, which lies next to the iconic Taksim Square, to build a replica of Ottoman artillery barracks and a mall.

The demonstrations quickly morphed into nationwide protests against the government in response to the heavy-handed tactics used by police to disperse protesters. Four people were killed and some 7,000 injured in 20 days of unrest, statistics released by the Turkish Medical Association indicated.

A sit-in by peaceful protesters soon turned into mass protests across the country with nearly two million people taking part and 79 of Turkey’s 81 cities seeing unrest, according to interior ministry estimates.

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