For the first time, Turkey’s Islamic-rooted ruling party is threatening to use the full military to suppress protests against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s autocratic and increasingly violent rule.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday that she was shocked by Turkey's violent crackdown on protests in major cities, saying it “was much too harsh”.

“What is happening in Turkey at the moment does not meet with our ideas of freedom of assembly, (or) freedom of expression,” she said, adding “I am in any case shocked.”

Merkel called on the Turkish government to respect basic democratic liberties, “That is part of a developed society.”

Over the weekend, Turkish Police escalated the violence by attacking medics who were assisting injured protesters, while Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened the foreign reporters who have been covering three weeks of unrest, singling out CNN International, The BBC, and Reuters.

So far, at least four people were killed in the protests in Turkey and thousands have been injured.