Erdogan to protesters: The era of street protests is over.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has criticized his opponents, saying that the era of street protests and blaming the national will is over. He stressed that Turkey will not stand by corruption and that municipalities must serve the people.
In his speech after the iftar ceremony, Erdogan accused the Republican People’s Party of no longer representing voters, but of becoming a tool to justify the corruption of a group of city managers. Addressing the party’s leader, Özgür Özel, he asked: “Why are you worried and anxious? Can you deny corruption?”
The Turkish president also claimed that the opposition was trying to bring chaos to the cities with rallies and demonstrations.
He said that the opposition was trying to suppress the national will by threatening judges and inciting the streets.
Erdogan went on to emphasize that if the opposition claimed to be brave, they should let the courts make decisions without political pressure.
He added that in Turkey, the rule of law is in place and the country is governed based on legal regulations and not on the demands of individuals and parties.
After the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is considered the main rival of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country’s cities, especially Istanbul and Izmir, became the scene of widespread public protests against the government.
Last Wednesday, the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of the city, and 99 others on charges of “corruption, bribery, and terrorism-related crimes.” However, protesters consider Imamoglu’s arrest not a judicial procedure but a “political move” by the government to eliminate rivals and a “coup against the Turkish constitution.”