A time for reason - Telegraph Since a wave of protests first gripped Turkey almost two weeks ago, the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has delivered something of a masterclass in turning a drama into a crisis. Rather than seeking to defuse the situation, he has condemned the protesters as "looters," "anarchists" and "terrorists," called the social network Twitter a "menace" for distributing information about the protests that a cowed media had downplayed, and generally acted as though insulting him and his accomplishments is an act of sedition, rather than free expression. This, coupled with heavy-handed police attempts to disperse the crowds using tear gas and smoke grenades, has incensed many parts of Turkish society, and created an extraordinarily febrile situation. Of course, Turkey is not Egypt, and Taksim Square is not Tahrir. Mr Erdogan is a genuinely popular leader, especially among the conservative Anatolian population of the rural heartland, and has delivered impressive levels of economic growth. Under his rule, the country has been seen as a bridge between east and west, an invaluable partner for Europe and America and a welcome example of how political Islamism (the movement that gave birth to the ruling Justice and Development Party) can be reconciled with democratic values. Sadly, Mr Erdogan's increasingly belligerent and autocratic style is putting those accomplishments in jeopardy and resurrecting old fears that he believes in democracy only as a means to an end - that being the construction of a one-party state and the erosion of the secular settlement imposed by Ataturk. It also hands invaluable ammunition to those within the European Union - of whom Britain, we are pleased to say, is not one - who believe Turkey should be kept at arm's length. We urge Mr Erdogan to see reason.