Mass protests could destabilize Turkey

Question: Looking at Erdogan’s comments about his limited patience with protesters, these comments have not been received very well by the general public, which are out protesting on the streets of Turkey. How do you interpret it?
 
Jones: Well, obviously everyone is trying to play hardball with the demonstrators and he thinks he can use force to stop what’s going on. I think this is a very foolish move on his part.
 
    And it’s very serious because it looks like one of the most important and the biggest countries in the area is imploding, similar to what is happening in Syria and elsewhere. But I think the policy of confrontation, which he is indicating here is going to lead to more and more serious dissolution of Turkey itself.
 
 
Q: The sound coming out of the president of Turkey as well as Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s deputy seems more reconciliatory. Why do we see Erdogan though taking this hard line when it comes to the protesters?
 
Jones: I think in one sense it’s a reaction because he feels personally attacked and he’s going on the offensive. Maybe he also feels that he has enough support to re-instill some kind of stability by taking a more confrontational approach.
 
    But it seems to me looking in from the outside given the division in the nation as a whole and even the division within his own government it seems to me that by pushing a confrontational policy here he is asking for a lot of trouble.
 
 
And that this country, which has been relatively stable through all the turbulence and otherwise that has been going on is now going to become the ‘center of the storm’.
 
Q: What do see the future for Turkey specifically with regards to Recep Tayyip Erdogan?
 
Jones: Obviously his future since he is taking this kind of a position depending on the success of utilizing military force or whatever police force against the demonstrators, if that doesn’t work then I think he is in serious trouble.
 
But I think rather than having another upset of local government I think you’re going to have more and more instability. This is happening in a situation in which the Middle East is becoming a fire storm and you have to see it more in terms of a fire storm spreading more and more.
 
It began with Syria, it began really with Libya and now Syria and this is just threatening to engulf the entire area. Unless the policy is changed this is going to be very serious problem for the entire world.