Mass Turkey protest against economic policy

Tradesmen protest against the police in dowtown Ankara, Turkey, on Friday

ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Ankara, Turkey, and other cities Saturday, the latest in a wave of demonstrations against the government's handling of the economy.

More than 50 people were taken into custody as officials used armored cars equipped with water cannons to disperse the crowds.

The demonstrators were protesting the government's handling of an economic crisis that has cut the value of Turkey's lira by more than 40 percent and demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

The head of the craftsmen union said he would call on shopkeepers to cool down, but he is also asking the government to take their concerns seriously.

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Labor unions report that during the past two years, more than 300,000 tradesmen and women have lost their jobs.

Ecevit warned protest organizers against being used by radical Islamists and revolutionaries who want to overthrow Turkey's secular, Western regime and said he would not resign.

In February, Turkey plunged into political and economic turmoil following a government decision to abandon its exchange-rate controls.

The government floated its currency -- effectively allowing a devaluation of the lira -- in a dramatic move to deal with one of its worst financial crises in decades.

It was sparked by a bitter dispute between Ecevit and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, which escalated in February.

Ecevit stormed out of a meeting with Sezer, upset after the president criticized the government for failing to battle corruption.

Political stability is seen as essential to the success of the program, and the clash between the country's two top leaders led to fears of a government collapse.

Ecevit's three-party coalition government is Turkey's most stable in years, but the row terrified Turkish banks, many of them weakened from the country's financial crisis late last year.

Panicked investors drained more than $7 billion from central bank reserves, leading it to cut off the taps in a bid to wrest those dollars back, which sent key lending rates soaring.

The economic stabilization program has been under pressure since November, when international investors were scared off by allegations of corruption in the banking sector.

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Turkish Government
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