Erdoğan's rival arrested: growing anger in Turkey?
Despite a ban on public gatherings, thousands protested in Istanbul on Thursday against the arrest of the city's mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and the revocation of his university degree. They see these moves as an attempt by President Erdoğan to eliminate his most dangerous rival. The opposition CHP has said that it will nonetheless designate İmamoğlu as its 2028 presidential candidate - for which a university degree is a prerequisite - on Sunday.
On the barricades or in prison
The only way for citizens to defend themselves against such a government is to take to the streets, Evrensel admonishes:
“This government fears popular unity and is fighting against it with tanks, cannons and the judiciary. Only by standing together can we bring it to its knees. A government like this one, that recognises the part of the people's will that suits it and refuses to recognise the rest, is an invitation to people to fight outside the ballot box. If you think this coup attempt is a provocation and see the massive protests on the streets as a result of people 'letting themselves be duped', then stay at home and wait for the day when it's your turn to be taken away!”
A country crushed by thirst for power
Imamoğlu's arrest is the latest example of the huge problems facing Turkey, economics professor Özge Öner explains in a guest commentary for Svenska Dagbladet:
“Over the past ten years, decency and rationality have vanished from political life. The veneer of democracy has cracked, revealing a system built on cronyism, self-interest and authoritarianism. Today we live in a Turkey where political opponents are labelled 'terrorists' and 'criminals', journalists are silenced, and dissenting voices are crushed under the weight of an ever-tightening grip on power. It is a country where Erdoğan's insatiable thirst for power has distorted the very notion of legitimacy.”
Outcome of the protests depends on İmamoğlu
24tv.ua looks to the future:
“The potential of the 'Turkish Maidan' remains unknown at present. ... The protests could turn into the 'Georgian scenario', in which the government decides to simply hold out and even appears to benefit from the situation. However, back then the Georgians had no leader. ... The Turks, on the other hand, have Ekrem İmamoğlu (the CHP has already announced that it will nominate him as its presidential candidate despite the annulment of his university degree and his arrest on March 23). The fate of the protests will depend on what he does in the coming days. For now, they have clearly unsettled the president and allowed ordinary people to grasp their own strength.”
Erdoğan was once in his shoes
Diena looks back:
“In Turkey, parallels are being drawn between recent events and those of the late 1990s, when Kemalists arrested the then mayor of Istanbul, Erdoğan, for spreading Islamist ideas. This arrest made Erdoğan extremely popular and ensured his election victory shortly afterwards. Now İmamoğlu's supporters are hoping that the scenario will repeat itself. ... The current president will probably be able to suppress the protests because of his control over the power structures. ... However, the intention to place Istanbul under external administration (Kayyım), combined with growing economic problems and the population's fatigue with imperialist plans of all kinds, promises Turkey increasing instability.”
Trump's shamelessness emulated
It's no coincidence that Erdoğan is reacting in this way right now, Der Spiegel suspects:
“We can already see how Trump's shamelessness is setting a precedent, and not just in Turkey. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu feels emboldened to resume the war in Gaza, possibly even more fiercely than before. ... And Russia's dictator Vladimir Putin feels less compelled than ever to make compromises in his campaign against Ukraine. ... In the decades after the Second World War, the US was a force for order. The retreat under Trump has left disorder, chaos and anarchy in its wake. This is an environment made for tyrannical rulers like Putin and Erdoğan.”
Questionable partner for the EU and Nato
This arrest weakens Turkey at a critical moment, El Mundo comments:
“The detention of the best-known representative of the Turkish opposition reinforces Erdoğan's authoritarian course and brings Turkey closer to the autocracies that are fighting democracy. ... Even if it is a judge who is accusing İmamoğlu of terrorism and corruption, the separation of powers in Turkey is so weakened that the arrest can only be interpreted as an attack by Erdoğan on his main rival in the 2028 presidential election. ... His imprisonment threatens to weaken Turkey politically and economically, and at a critical moment when Europe and Nato need the country as a reliable partner to compensate for the withdrawal of the US.”
Nothing can save this government now
Erdoğan and co. are fighting for survival and using every possible means, comments Birgün:
“This is a coup d'état by the government. They want to remove all obstacles blocking their goal of consolidating the regime and getting Erdoğan re-elected. ... This government has nothing more to offer the country. It has no chance of surviving politically. ... It is impossible for it to get back on its feet, to get things back on track or even to give the people hope. Even if all the opposition members are arrested and detained, nothing will change. ... Good will triumph over evil, democracy over tyranny, the people over the one-man regime.”
Ankara seizing the moment
The Financial Times situates the arrest in the context of the current deliberations regarding a rapprochement between the EU and Turkey:
“European criticisms are likely to be muted by the hopes of a sizeable Turkish contribution to reducing the continent's security reliance on the US. Indeed such calculations, and Trump's return to the White House, may have persuaded the Erdoğan apparatus that it could afford to target a rival. ... Yet further democratic backsliding in this country of 85 million people would be another sorry sign of how Trump 2.0 is upending global relations – and bolstering leaders who lean towards authoritarianism.”
Next stop eternal president
Erdoğan wants to lure Kurdish voters away from the opposition, writes Turkey correspondent Raphael Geiger in the Tages-Anzeiger:
“His game is as follows: he started a peace process with the Kurdish PKK militia, while Kurdish voters tend to support the popular İmamoğlu. If the CHP doesn't present İmamoğlu as its candidate but the more nationalist mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş, for example, the CHP could lose the support of the Kurds because some Kurdish voters would prefer Erdoğan, who promises them peace. This is the path to the eternal presidency Erdoğan is seeking. And it's tactics like these that have kept him in power for more than two decades.”
Following standard procedure
The Frankfurter Rundschau expects nothing from Brussels:
“Europe is more dependent than ever on Erdoğan. Now that the US is no longer a reliable partner, the European Nato states need Turkey, which has the second-largest army in the defence alliance, on their south-eastern flank. Turkey also harbours millions of refugees whom it is feared could move on to Europe. So this time, too, it's standard procedure: EU states like Germany criticise Erdoğan's actions. He in turn generally responds with accusations against the Europeans. And after a verbal exchange of blows it's back to business as usual.”
From reformer to autocrat
Erdoğan once stood for very different values, Naftemporiki reflects:
“How much things can change in 22 years. When the AKP first came to power in 2002 it pushed through five reform packages, including on minority rights and the judicial system. In his first two years in power, the then 'reformer' Erdoğan largely dispelled fears about the nature of political Islam and cast Turkey in the role of a 'model' of democratic governance in the Muslim world. But in recent years the head of state has increasingly moved towards authoritarianism.”