Turkey’s authoritarian trend is continuing as police have clashed with protesters at the Istanbul headquarters of the country’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
This comes as the governor of Istanbul has cracked down on all forms of dissent in parts of the city. A recent order banned “all kinds of rallies, press statements, open-air meetings, demonstration marches, setting up tents, opening stands, sit-ins, signature campaigns, commemoration ceremonies, etc.”
Turkish Haberler media noted that the ban is for three days in the districts of Besiktas, Beyoglu, Eyupsultan, Kagıthane, Sarıyer, and Sisli.” The report said that “Istanbul Governor Davut Gul stated that the decision to impose the ban was made to prevent any obstruction of the delegation temporarily appointed to the CHP Istanbul Provincial Administration.”
Sinan Ciddi, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the director of its Turkey program, warned of a coup d’état by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“The regime-controlled judiciary’s forced removal of the main opposition party’s elected representatives from office is likely the Erdogan regime’s prelude to a wider coup d’etat, to remove the elected chairman and entire leadership of Ataturk’s party – and replace it with a caretaker administration that is loyal to Erdogan.”
The police had used pepper spray amid clashes at the CHP offices, the AP reported. CHP supporters had tried to prevent the takeover of their party offices. However, the ruling AKP party is clearly trying to consolidate control in Istanbul, a city where the CHP has deep support.
The authoritarianism of the AKP has increased over the past two decades as it has cemented its control over Turkey.
Though the AKP has won numerous elections, it continues to face strong opposition across the country. Istanbul’s popular Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested in March.
Efforts to de-fang the opposition
This was seen as an effort to de-fang the opposition by imprisoning a popular figure within it. “The deposed mayor is widely regarded as the leading challenger to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade rule, and his arrest in March sparked the largest protests Turkey has seen in over a decade,” AP noted.
Ciddi added that “what we saw today was a test run.” He said that “In so doing, Erdogan hopes to decapitate the opposition, whose current chairman, Ozgur Ozel, and his team have been effective at focusing public sentiment against Erdogan’s incompetent and corrupt governance.”
“More importantly,” he concluded, “it will transform Turkey into an autocratic de facto one-party state.”
Prior to the ban on demonstrations, the CHP had called for people to gather at its headquarters. It had claimed the government was putting it under siege.
Al-Monitor noted that “the Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been the target of a months-long legal crackdown, which has swept up hundreds of its members – including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, President Tayyip Erdogan’s main political rival – whose March arrest set off Turkey’s largest street protests in a decade.”
EuroNews reported that “Turkish authorities imposed widespread Internet throttling for 12 hours on Sunday following clashes between police and opposition supporters trying to prevent a government-appointed trustee from taking control of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) Istanbul headquarters.”
This may explain the lack of some coverage on what is happening in Turkey. In general, most major Western media have not covered the crackdown very much.
Turkey is a member of NATO and poses as a key ally and partner of many Western countries. However, it has also been reaching out to authoritarian regimes. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, Turkey’s pro-government Anadolu noted on September 1.
“My dear friend, you know how much we would like to welcome you to Turkey. My invitation remains open. We look forward to seeing you in our country as soon as possible. We have a sincere relationship based on trust. Our relationship continues to progress unaffected by temporary challenges,” Erdogan said, the report noted.
Turkey is also a backer of Hamas and has hosted Hamas leaders in the past. Ankara has been one of the most vociferous critics of Israel, slamming the country throughout the Israel-Hamas which began with the Hamas massacre on October 7.