Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government will not target or restrict the lifestyles of Turkey's citizens and complained that many of his government's projects were being obstructed by the judiciary.

  “What we have in this country and in these territories is our wealth. It is part of our culture. We have to respect it. This is not the first time I have underlined this point. I have supported this point since I emerged on the political scene. We cannot target or restrict any person's lifestyle. There is no doubt that people may diverge in their opinions. They may direct criticism [at us]. But, this should be done within the boundaries of respect. I see diversity as richness for our 72 million citizens,” the prime minister remarked on Saturday during the inauguration ceremony of the Muhsin Ertuğrul Theater building in İstanbul.When İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş unveiled plans in 2008 to demolish the Muhsin Ertuğrul Theater because it did not meet the public's needs and to construct a new, modern theater building, some secularist circles and newspapers accused Topbaş of lying and argued that his real aim was to construct a mosque or a hotel in the area.After the reconstruction of the building, equipped with high technology and a very modern, stylish face, many protestors offered their regrets and apologies to the İstanbul mayor.“Muhsin Ertuğrul represents certain values in this country. He is an important personality we respect. So are Mevlana, Yunus Emre and Hacı Bektaş-I Veli. Ertuğrul is valued in this country as are Fuzuli, Baki and Nedim. So is Nazım Hikmet. And so are Kemal Tahir and Oğuz Atay,” Erdoğan stated.“When we unveiled plans for a modern theater building, some circles directed harsh accusations at us. They even claimed that we were planning to construct a mosque. Some people believed in those claims. Some columnists and journalists carried those claims in their newspapers. They portrayed us as people who are against the arts. They said we were demolishing theater buildings across Turkey. Who has the right to create an image of us as if we were the enemies of art?” the prime minister asked.Erdoğan also said a similar campaign was being carried out over renovation plans for the Atatürk Cultural Center located in İstanbul's Taksim Square. The reconstruction of the center has stirred up a debate that has been continuing for several years. “Am I an enemy of the public? I am not the king of this country. I am the servant of my people,” he said.In addition, the prime minister complained that many of his government's projects had been obstructed by the judiciary for groundless concerns. “They hurt us deeply. When we decide to take a step forward, we see that the judiciary is against us. I know jurists will be angry with me for my remarks but they should explain why they object to our projects. No other developing country faces as many judicial obstacles as Turkey does. We are on the straight and narrow. We will go as far ahead as possible,” he stressed.