Mayday Mayday
Issue #256
Today, we commemorate journalist Ceren Kaynak İskit, who sadly passed away Sunday. Ceren’s tireless, rights-focused reporting set an example for us all, and we are honored to have worked with her.
In this week’s recap:
Second wave of arrests hit İBB
Peace process still processing
Ankara rejects decentralized Syria
Sivas village draws aspiring doctors
Also from us this week:
Diego Cupolo on growing Italy-Turkey defense cooperation
Riccardo Gasco and Samuele Abrami detail Rome-Ankara relations in our webcast
And subscribe to Meclis recap for Turkish-language reporting from parliament
We were told the CHP knew this was coming. That İmamoğlu knew he’d be arrested. And that the party had contingency plans A, B, C and D …
The problem is many of the people tasked with applying those plans have also been jailed. That’s the narrative among opposition circles in Ankara after a second wave of detentions hit members of the Istanbul municipality (İBB) Saturday morning.
What happened: Turkish authorities took more than 50 people into custody on corruption charges, which party officials refuted as CHP Group Deputy Chair Gökhan Günaydın remarked:
“There is a broad detention list consisting of the İBB special secretary, new and former deputy secretaries, group chairs, general managers, deputy general managers and department heads. İBB is effectively being rendered unable to function.”
A Turkish court Wednesday ordered the arrest of 18 İBB employees detained this weekend, releasing the others under judicial control. Pressure continues to mount on the opposition party as state authorities and pro-government media discuss surveillance evasion tactics (like taping cameras and using signal blockers) allegedly used by İmamoğlu’s security team.
Presented as scandals, Özel pushed back on the accusations, stating AKP officials use the same security measures. Hürcan Aslı Aksoy, head of the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS Network), said the recent developments point to an extended crackdown on the CHP.
"It's quite clear, the government wants to keep the rate of repression very high,” Aksoy told Turkey recap. “They will continue because they have all the instruments and mechanisms. And I think the government is really playing to break their intensity and [the CHP’s] enthusiasm to protest.”
“They're encircling more and more the people that are close to CHP,” she added. “Not only the party members, but I think everyone who has worked with the party and the metropolitan municipality under different capacities.”
Response: For his part, Özel has led regular protests (with and without electricity) and expanded his boycott list of government-friendly companies.
Speaking Monday on Fatih Altaylı’s YouTube channel, Özel also presented an alternative election plan – if İmamoğlu remains imprisoned – that would involve a presidential run by Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş and transition process afterwards.
Our sources in CHP said they believe Yavaş is fed up and intends to leave politics after his current term. Of course, he has made plenty of statements indicating the opposite. Whatever the outcome, recent events have shown the road to challenging Erdoğan is perilous – as the man underlined himself:
“As the proverb goes, ‘A pinch of grass is what makes a goat fall from the cliff,’” Erdoğan told AKP lawmakers Wednesday. “Let’s see how many more CHP members will perish in the whirlpool of politics on the path of presidential ambition.”
Next: The CHP will hold a demonstration in Konya Saturday with aims to replicate the “Yozgat effect”.
Bahçeli prelude in YPG major: Peace process still processing
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