TÜRKİYE ORTA ASYA HABER KKUORDİNATÖRÜ

INVEZZ.POLITIC Statement: What is happening in Türkiye? A World View of Türkiye Turkey is being shaken by the most significant wave of anti-government protests in over a decade. The current unrest in Türkiye reflects the pattern of political repression seen during Erdoğan’s 22-year rule. The Turkish economy, already reeling from inflation and exchange rate problems, is taking an even bigger hit. Turkey is being shaken by the most significant wave of anti-government protests in over a decade, triggered by the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 19, 2025. The popular opposition figure of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s strongest rival, was detained in a dawn raid on allegations of corruption and links to terrorism. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and other cities, defying government bans on gatherings and clashing with riot police who used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. As of today, unrest shows no sign of abating; İmamoğlu has been imprisoned while awaiting trial, a move his supporters describe as politically motivated repression. Why are anti-Erdoğan protests growing across Turkey? The direct trigger for the protests was İmamoğlu's arrest just days before his nomination as the CHP's presidential candidate for the 2028 elections. The 54-year-old, elected mayor of Istanbul in 2019 and re-elected in 2024, has long been a thorn in Erdoğan's side and had ended the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) 25-year hegemony in Türkiye's largest city. His detention on charges of embezzlement, corruption, and aiding the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been widely condemned as a preemptive move to halt his political rise. On March 23, İmamoğlu, in a post on the X platform, called the event "a complete extrajudicial execution," labeling it "treason against Türkiye," and called for mass demonstrations. Protests escalated rapidly. On March 23, a Turkish court formally sentenced İmamoğlu to imprisonment without trial, stripping him of his mayoral title and sending him to Silivri prison. That night, hundreds of thousands gathered in front of the Istanbul City Hall, waving Turkish flags and chanting anti-Erdoğan slogans such as "Dictator resign!" and "We will make Ekrem president!" Riot police responded harshly, using tear gas and stun grenades. According to Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya, 323 people had been detained nationwide as of Saturday night. Despite a ban on mass gatherings extended until March 26 in Istanbul, Ankara, and İzmir, demonstrations spread to more than a dozen cities. Critics see this as Erdoğan tightening his control ahead of the 2028 elections. "The arrest of İmamoğlu is a clear attempt to decapitate the opposition," says Dr. Soner Çağaptay, Director of the Washington Institute's Turkish Studies Program. "Erdoğan is aware that he faces a real challenge from a charismatic, young leader who has already defeated him in Istanbul." His arrest, along with six other CHP mayors in the wider Istanbul region, has mobilized the party's base and beyond; on March 23, 15 million voters (including members and non-members) symbolically supported him as a candidate. A historical chain of repression The current unrest in Türkiye reflects a pattern of political repression during Erdoğan's 22-year rule. In the last major anti-government uprising, the 2013 Gezi Park protests, millions demonstrated against authoritarian rule but faced brutal repression. What began as a movement to demolish a park in Istanbul escalated into a broader outcry against censorship and nepotism, resulting in the deaths of 8 civilians and 2 police officers, and injuring thousands. Since then, Erdoğan has consolidated his power through purges following the 2016 coup attempt; imprisoning tens of thousands, including journalists, academics, and Kurdish politicians, and dismantling judicial independence. Imamoğlu's rise reflects the past hopes of opposition crushed by Erdoğan's rule. His first mayoral victory in 2019 was annulled by the government, but he won again in a rerun by nearly 10 points, dealing a humiliating blow to the AKP. "Istanbul is Erdoğan's political cradle," says Dr. Jenny White, a Turkey expert at Stockholm University. "Losing to İmamoğlu wasn't just a defeat; it was a personal loss." The mayor's subsequent administration...