Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said on Friday the country could learn lessons from two weeks of anti-government demonstrations triggered by a development plan at a green area in Istanbul's city center, Anadolu Agency reported.
"We are deeply analyzing Gezi Park. The events in the last two weeks, the protester profile, the reasons are all evaluated," Atalay said in his speech at Middle East Institute in US capital. "Of course, there are lessons we can draw from all this, and measures we can take."
Atalay said the government valued environmental concerns of its citizens.
"We hold dearly the innocent protests organized with environmental sensitivities," he said. "And we never approve of the security forces' attitude towards the demonstrators on the first days. An investigation is underway."
Turkish deputy prime minister said, however, that the protests also featured a darker background.
"The incidents have somehow turned into a systematic attrition campaign to destroy ten years of development, and a Turkey that we built, working ardently and meticulously, having to take all kinds of risks but always with the people's backing."