In Türkiye, a country of 86 million people, representatives of 50% of the population have been arrested over the past year as a result of a crackdown on opposition municipalities.
Most recently, this morning, an operation was carried out against the Üsküdar Municipality in Istanbul, and Mayor Sinem Dedetaş was taken into custody.
Believing that he is going to lose power, Erdoğan is currently targeting the Republican People’s Party (CHP), which is now the country’s largest party, through what is described as unlawful measures. Mayors are being kept in prison based on statements reportedly made by anonymous witnesses. Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul—a city of 16 million people—has also been imprisoned for more than a year.
In addition to targeting CHP municipalities, the Erdoğan government has also carried out operations against municipalities run by the DEM Party. It has also intervened in the leadership of the CHP, which is widely expected to end Erdoğan’s rule.
While it is widely believed that Erdoğan has orchestrated these actions, opposition artists, trade unionists, environmental activists, and well-known public figures have also been arrested.
Although the country’s prisons have a capacity of 290,000 people, approximately 450,000 people are currently being held.
So far, 26 CHP mayors have been arrested.
Another 17 mayors switched to Erdoğan’s AK Party (AKP) in order to avoid arrest.
Why is the United Kingdom being hypocritical?
While such a repressive government is in power in Türkiye, the United Kingdom has remained silent.
If the same events taking place in Türkiye were happening in Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, or any country that is not an ally of the United Kingdom, the British government would issue statements every day and speak about democracy. So why does it remain silent in the face of these developments in Türkiye?
If the United Kingdom truly stands for democracy, it should immediately condemn these actions and impose various sanctions.
Attacks against democratically elected officials should not be accepted, wherever they take place.