Thousands of people in Turkey gathered again on Tuesday evening, despite a ban on demonstrations in Istanbul and the capital Ankara, to protest against the government. Many Turkish government opponents said they had come to a stalemate after six nights of action and occasional clashes with the police, following the imprisonment of the Istanbul mayor and rejected President Erdoğan’s claim that their “show” would fizzle out. The largest protests in a decade began last week when Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, Erdoğan’s main rival, was imprisoned, which protesters, opposition parties and European politicians described as “politically motivated and antidemocratic”.
The ongoing protests pose a potential problem for Erdoğan, who has described them as “street terrorism”. Since the violent suppression of the Gezi Park protests in 2013, he has tolerated little criticism on the streets. After a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday, the President accused the CHP of provoking the public and said they would be ashamed of the “evil” done to the country when their “show” faded away. The government has denied the accusation of political interference and claims the judiciary is independent.
The CHP, which has been relatively restrained, has repeatedly called on people to take to the streets in recent days, after Mayor İmamoğlu called on them on Sunday before his arrest on corruption charges, which he denies. Videos and images show security forces using batons, tear gas and water cannons against demonstrators. In Istanbul, the police have also used projectiles in recent days. According to the government’s communication director, these were pepper sprays. Demonstrators, however, claimed that plastic projectiles were also used.
Reports now show cracks on the streets. Some participants are showing the ultranationalist wolf’s sign and holding up posters that describe PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan as a “bastard”. Many Kurds may find it hard to march under such posters. The Kurdish DEM party’s hands are currently tied, as they do not want to jeopardize the parallel negotiations with the government over disarming the PKK.
Erdoğan, on the other hand, seems confident that the imprisonment of his strongest political opponent will not create a counterwind internationally. The war in Ukraine, Bloomberg commented, has made Europe more dependent on Turkey. Its growing military presence and defense capabilities have made it a valuable ally, as Trump reconsiders the security commitments of the US in Europe.