The political situation becomes more and more tense in Türkiye. On Sunday the fifth day of protests ended after the arrest of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem imamoğluthe main political rival of the current president Racep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The news is yesterday that the Istanbul court established the imprisonment of Imamoğluconsidering the accusations of “managing a criminal organization”, as well as extortion, illegal registration of personal data, manipulation of tenders and acceptance of bribes.
For the moment, the most serious accusation linked to the alleged support that the Mayor would have provided to the Party of Kurdish workers (PKK), a Kurdish extremist faction which in Türkiye is considered a terrorist organization, rejected for the moment. The statements of the Court, however, do not bode well the now former mayor of Istanbul: «Although there is a strong suspicion that (Imamoğlu) help an armed terrorist organization, since it has already been decided that it will be arrested for financial crimes, (his arrest for terrorism) is not considered necessary at this stage “.
In the meantime, from Silivri prison (the same in which Osman Kavala is locked up, another opponent of Erdoğan sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the anti -government protests of 2013), Imamoğlu He announces: «We will never fold. Everything will go great! ».
Sunday 23 March was also the day in which the primaries of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) were held, the main opposition party to which the mayor of Istanbul belongs. The vote turned into a real form of protest against the authorities and of proximity to the arrested mayor.
The primaries, held in the 81 seats scattered in the main Turkish cities, participated about 15 million Turks, (the CHP has “only” 1 million and 750 thousand subscribers), Ekrem imamoğluwhich was the only candidate, he exulted in a post published on platform X: «There has been a record level of participation in the presidential primary of our Republican People’s Party. Tens of millions of people in this country, who suffer from the oppression of the government, the ruined economy, incompetence and illegality, rushed to the polls and have told Erdoğan: “It is enough” ».
Not even the protests that since last Wednesday have been inflaming all the main Turkish cities, with the police in an anti -Somemossa who in more than one case have been forced to disperse the crowd with hydrants, tear gas and rubber bullets have not been inflamed. In Istanbul the center of the protests is Saraçhane squareseat of the Town Hall. «I send my greetings to the millions of people who are shouting tonight Saraçhane And in the squares of all my country. When the polls arrive, the nation will give this government an unforgettable slap in the face, “he commented Imamoğlu On X.
In recent days hundreds of people have been stopped during the demonstrations, with more than 350 arrests, on Sunday the authorities asked for and obtained the blockage of about 700 opponents accounts on the X platform of Elon Musk. At the moment the protests do not mention to subside, but the resolve of Erdoğan In folding the opposition appears clear: «If you have the courage, let democracy and the law work. If you have the courage, let the courts make their decisions on behalf of the Turkish nation without any pressure », tweeted the Turkish president.
The weight of the strong tensions currently currently underway is the Turkish economy, with the lira to historic lows and the regulatory authority of the Turkish capital markets that prohibited the revealed sales on all shareholders, trying to prevent further share losses after the collapse of the stock exchange last week.
