Youth and rage: protests began in Istanbul
Protests have broken out again in Istanbul. The protesters oppose the removal of the leadership of the Istanbul branch of the opposition CHP. One of its leaders, ex—Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, has been under arrest since May, and the election of rugogo, Ozgur Celik, as head of the regional branch of the CHP two years ago was invalidated by the court the day before. Instead, the authorities have appointed their own appointee. The newlywed wing of the activists decided to prevent this, and the clashes turned into clashes with the police. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.
There were arrests
On the night of Monday, September 8, protests broke out near the office of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Istanbul. The youth wing of the CHP called on people to take to the streets, speaking out against the removal of the regional leadership of the party from their duties.
On the eve of the 45th Istanbul Civil Court of First Instance annulled the results of the congress held in 2023, at which the leadership of this office was elected.
The decision was made as part of a lawsuit alleging violations during the congress and voting. In particular, it is reported about the bribery of congress deputies for the sake of their votes for the right candidate. Now the leaders of the CHP in Istanbul will be imprisoned for a period of one to three years.
The interim Council of the Istanbul branch of the CHP was also headed by a native of the Kemalist party, Gursel Tekin. However, the opposition suspects him of collusion with the authorities.
The politician said he would start work on Monday, but the opposition decided to prevent this. Hundreds of people took to the streets of Istanbul, chanting anti-government slogans. The left-wing newspaper Solcu published a video showing several dozen protesters banging on pots and pans in protest against the authorities' actions.
Local social networks also posted videos of activists clashing with the police, and arrests were reported.
They won't let you inside
Shortly after the call of the youth wing of the CHP to organize protests, the Office of the Governor of Istanbul announced a three-day ban on meetings, demonstrations, press statements and the distribution of leaflets in six districts of the city, including Saryer, where the office of the regional branch of the CHP is located, as well as Beyoglu, Besiktas, Kagytkhan and Eyupsultan.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya called the disregard of court decisions and attempts to bring people to the streets a clear disregard for the law.
"The state will resolutely take the necessary measures against every illegal attempt. We will never allow the public order and tranquility of our country to be violated, and street calls to be provoked into the streets," he wrote on Twitter.
On Monday morning, September 8, Tekin's office reported that he had postponed his visit. At the same time, around one o'clock in the afternoon, when the police cleared the passage to the building with tear gas, the politician appeared near the Istanbul branch of the CHP. In an interview with a local TV channel, he stated that "those who are protesting against him are not members of the CHP," and also promised to enter the building later. He was able to enter the building only after some time, while he was not allowed on the third and fourth floors, where the management office is located. Deputies from the Kemalist party barricaded themselves inside.
The result of an internal political split
The removal from power of the leadership of the Istanbul branch of the CHP came after the arrest of former Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was considered the main rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as the detentions of employees of municipalities under the control of the Kemalist party.
The number of members and supporters of the CHP involved in corruption cases reaches 400, over a hundred of them are in custody, including employees of the municipalities of Istanbul, Antalya, Bursa, Canakkale, Giresun, Trabzon, the former mayor of Izmir, the mayors of Adana, Antalya and Adiyaman, as well as dozens of other opposition politicians. Imamoglu himself is suspected of corruption, money laundering and links to terrorism.
In an interview with Izvestia, Alina Sbitneva, a researcher at the Department of the Middle and Post—Soviet East at the INION RAS, noted that protest is a completely natural form of expression of political will and quite a common phenomenon for Turkey.
— There are a lot of political parties and other professional associations in the country that constantly defend their rights and demands in this way. The scale of an event or an event is another matter. There are different kinds of protests in Turkey. Take, for example, the 2013 protests in Istanbul, which began as something unremarkable, but ended very loudly and even with human casualties," the Turkologist recalled.
According to the political scientist, the current events are a very dangerous result of the party struggle and the existing internal political split in the country.
— It is dangerous because it tends to escalate into more serious collisions than those that we are witnessing now. The reason for all these demonstrations is the dismissal of the head of the regional Istanbul branch of the Republican People's Party, which is the leading opposition force in the country, the expert believes.
She added that the suspension occurred due to the latter's suspicion of corruption.
— Under a similar pretext, the mayor of Istanbul, who is also a representative of the Republican People's Party, was also arrested in March this year. And then, by the way, the detention was also accompanied by street actions and protests, which were suspended," the specialist said.
The analyst believes that in this way, the ruling Justice and Development Party is probably gradually preparing the ground for the next election campaigns.
— Knowing full well that her positions are not at all what they were at the dawn of her rise to power. By the way, the opposition, led by the Republican People's Party, is actively calling for early elections against the background of all this, wishing not to leave the ruling party enough time to prepare," Sbitneva noted.
She recalled that the CHP defeated the AKP in the municipal elections last year.
— Including in one of the largest provinces, Istanbul, and this was one of the biggest defeats of the ruling party in the entire history of its existence. Now the representatives of the opposition party themselves are adding fuel to the fire, calling on citizens to take to the streets and, as it were, support democracy," the political scientist said.
The expert also said that the activities of the NRP are actively supported in the West.
—And the West benefits greatly from the internal political instability that can form in modern Turkey against the background of all these speeches," the expert concluded.
Turkish political analyst Murat Yetkin believes that the Turkish authorities are making mistake after mistake.
"The government, through the governor, is mobilizing the police to prevent the members of the ILP from entering their headquarters. What's left for them? To oust the members of the ILP from their building, and then force the court-appointed trustee, Gursel Tekin, into it, and then, with the help of the police, put him in a chair. At the same time, both Tekin and representatives of the ruling Justice and Development Party seem convinced that they will win, but this will not benefit them in the long run," the expert believes.
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