Main political events in Türkiye in the last week.
Main political events in Türkiye in the last week.
The arrest of Istanbul Mayor and Republican People’s Party (CHP) presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu has further deepened political polarization in Türkiye.
CHP leader Özgür Özel’s statements targeting President Erdoğan topped the national agenda. Prior to İmamoğlu’s arrest, Özel claimed that Erdoğan had sought approval from Trump and accused him of “junta”.
Another key topic was the one-day consumer boycott organized by the opposition.
Foreign policy also remained high on Türkiye’s agenda. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s statements regarding Israel was largely discussed last week.
CHP accuses Erdoğan of “junta”
Tensions between the government and the opposition remain high following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Anti-government protests have erupted across the country, while CHP leader Özgür Özel held a rally in Istanbul’s Şişli district, where the local mayor is also under arrest.
During the rally, Özel delivered a strongly worded speech targeting President Erdoğan and the AKP. Özel claimed that Erdoğan had consulted with Trump before ordering İmamoğlu’s arrest and accused the president of “junta”. He said:
“You know how Erdoğan calls us ‘the ones who look for foreign protection’, are ‘lackeys of foreign power’, accuses Türkiye to the foreign powers’. You know what this same Erdoğan did? He went to Trump before March 19 and consulted him and only then detained Mayor Ekrem. Now when people ask him about it, he dodges the question. Erdoğan, who always has something to say, remained silent when asked about this. He just walked away.
(…)
Remember how the Americans used to call Kenan Evren ‘our guy’? Well now, Erdoğan and his secretaries are Trump’s new ‘our guys’. And pro-government media? They proudly broadcast that ‘Trump praised us’ without shame. Trump is the same person who said, ‘We had a pastor there’ reminding us of Brunson. Erdoğan once said, ‘As long as I live, I won’t give him up.’ But in the end, after just one phone call, he complied, put the pastor on a private jet, and sent him back to the US. Trump hasn’t forgotten. He reminds everyone of it. He even wrote Erdoğan that infamous letter: ‘Don’t be a fool. Be smart’. That letter is still on display at the Trump Center in the US.”
Özel then stressed Erdoğan’s silence in the face of Trump’s statements on Gaza:
“Trump now says, ‘I’m going to evacuate Gaza and turn it into a vacation resort’. But what he really craves for are the hydrocarbon reserves beneath it. Erdoğan says nothing to that. Pure silence. Mr. Erdoğan, Palestine is a national issue for us. It’s a matter of pride for the Turkish left. We stand where Yasser Arafat and Ecevit once stood, where Deniz Gezmiş and his comrades stood. Where do you stand? Why don’t you turn to Trump and say, ‘Eyyy Trump!’ like you do with everyone else?
Why? Why is Erdoğan silent? Because when Erdoğan dared to challenge Trump before, Trump said ‘I could expose your assets.’ When he angered Putin, what was the response: I could reveal your illegal oil trade. I could expose your wealth.’ That’s why Erdoğan stays quiet. He surrenders. He takes orders from the US, from Trump.
“From here in Şişli, let me say this loud and clear to all of Türkiye: With this stance, Tayyip Erdoğan is both a coup-plotter and the leading defender of US tutelage. A coup-plotter and a puppet.”
Özel also responded to Erdoğan’s criticisms of the CHP’s past:
“There are two kinds of coups: one with tanks and guns which is military coups, the other when someone comes to power through elections but refuses to leave, attempting a civilian coup. Today, we’re here to defend democracy and the Republic entrusted to us by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and the multi-party system entrusted to us by İsmet Pasha. Today, someone who came to power through elections but refuses to leave when it doesn’t suit him dares to attack this party’s second leader, this country’s second president, the commander of the Western Front of the Independent War, the man who tore up the Treaty of Sèvres and triumphed at Lausanne, İsmet Pasha, someone who lost in a multi-party election and had the dignity to step aside. And to Erdoğan, I say: Who do you think you are, to speak of İsmet Pasha? Know your place, you coup-monger!”
While pledging to restore Türkiye’s parliamentary system, Özel had strong words for the current regime:
“Erdoğan has his appointees. These people are called ‘ministers’ out of habit, coming from our country’s parliamentary tradition. But a real minister is someone elected by the people, someone who works for them. You can’t call someone a minister just because they were written into power by Erdoğan’s pen. At best, they’re like Trump’s cabinet members in the US. What are they called there? Secretaries. From now on, we will treat Erdoğan’s foreign minister and other appointees as secretaries, because that’s what they are.
(…)
A coup-plotter is called a junta. Those who dismantle coups are called the people. We draw our strength from the people.”
President Erdoğan also made a speech targeting the CHP. Criticizing the party’s history, he stated:
“CHP has no vision, no plan, no program. The CHP is fascism in the flesh. (…) Its second chairman, İsmet İnönü, clung to his title and his seat. He only gave it up in 1972 at the age of 88 after losing to Bülent Ecevit. In 1930, when the first attempt at multi-party democracy shook his position, he shut down the Free Republican Party. In 1946, Türkiye transitioned to multi-party democracy not by his will, but due to overwhelming international pressure. He had no choice”
For the first time, Erdoğan also responded to CHP leader Özgür Özel’s claims that approval was sought from the US before İmamoğlu’s arrest:
“The opposition in this country still believes it’s living in the old Türkiye. They think decisions here still need foreign approval. But Türkiye is no longer a country that takes permission, it is a country others seek permission from.
(…)
Türkiye is no longer a background actor cast in the plays of global powers, it is now a game-changer writing its own script. Türkiye is a capable, sovereign nation. The world has come to terms with the ‘New Türkiye’ and Western powers have been forced to accept it. But the main opposition still hasn’t grasped this reality. They fail to see that Türkiye is now playing in a different league. They haven’t understood the paradigm shift in our relations with the West. Because they themselves can’t even breathe without Western approval, they’re incapable of accurately interpreting what’s happening. (…) They’ve never truly known their own people—and I fear they never will.”
One-day general boycott called by the opposition
Another major outcome of the political tension following İmamoğlu’s arrest was the opposition’s boycott initiative.
Targeting a range of companies accused of supporting the government, the CHP joined the call initiated by university students and declared a nationwide boycott for April 2.
CHP leader Özgür Özel announced the boycott with the following statement:
“301 university students, who stood at the frontlines resisting the March 19 Coup and defending their future, were unlawfully arrested. They are now away from their families. I wholeheartedly support the boycott movement launched by young people in response to this injustice inflicted upon students, parents, siblings. I call on everyone to join this boycott and use their power as consumers. The nation is the real owner of the state.”
Following Özel’s statement, government officials issued a series of responses.
Trade Minister Ömer Bolat told the media that businesses affected by the boycott could file for compensation. Describing the boycott as a form of “economic sabotage”, Bolat said:
“These boycott calls are attempts to sabotage the economy. They involve elements of unfair trade and competition. This is the futile effort of a privileged elite, living in luxury and privilege, who see themselves as the masters of this country. For 22 years, they’ve been repeatedly defeated, yet they still act with the arrogance of being ‘first-class citizens’ while looking down on the vast majority of our people as second-class.”
In response to the opposition’s boycott call, Bolat urged citizens to “go shopping”.
The coalition partner, Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, also made a statement regarding the boycott:
“Attempting to launch an operation under the guise of a boycott against our tradesmen, the public, and ultimately our social and economic life, cannot be reconciled with freedom of expression and thought, democratic rights and gains, nor can it be explained or justified by patriotism.”
On April 2, as the opposition carried out the boycott, government ministers and officials close to the government went shopping in markets accompanied by the press.
Following April 2, discussions around the boycott continued. The government claimed the boycott was ineffective, while the opposition argued there was significant participation.
President Erdoğan, claiming the boycott had no impact, said the following:
“Our people did not give in to the calls for a boycott by incompetent and greedy figures who seek to divert attention from their corruption. Just as the ‘Don’t consume, let the economy stop’ calls during the Gezi protests backfired, the CHP’s boycott call was also ignored by the people. In other words, the boycotters themselves were boycotted by our citizens.”
However, CHP leader Özgür Özel stated that the boycott had indeed been successful, saying:
“While the daily card expenditure was 60 billion the week before, it dropped to 28 billion on that day, meaning the boycott’s success rate was 53%. As the Republican People’s Party, we are careful not to harm tradespeople, especially in this fragile economy. ‘Boykotyap.org’ includes companies that censor the protest of the people. Just as the power of production is important, we will also use the power that comes from consumption.”
Following İmamoğlu’s arrest, a Reuters report alleged that while the Central Bank sold a large amount of foreign currency to intervene in the rising dollar exchange rate and the net reserves had decreased by $27.8 billion.
Foreign Minister’s remarks on “non-conflict mechanism” with Israel
New developments are occurring in Türkiye-Israel relations following Trump’s coming to power.
The relations between the two countries, which had been severed due to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, began to change in parallel with developments in Syria.
After the fall of Bashar al-Assad, both Türkiye and Israel continued to operate effectively in Syria. This has led to speculation that the two countries might come into direct confrontation in Israel, but statements from both sides emphasized that “neither side wants conflict”.
Recently, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan made extensive evaluations regarding Türkiye-Israel relations. In a program on CNN Türk, when asked, “Will there be a meeting with Israel under US’s mediation?” Fidan responded:
“This is an issue for our president to decide. But my assessment is as follows: our primary priority here is ensuring that while everyone in the region achieves their own security goals, no one ends up in conflict with one another. Now, as we carry out certain operations in Syria, whether by air or otherwise, there needs to be a non-conflict mechanism with Israel, which is also operating aircraft in the region, just as we have with the Americans and the Russians. In Syria, we have had a non-conflict mechanism with the Russians, Americans, and later with the Iranians. Now, in this mechanism, at some point, Israel also needs to be included. It is normal to have technical-level contacts to ensure this.
(…)
So, we are not talking about a special method developed just for Israel. As for the normalization of Türkiye-Israel relations, defining it through Syria, as of now, is largely incomplete. In any case, the president has expressed his will in this regard. We are cutting off commercial relations, recalling our ambassador until a ceasefire is established in Gaza and humanitarian aid begins.”
Regarding the meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, Minister Fidan made the following comments:
“When we look at a Middle East through Gaza, the US needs to ‘fix’ and ‘set the framework’ for Netanyahu, so to speak. When Trump came to power, he promised to end the wars in both Palestine and Ukraine. At this point, both in Ukraine and Gaza some steps have been taken. I hope this will continue.
(…)
When you look at Trump’s leadership characteristics, you can see that he is extremely sensitive about this issue. He has an empathy for Zionism. He has Israeli supporters around him. But in the end, he wouldn’t want to hear, ‘He turned out to be Israel’s man’ or ‘He just does whatever they say’. A person who confronts the whole world probably wouldn’t shy away from confronting Netanyahu, I think.”
Also, sources from the Ministry of National Defense addressed questions regarding whether there have been any discussions between Türkiye and Israel about a “non-conflict” mechanism in Syria:
“A technical meeting was held in Azerbaijan regarding the establishment of a non-conflict mechanism to prevent unwanted events in Syria. Efforts will continue to establish the non-conflict mechanism.”