Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu struck out at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statements on the Gezi Park protests upon the latter's arrival from an African trip Hurriyetdailynews reported.
During his speech late on June 6, Erdogan said a lobby of interest groups was behind the protests, which started with a small sit-in gathering but turned into nationwide rallies within days.
"The prime minister said a lobby of interest groups was doing this. So, don't let them," Kilicdaroglu told reporters in the Aegean province of İzmir. "He has no idea about the importance of the issue. People near him give him a wrong idea. Not seeing what the whole world is seeing is blindness."
"The markets are sinking and interest rates are going, but he is still blaming others. He does not think 'This happens as I speak,'" Kilicdaroglu added.
Thousands of people gathered for Erdogan's address, which happened at 2:45 a.m. on June 7 after the prime minister's arrival from a four-day trip to Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
Kilicdaroglu said the 10-year rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) brought Turkey to that point.
"We are at a point of change. People want more democracy and freedom. They want respect of their beliefs and thoughts," Kilicdaroglu said. "Ten years of pressuring the administration brought this society here."