Protests in Turkey over the arrest of the opposition mayor for 'connections with Kurdish militant groups'
Turkish opposition parties protested today against what they called the "politically motivated arrest" of an opposition mayor accused of links to the Kurdish militant group PKK.
64-year-old Ahmet Ozer, chairman of Istanbul's Esenyurt district of the main opposition Republican CHP party, was arrested yesterday and the government quickly replaced him with its confidant.
The pro-Kurdish CHP and DEM parties condemned the arrest as a "political coup" - and called on demonstrators to gather in front of the Esenyurt town hall.
But the police managed to stop the demonstrators by forcing them to change the gathering place a few kilometers away, writes the AFP network.
"The government appointee will go, and we will stay!" cheered the crowds today, waving flags and banners.
While the Ministry of the Interior announced that Ozer was arrested for "membership in the PKK terror group", with which, according to them, he had been in contact for many years.
Yesterday in court Ozer denied the charges, as hundreds of people gathered outside, including the powerful mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu.
The latter, speaking at today's protest, accused Erdogan's government of playing a dirty game against Esenyurt.
"They look for excuses to protect their power, which is full of corruption and illegality," said Imamoglu, urging the government to respect the will of the people.
Ozer is close to Imamoglu, and is likely to be a candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
Even the mayor of Ankara from the CHP opposition party, Mansur Yavas, said that "there is definitely a political dimension" in Ozer's arrest, while adding on social networks that "tepid and abstract accusations" raise doubts about democracy and the legal order.
The arrest comes after the Turkish government has removed many Kurdish mayors in the country's southeast, replacing them with its own people.
Six months ago, they ousted the mayor elected by the DEM party in the eastern city of Van, but after fierce community protests he was allowed to resume his post, writes the AFP network.
Mesia Trump, ose ëndrra në diell e të korruptuarve
ideas
top
Alfa recipes
TRENDING
services
- POLICE129
- STREET POLICE126
- AMBULANCE112
- FIREFIGHTER128