Figure of the Turkish opposition and principal opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, arrested on Wednesday for corruption and terrorism, called on Thursday, March 20, the Turkish nation to react and the judges of his country to “Do not be silent”accusing the president of never accounting.
“I call for members of the judiciary (…). You must act and take care of this handful of colleagues who tarnish our judicial system, humiliate us on the international scene and destroy our reputation ”wrote the councilor in a message posted on X by his lawyers, the day after his placement in police custody. Addressing himself without appointing him to the Head of State, Mr. Imamoglu criticized him “Countless spots you cannot account, neither in your country nor abroad”.
The mayor of the largest city and economic capital of the country was to be inducted on Sunday candidate of the Republican Party of the People (CHP, Social Democrat), the first opposition force in Parliament, to the presidential election of 2028. But the cancellation, Tuesday, of his diploma of the de facto deprive of any possibility of running for the supreme magistracy. So he warns the Turks: “The same people who have taken hold of my diploma will attack your goods, your honor (…). As a nation, we must remain united against this evil ”.
Wave of mobilization and arrests
Even before this call, his supporters had planned to mobilize Thursday to denounce what they describe as “Coup d'etat”. Events of students from several universities of Istanbul took place in several points of the city since mid-day, despite the rain.
Place Taksim and the adjacent park of Gezi, emblematic places of the protest in the heart of Istanbul, remained prohibited from access to Thursday to prevent any gathering, also defended until Sunday by the Governor of the Metropolis. Similarly, access to several social networks and messaging of which X and WhatsApp was still limited Thursday in Istanbul, noted the Agency France-Presse (AFP). And the Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, announced the arrest of 37 people for “Provocative messages” on social networks.
In addition to Mr. Imamoglu, more than 80 people were arrested on Wednesday and around twenty others are wanted. Among them, six people are also accused of “support for a terrorist organization”, the Kurdistan workers' party (PKK), a prohibited armed movement which has recently committed to laying their arms. According to local media, interrogations of police custody did not start until Thursday morning.
This new wave of arrests affecting the opposition has lowered the Turkish pound: it is exchanged Thursday around 38 pounds for a dollar and almost 41.50 pounds for one euro, levels never reached until Wednesday. The Turkish Central Bank said in a statement that it would, if necessary, draw from its exchange reserves to prevent any fall in the national currency, as it did on Wednesday, according to economists.
“You are not alone”
The president of the CHP, Özgür Özel, called again to a rally at 8:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. Paris time) in front of the seat of the municipality, his party said.
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Wednesday evening, despite the cold, several thousand people answered his call by chanting, among others, “Imamoglu, you're not alone!” »». The president of the CHP denounced a “Coup d'etat against the opposition” and huer the head of state. “We wanted to cancel the will of the people”he said. “There are no corruption or terrorist group, but executioners of justice in control”he hammered alongside the mayor's wife, Dilek Imamoglu, believing that “The only crime in Imamoglu is (…) to have won over the hearts of people. His only crime is that he will be the next president! »».
Mr. Imamoglu, who delighted the municipality of Istanbul in 2019, is seen as the main rival of the Head of State, who has abstained for the time of any comments. The mayors of several capitals and major European cities, as well as the ministries of French and German foreign affairs condemned its arrest, warning against the consequences for Turkish democracy.
Source: Lemonde