Istanbul – The leader of the main opposition of Türkiye renewed on Friday a call to the followers to take to the streets to peaceful manifestations Against the arrest of the mayor and the top rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, even when the authorities expanded a prohibition of the protests and criticized the appeal as irresponsible.
Mayor Ekrem Imamogu was arrested In a raid for dawn in his residence on Wednesday about alleged ties of corruption and terrorism, increasing an offensive against opposition figures and dissident voices. Several other prominent figures were also arrested, including two mayors of the district.
Many see the arrest as an attempt politically driven by eliminating a popular opposition figure and a key challenger to Erdogan of the next presidential race, currently scheduled for 2028. Government officials reject accusations that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated and insist that the courts of Türkiye operate independently.
The Cumhuriyet newspaper and other media reported that the police began to interrogate Imamoglu on Friday afternoon. The mayor can be arrested without charges for up to four days.
Erdogan said the government would not tolerate street protests and accused the opposition party of being associated with corruption, marginal groups and terrorist organizations.
“We see that an anti -corruption operation in Istanbul is being used as an excuse to stir the disturbances in our streets. I want it to be known that we will not allow a handful of opportunists to bring disturbances to Turkey just to protect their looting schemes,” said Erdogan.
“Point out to the streets instead of the courts to defend theft, looting, anarchy and fraud is a serious irresponsibility,” said Erdogan. “Just as we have not surrendered to street terrorism so far, we will not bow to vandalism in the future.”
From Imamoglu arrestThousands of people have gathered at the Istanbul City Council for night demonstrations, and the clashes have exploded between protesters and the police in Istanbul, the Turkish capital Ankara and the third largest city in Türkiye, Izmir.
The most violent clash took place at the Technical University of the Middle East of Ankara on Thursday night, when the police deployed tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstration. The students said that rubber bullets were used, but the government has denied it.
The Interior Ministry said that more than 50 people were arrested and that 16 police officers were injured, after the protests.
On Friday, the authorities of Ankara and Izmir announced a prohibition of five days on demonstrations, after a similar prohibition previously imposed by the Office of the Governor of Istanbul. The prohibitions occurred after the country’s minister of justice recognized the right of people to demonstrate, but said that street protests in the midst of ongoing judicial investigations were unacceptable.
Even so, Ozgur Ozel, president of the Republican Popular Party, CHP, made a new call for people to meet and demonstrate.
“I invite tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands and millions to demonstrate peacefully, express our democratic reaction and exercise our constitutional rights,” he said.
Ozel said: “To those who say that calling people to the streets is irresponsible, I say this: we are not the ones who fill these streets and squares. It is their illegality and injustices that have taken people out.”
Imamoglu arrest occurred a few days before it was expected to be nominated as presidential candidate of the Republican Popular Party of the opposition in a primary one on Sunday. Ozel has said that primary school, where around 1.5 million delegates can vote, will continue as planned.
The CHP has also urged citizens to participate in a symbolic election on Sunday, through the polls that will be established throughout Türkiye, to show solidarity with Imamoglu.
Analysts say that Imamoglu could be withdrawn from office and replaced by a “mayor of Trust”, if it is formally accused of links to the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, or PKK, which appears as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Meanwhile, Ozel announced that the CHP has decided to celebrate an extraordinary party congress on April 6, to frustrate an alleged attempt by the authorities to appoint a “president of Trusts” to lead the party. The decision occurred in the midst of the speculation that the authorities may be seeking to cancel the last congress of the party held in 2023 about alleged purchases of votes and other irregularities, and appoint a selected leader.
On Friday, Borsa Istanbul’s reference index fell by around 7%, which caused temporary negotiation suspensions aimed at preventing panic sales.
