The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) concluded its nightly rallies outside the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality building late yesterday, a week after protests began in response to Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s detention.
CHP Chair Özgür Özel addressed the crowd in Saraçhane Square, as he has each evening since the protests started. He said the demonstrations had prevented the government from installing a trustee in the city administration following İmamoğlu’s arrest.
“Tomorrow, thanks to you, an election will be held in this building,” Özel told the crowd. “Those who sent Mayor Ekrem to prison wanted to appoint a trustee here. If that didn’t happen, if there’s no trustee here, it’s because of you. You thwarted a coup.”
İmamoğlu was detained on Mar 19 on both terrorism and corruption-related allegations. A court later ruled to arrest him only on corruption charges. As a result, the mayor was not direclty replaced by the government but an election will be held within the city council. The vote is scheduled for today. With a CHP majority in the council, the party is expected to retain control of the municipality.
Özel repeated his earlier call for a boycott of major conglomerates that own mainstream media outlets, including their affiliated companies in sectors such as electronics, automotive, and retail.
He also maintained that the corruption case against İmamoğlu relies on witness statements rather than concrete evidence, calling it a “plot.” Addressing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Özel said, “If you have the courage, air the prosecutor’s questions and Ekrem’s answers on TRT.”
Özel announced a major rally will be held in İstanbul’s Maltepe Square on the Asian side of the city at 12 pm on Mar 29.
He ended his speech by warning police not to intervene in the gathering and added, “If there is an intervention tonight, there will be one million people here tomorrow.” The night ended without incident, unlike previous evenings that saw police use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated that 1,418 people had been detained across the country between Mar 19 and Mar 25 in connection with the protests. Detainees include protesters, journalists covering the events, and individuals detained over social media posts related to the demonstrations. (VK)
Source: BIANET
