FLASH
Shkruar nga Pamfleti
If you become a threat to the regime and ignore the warnings, you will end up in prison, just like Imamoglu and many others...
Gathering hundreds of thousands of people on the outskirts of Istanbul will not achieve much in toppling a regime as harsh as that of Turkey's Erdogan administration. Perhaps if those people marched peacefully to the presidential palace or occupied the city center, blocking it, there might be more hope.
The March 20 "Freedom for Imamoglu" rally along a seaside street in the Maltepe district on the Asian side of Istanbul was what the Republican People's Party (CHP) decided to do in the wake of the large rallies that were held for 7 nights in the heart of the city.
As attractive as the rally was, it was toothless, and the people of Turkey expect more imagination from the opposition.
CHP leader Ozgur Ozel delivered a scathing critique of the government. The crowd chanted loudly against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The crowd then dispersed, and the CHP promised to continue holding such protests across the country for weeks to come.
If hundreds of thousands of people meet regularly, will Erdogan consider resigning?
The Turks' response to the arrest and imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu – since he was removed from his post as mayor by the interior ministry, but also became the CHP's official presidential candidate – has multiplied clicks for the media.
But the media and the clickers scan the world for some action. They keep looking for some more action. What worries them is not a discussion that should be made in the media. But most of the media or readers around the world are really interested in the fate of Turkey.
The CHP will have a hard time keeping its head up on the international stage in its fight to save the last remnants of democracy from the clutches of the all-powerful Erdogan.
As the world stands now, international interest could decline very quickly.
Since Imamoglu's arrest 10 days ago, police have assaulted thousands of people protesting in Istanbul. About 2,000 have been arrested. Many of those attacked are currently being treated in hospitals. Among them are women who claim that police officers sexually harassed them.
On March 29, a police officer punched a lawyer in the face at the Caglayan courthouse on the European side of Istanbul. He was a lawyer representing children who were detained while trying to gather for a demonstration in front of the Cevahir shopping mall.
The CHP does not comment on such incidents. They are so busy playing the opposition to the media that they have forgotten what it really means to be the opposition.
Controlled opposition, controlled events
Since March 23, the opposition has been parroting: "Erdogan's regime doesn't care about human values, the law or anything else for that matter. It has an army, it has a police force, an intelligence service, private security personnel and paramilitary forces. It has tanks, planes, guns and bombs."
Controlled events like the one held yesterday by the CHP help the regime sow confusion about the current situation with politics and power in the country. When observed from space, it looks as if real dissent is allowed in Turkey.
It is worth repeating that Turkey’s regime refrains from claiming massive “80%” electoral victories (something that Putin’s regime in Russia is known for) because Ankara depends on external borrowing, from investors who see that they are dealing with a government that can be considered “acceptable.” Oil and gas-poor, with a chronic current account imbalance, it cannot escape the constant need to satisfy the Turkish economy’s endless thirst for large inflows of dollars from abroad.
Thus, “Erdogan central” stages some theaters (the observer, for example, might expect a “49%” victory in the first round of the presidential vote and a “52%” triumph in the second round) that, from the outside, could be said to resemble “competitive authoritarianism.” Think tanks are only now concluding that competitive authoritarianism is dead in Turkey. In fact, nothing even close to it has existed for many years.
You can hold as many meetings as you want as long as you don't pose a threat to the regime. You can give passionate speeches. You can do whatever you want.
However, if you become a threat to the regime and ignore the warnings, you will end up in prison, just like Imamoglu and many others.
CHP Chairman Ozgur Ozel, known as the 'Opposition Minister' in Turkey, is not in jail as he is not a threat to Erdogan's regime. /Adapted from Pamphlet by IntellNews/
Lini një Përgjigje