Turkey Erdogan calls opposition demonstrations "street terror"
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described the demonstrations following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as "street terror".
21.03.2025, 16:37
21.03.2025, 16:38
SDA
"Turkey is not a country found on the streets and it will not be left to street terror," Erdogan said. He added that the opposition was trying to use the investigations as an excuse to plunge the streets into "chaos". "We will not accept the destruction of public order under any circumstances."
Imamoglu was arrested on Wednesday along with many other people, just a few days before his planned nomination as the presidential candidate of the largest opposition party CHP. Imamoglu is accused of terrorism and corruption; exact details are not known because the investigations are being kept secret. Opposition members accuse the government of wanting to eliminate a political rival with its action against Imamoglu. Since Imamoglu's arrest, people across the country have been taking to the streets every evening.
With "problematic statements that fuel street terror, the CHP is quickly losing its status as a party that acts on a legitimate political basis", he said, accusing it of "theft, corruption, immorality and mafia structures in the municipalities".
