Turkey warns against growing street protests over detained Mayor
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A person walks past a banner with an image of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, as people take part in a protest.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ANKARA - Turkey’s government warned on March 21 against “illegal” calls from the main opposition for street protests over the detention of Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, after thousands demonstrated across the country in the last two days.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said 53 people were detained and 16 police officers injured in protests that began at university campuses, Istanbul municipal headquarters and elsewhere on March 20, triggering scattered clashes.
Mr Imamoglu, who is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival and leads him in some polls, was detained on March 19
The Mayor’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has condemned the move as politically motivated and urged people to lawfully demonstrate, while European leaders have criticised the detention as democratic backsliding.
Mr Yerlikaya and Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc criticised the calls for action from CHP leader Ozgur Ozel as “irresponsible” amid a four-day ban on public gatherings.
“Gathering and marching in protest are fundamental rights. But calling to the streets over an ongoing legal investigation is illegal and unacceptable,” Mr Tunc said on X early on March 21.
Mr Tunc said the courtroom was the place in which to respond to any legal process and called for calm, adding that the “independent and unbiased judiciary” was evaluating the case.
He had warned against linking Mr Erdogan to Mr Imamoglu’s arrest.
Demonstrations took place on March 20 in Ankara, Izmir and Istanbul, as well as other provinces across the country, with the police erecting barricades on several main streets.
‘Theatrics’
Mr Erdogan dismissed the opposition’s criticism as “theatrics” and “slogans” that distract from its internal mistakes.
Speaking at the main Istanbul rally late on March 20, Mr Ozel responded: “Hey Erdogan, you’re most scared of the streets. We are now on the streets, in squares. Continue to be afraid.”
Before thousands of supporters, he said: “While you keep the one we elected in custody, we will not sit at home.
“Mr Tayyip, you are scared and you are asking, ‘Are you calling people to the streets? Are you calling people to the squares?’ Yes. I didn’t fill up these squares or these streets, you did.”
Since Mr Imamoglu’s detention, many supporters have called for more concrete and organised action from the CHP, making Mr Ozel’s call a significant escalation of pressure on the government.
The move against Mr Imamoglu, 54, a two-term mayor, comes as the CHP was set to announce him as its presidential candidate on March 23.
It has called for non-party members to vote for him in ballot boxes set up across the country, as a sign of public resistance.
No presidential election is scheduled until 2028 but Mr Erdogan, 71, could call it early to avoid hitting a two-term limit if he decides to run again.
Crackdown
Mr Imamoglu’s detention caps a months-long legal crackdown on opposition figures that has been criticised as an attempt to hurt their electoral prospects and silence dissent, charges the government denies.
Ankara has dramatically curbed civil disobedience since the 2013 nationwide Gezi Park protests against Mr Erdogan’s government prompted a violent state crackdown.
In an interview on March 20, Mr Ozel told Reuters his party would resist but not disrupt public order.
He vowed to resist any potential attempts by the authorities to remove him and CHP officials from the municipality headquarters, where they have been staying since Mr Imamoglu’s detention.
The party would resist any unjust replacement of Mr Imamoglu, he said.
A government appointee could replace the Mayor if he is formally arrested in the coming days as part of the probe charging him with aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, deemed a terrorist organisation by Turkey and its Western allies.
His detention came a day after a university annulled his degree which, if upheld, would block him from running for president under constitutional rules that require candidates to have a four-year degree. REUTERS
