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https://theconversation.com/polls-suggest-this-man-could-become-turkeys-next-president-erdogan-is-doing-everything-to-stop-him-263034>
"A Turkish proverb –
düştüğün yerden kalk – counsels that one should arise
from where one has fallen.
Ekrem İmamoğlu, the jailed mayor of Istanbul and main rival to President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan in Turkey’s 2028 election, has taken this advice to heart.
Imprisoned in March on charges widely viewed to be concocted, İmamoğlu refuses
to be silenced. Earlier this month, he published a by-invitation essay in
The
Economist setting out his vision for Turkey as an open democracy that plays a
constructive role on the global stage.
İmamoğlu’s proverbial fall was not mere clumsiness. Members of his opposition
Republican People’s Party (CHP) called his arrest a “civilian coup”, pointing
the finger at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Erdoğan.
İmamoğlu was also charged with corruption and terror links just days before he
was set to be anointed the CHP’s candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
Turks from Istanbul to Anatolia immediately rose up to vent their fury.
Protests continued for weeks despite bans on public gatherings. The government
has since widened its net to arrest dozens of other opposition figures.
Erdoğan duly accused the opposition of fomenting unrest. But much like
uprisings in 2013 that started over a government plan to redevelop an Istanbul
park and metastasised into a wider protest movement, these rallies were a
spontaneous reaction to Erdoğan’s own policies."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
