fixtures or other structures that have been here for quite some time and it's right behind me the ataturk cultural center now it's decorated with posters and slogans but that's not how it was a week ago it backed it was slated for demolition so why is it important for people in taksim what kind of significance does it carry for turkish people not just in istanbul but all over the country well let's go inside and take a look and find out the a cam used to house ballet and opera and was essentially a source of pride for the turks people for them it was a representation of the cultural and political heritage left over by kemal ataturk but everyone said ballet is not an arch worthy of the turkish people not something that turkey should be looking in aspiring to and decided to demolish this art house you can see in order to make way for a new op or house a lot of people see this demolition as an attempt by anyone to go backwards instead of going forwards to do away with the with the ideas that were brought here by the turks and to bring in one's own ideas into basically you can say that at thi

seeing conservative islamic values and turkey has been staunchly secular for nearly a century the ataturk cultural center is taksim square also said to be demolished as part of a redevelopment plan has become a symbol of the current struggle. now reports. it's been a week since the violent dispersal of protests here in taksim square and then goes the park and let's take a look at one of the most important fixtures or other structures that have been here for quite some time and it's right behind me the ataturk cultural center now it's decorated with posters and slogans but that's not how it was a week ago it backed it was slated for demolition so why is it important for people in taksim what kind of significance does it carry for turkish people not just in istanbul but all over the country well let's go inside and take a look and find out the a cam used to house ballet and opera and was essentially a source of pride for the turkish people for them it was a representation of the cultural and political heritage left over by kemal ataturk but everyone said ballet is not an arch worthy of the

atta boy ataturk. but that all changed in 2003 with the election of conservative muslim and autocratic anagram re-jehp ta-yeep air-doe-ahn. that anagram, by the way, pro gay centipede ray. now, prime minister centipede here has upset some istanbulees by calling for women to have at least three children, single sex beaches and new regulations on the sale of alcohol urging citizens to instead drink ayran, a salty mixture of yogurt and water. but please go easy or you will end up with a nasty case of yogurt goggles and wake up next to a goat. nation, i feel so torn. on the one hand i'm a fan of authoritarians. on the other hand (whispers) he's a muslim. what am i supposed to think? here to tell me what i'm supposed to think is the professor at the national war college, omer taspinar. professor, thank you so much for joining me. all right. all right. thank you for joining us from the war college. >> thank you. stephen: home of the fightin' wars. now let's talk turkey, all right? what i don't understand is

our diplomatic ataturk is standing by. what are you hearing? >> a news conference will take place in a few moments in geneva. we know what they are going to say. they are going to announce the biggest ever humanitarian appeal in history for syria. the numbers involved are best. the u.n. is talking about a figure of almost $5 billion. there is a little confusion on whether that includes the money already paid this year, which is $1.2 4 billion. even if it does include that, the new money is $3.9 6 billion, a huge amount of money. that begs the question of how they're going to raise this money. they have already found it hard .aising existing amount that is 80% of what they asked for earlier in the year. it is difficult because there are so many governments stopped at this time because of the harsh economic climate. there are other calls on them. for example, the desperate situation in mali. >> money has been pledged already, but not all that has arrived. the situation in syria is catastrophic. do they know where the money will be used for and wh

first of all turkey's founded by a turk and discover mint is betraying the ataturk's. legacy and. especially they are struggling against the secularism of turkey and turkey's a secular state by constitution and to we are not happy about it. for example. afghans government publicly announced recently that they may bring. probably bishan on alcohol for example and many like issues. like these they are trying to. implement really just state in turkey we are not happy about besides the issues there are also foreign issues foreign policy issues like syria policy of turkey. turkey. before our don government was never into our fearing that our neighbors internal affairs but in it seems that under the under our there are gone government turkey is mainly serving to u.s. interests not to turkish interests. also besides this. there is a deep rooted in turkey probably because of our government so-called kurdish separatists in and use kurdish separatists in is. especially accelerated by the great middle east initiated of united states and israel policy and i'm too right we'll have to leave it

it would be a shame if the good legacy of ataturk would be diluted in modernization, tolerant, democratization and removal of religious influence from political life while remaining a strong gravity of land. more recently we have seen adherence to in nato and great progress towards western liberal democracy and market capitalism delivered in almost economic progress. i have always said, mr. president, we should not be surprised, we are not at that stage. and in the shape and direction, have to take place in the next few years so to have a closer union and looser, more flexible european union focused on the single market rather than political integration that this sort of european union will more easily accommodate countries such as turkey. >> translator: thank you. >> thank you, mr. president. throughout the debate, significant achievements in reducing the debt and paying off loans. the bond he himself, policies have helped nurture emergence of the turkish middle-class. big achievement in deeds. ironically today, this middle class that presents a large majority of the people that are out prote

mid-morning in istanbul, riot police rested around a monument to modern turkey's founding father, kemal ataturk, and armored vehicles idled, their water cannons silent. but protesters insisted their resolve was unbroken. >> ( translated ): we do not want to withdraw or to go back one step. there were civil demands and we were all united without any political help from any party. here there is a civil resistance and we will not get back until our demands are fulfilled. >> woodruff: the daytime quiet was perhaps a product more of exhaustion than of any resolution to the near-two-week standoff. and it followed a violent night that left the square littered with debris. clashes between police and protesters raged through the night hours, with water cannon, tear gas fusillades. protesters threw rocks and chunks of sidewalk and launched fireworks at police. it was the most serious confrontation in the square since the sit-in began with environmentalists trying to preserve gezi park-- one thin slice of green space in sprawling, central istanbul. when police assaulted that initial gathering, other group

with their principles under which they were elected and a powerful symbol of the turkish people, ataturkdegree desecrated. >> and so, the president of turkey, it's such a complicated situation. he was democratically elected, a lot of conservatives support him and now you have these protests. for someone like you deciding to take a stand on an issue, how do you make a decision? are they going about this the right way by having protests or not? >> erin, yes. i think protesting and activism and direct action where appropriate and nonviolent i think is very, very positive. it's not like they're making a decision to take a stand. maybe i'd feel different if they say you've got to come to the square and kicking off, but me sort of tweeting a few things because i happen to generally agree with people being active against governments that are oppressing them and not correctly representing them, particularly in an issue where public space is being taken, particularly where a regime is oppressing people in a way that's quite so palpable and tangible, where people feel like they've had enough. i do

ataturk is a secularist he is telling women to put their head covers back on and so a small demonstrationion wanted to pave over for a shopping mall has blown up into this huge protest. there's a wonderful story about the woman in red, if you want to take a look at what this is somebody, google turkey women in red, and there's a series of photos of a young woman being sprayed with tear gas by a maxed masked policeman. it that's that kind of brutality that has outraged the public and lead to mass demonstrations out there turkey. >> bill: is this going to topple the prime minister? >> topple unlikely? set him back almost certainly. but it is still going on. we're in the middle of it. we may not be anywhere near the end. >> bill: and do we know if there are any other outside forces or is this all inside turkey. >> this is all inside turkey. it is not being ginned up by terrorist forces no it's a, we demand dignity protest. >> bill: we're talking syria, turkey, and susan rice president an in your face appointment for congressional republicans. a great appointment. your calls welcome at 866-55