Erdogan Criticizes ‘Violent Actions’ Following Sixth Night of Protests in Turkey

March 25, 2025 TruthUSA

The president of Turkey urged the main opposition party to cease inciting protests in solidarity with the detained mayor of Istanbul.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president, declared on Monday that the demonstrations against the arrest and confinement of Istanbul’s mayor had escalated into a “movement of violence.”

The mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, 54, Erdogan’s primary political rival, was apprehended on corruption and terrorism allegations on March 19, sparking the largest street protests in Turkey since the Gezi Park demonstrations in May 2013.

Despite an official prohibition on public assemblies, thousands of mainly peaceful anti-government demonstrations continued for a sixth consecutive night on Monday.

Imamoglu, a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), saw the terrorism charges against him dropped, but he was detained pending trial on corruption charges on Sunday. He refutes the accusations.

Despite Imamoglu’s detention and legal situation, the CHP conducted a primary election among its 1.7 million members on Sunday, selecting him as the party’s presidential candidate for the 2028 election.

The CHP also claimed that millions of independent voters cast their ballots for Imamoglu, who is incarcerated at Silivri prison, west of Istanbul, in what they termed a “solidarity vote.”

Imamoglu had his university diploma revoked by Istanbul University last week, rendering him ineligible to run for president.

Ozgur Ozel, the CHP leader, addressing a crowd outside the Istanbul municipality headquarters, dismissed the allegations against Imamoglu as groundless, unsubstantiated, and lacking evidence.

He reiterated the call for continued protests and urged people to boycott businesses, brands, and media outlets supportive of Erdogan.

“This square stands up for anyone unjustly imprisoned by Tayyip Erdogan, for democracy, and for Turkey,” Ozel remarked.

Erdogan Accuses Opposition

Erdogan, 71, demanded that the opposition party refrain from “provoking” the populace.

“As a nation, we were astonished by the events that unfolded after the main opposition leader’s call to hit the streets following a corruption operation in Istanbul that transformed into a violent movement,” he stated following a cabinet meeting in Ankara on Monday. “The main opposition will be held liable for our [injured] police officers, the vandalized storefronts of our merchants, and the damaged public property. They will be answerable for all of this, politically in parliament and legally in the court system.”

Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), founded in 2001 with an Islamic orientation, have been in power since winning the general election in November 2002 by defeating the CHP, established by Kemal Ataturk in 1923 on secular principles.

Erdogan served as prime minister until 2014, when a constitutional amendment approved in a 2017 referendum elevated him to the role of executive president. After securing reelection in 2023, he is now term-limited and unable to run for office again in 2028.

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya indicated on Monday that 1,133 individuals were detained in the first five days of the protests, with 123 police officers sustaining injuries.

He accused some protesters of instilling “terror” in the streets and jeopardizing national security.

Ozel stated that the CHP was demanding that Imamoglu be released on bail ahead of his trial and that the legal proceedings be broadcast on the state-owned TRT network.

He also threw down the gauntlet by challenging Erdogan to a televised debate.

A gathering of the EU-Turkey joint parliamentary committee scheduled for Monday was postponed.

Emmanouil Kefalogiannis, the committee’s chairman, and vice-chairs Mélissa Camara and Joanna Scheuring-Wielgus said in a statement, “In light of recent developments in Türkiye, the bureau of the European Parliament delegation to the EU-Türkiye joint parliamentary committee concluded that the current circumstances are not conducive to holding the 82nd meeting of the EU-Türkiye joint parliamentary committee at this time and unanimously decided to postpone the meeting.”

Agenda items at the committee’s 81st meeting, held in November 2024, included discussions on “EU-Türkiye relations and state of play of the accession negotiations” and “EU and Türkiye: customs union, visa liberalization, migration, freedom of expression, rule of law.”

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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