Turkiye, Istanbul — The scent of Istanbul’s Sarachan Square gathered over the weekend, with thousands protesting outside the local government’s headquarters in protest against the arrest of mayor Ekrem Imamoguru.
The popular politician, chosen by the major opposition parties in Torkier as their candidate for the next presidential election, was arrested on March 19th. Since then, protests have exploded every day, and protesters have called for the government to resign.
For Imamogul supporters, the decision to detain him from his office and eliminate him is that longtime Turkier leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan is in power.
For the government and its supporters, it is simply the judiciary that does its job.
Cinar Ileri, 28, is present at the protest as a “neutral observer.”
“Look, I’m never supporting Imamoguru. I didn’t vote for him. But I think what happened is unfair to politicians because the legal decision about him is really not just a legal case, it’s a political case,” Ireli said.
The allegations of corruption plague local governments across the political spectrum of Torkiye and are subject to reports filed in the Turkish Parliament, claiming that inadequate checks and balances are in force to combat it.
However, some see the government as focusing on opposition politicians at the point of raising doubts about their commitment to justice, along with accusations that authorities are aiming to reconstruct the political landscape.
People close to the government have rejected these allegations. Hilal Kaplan, a nearby journalist with the ruling justice and development who writes for Sabah newspapers, put the responsibility straight at the doors of the Republican Party of Opposition (CHP).
“Even the CHP members who reported the case to the prosecutor’s office, those who filed criminal charges, those who confessed, those who presented evidence, those who testified and spoke to, and even the secret witness who covered their misconduct, she said that it was a member of Imamoguru, who reported that he was a member of the authorities.
The allegations that the government targeted Imamoguru because it viewed him as a political threat “is nothing more than a blatant lie,” Kaplan said.
Slowing protests
Imamogul, who won two consecutive mayoral elections in Istanbul, is widely regarded as Erdogan’s leading political challenger.
Erdogan has been in power since 2003 and won the recent domestic presidential election in 2023.
Parallel to Imamoguru, Erdogan was also a popular mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s before being imprisoned in 1999.
The day before his arrest, Imamoguru’s university degree was cancelled by Istanbul University. It said it was obtained by mistake.
“I’ll continue to attend demonstrations and see what’s going on, to see what people are feeling, to see what they think.
“After four days of demonstrations, we feel there is a slowdown in the dynamism within the protest,” he added.
“I was there on Sunday night. Nothing special happened in my opinion. There was not much enthusiasm on the day he was officially arrested. And when people compared this to the Gezi Park protest, I don’t think they’ll even match or come close to shock and power.”
“We want change, we should protest.”
The protest has come in the holy month of Ramadan, and many of the mosques in Fati district, the epicenter of the protest, are filled with worshipers for night prayers late at night.
So far, there are few indications that many residents are taking part in the nightly protests.
At Anit Park, a group of old men are throwing stones from their headquarters in Istanbul, sitting on a bench, discussing the politics of waiting for the day of fasting to end.
It appears that most riot police have stationed stone throws or water cannons around them.
When asked if they would join the protest, they simply said they wouldn’t.
But for Ali, a 22-year-old student, taking part in the protests has become an almost nightly ritual.
“I don’t think Imamoguru is the main issue here,” Ali said. “Yes, his current situation is a big problem, but we are all Imamoguru, CHP, or any other political figure — we are just tired of it. We are tired of the AK party’s illegal decision,” he said.
“We care about our lives, our most important freedom, and our future. Yes, I like Imamoguru, but I don’t love him. He is the best option among them and he is always trying to improve things.
Since the protests began, Turkish authorities have detained more than 1,100 people and have requested social media platform X to block several accounts. The platform opposes “over 700” requests, but some opposing accounts have also been suspended, most of which reportedly linked to university activists organizing the protests.
Erdogan called the protest a “movement of violence” and said the CHP would take responsibility for police injuries and property damage and urge the public to stop “inducing” the public.
The ant is not in the flaws. “I think we should protest if we want change. Just sitting and waiting won’t change anything. So I’m so happy to be able to protest. And I’m so happy that we’re together now – not just CHP supporters, I’m with you now,” he said.
“Protest means everything to me because we all believed that we should all stand up for our rights. As a student and Gen Z member, I think we don’t care about anything, but they’re shocked right now because they don’t give up on the fight for them because they care about our rights,” he added.
“Where is justice?”
Residents living in Istanbul’s predominantly opposed neighborhoods have pounded pots and pots out of the windows every night, starting the day after Imamoguru’s arrest.
Furkan, a gym trainer in Besiktas’ opposition center district, shouts, “Where is justice? Where is democracy?” He pounds the pot out the window.
Despite his nightly window protests and dozens of protests on the streets, Furcan is skeptical that this is a turning point for the wider anti-government movement. “I can’t see the fire yet. I can’t feel any energy on the streets. Yes, people are angry at what happened, but that’s not enough.”
It’s easy to see why this is the case. On the other side of the conservative USkudar neighborhood bosshorus, life mainly continues as normal. There is no protest here, and there is no pounding pots or pans every night.
Abdallah, 28, is one of Usdar’s group of friends who have not protested. “It doesn’t seem logical to me to put out and defend someone who has been exposed corruption,” says Abdallah, referring to the numerous corruption cases pending against Imamoguru.
In 2019, Abdallah says he now sympathizes with the mayor who was sucked up when Imamoguru won his first mayoral election after a controversial rerun.
“But today, things are completely different,” he said. “There is no sense of victims as supporters of the AK party believe that Imamoguru is involved in both corruption and focusing money on terrorists.”
“I believe the protest will continue to decline. In the coming days, the Ramadan holiday is approaching and people will return to their homelands. This will not turn into a mass movement. The crowd will forget whoever once praised them.
A short distance from Uskudal, located near Kadikoy’s waist, the weekend protest ended with people returning to coffee shops, bars and restaurants.
Mesut, 32, attending these protests, said they were generally “unorganized” and voluntary.
“What I see is mostly young people, ages 20 to 25, college students. They are not actually part of any organization. Some of them are members of left-wing groups, but most of them are very few,” he pointed out.
“That’s why we don’t have a clear organization or vision,” Mesut said. “People are just angry. Young people are angry. But it’s only natural. But we don’t find an organized or planned roadmap for this behaviorism.”
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