‘Authoritarian rule or democracy?’: Why mass protests in Turkey actually signal simmering anger against Erdogan

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - A protester waves Turkey's national flag during a demonstration outside Istanbul's city hall to support Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu following his arrest in connection with two probes. — AFP pic

ANKARA, March 24 — The massive street protests gripping Turkey may have been triggered by the arrest of Istanbul’s popular opposition mayor but they reflect a much broader sense of frustration, observers say.

“There is a great anger. People are spontaneously taking to the streets. Some young people are being politicised for the first time in their lives,” said Yuksel Taskin, a lawmaker from the main opposition CHP.

Wednesday’s arrest of Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s most powerful political rival — came just days before the CHP was to formally name him their candidate for the 2028 presidential race.

The move sparked a wave of protest which spread within 48 hours to more than two-thirds of Turkey’s 81 provinces, even including strongholds of Erdogan’s ruling AKP such as the central area of Konya, as well as Trabzon and Rize on the Black Sea.

Despite a ban on protests and a heavy police presence on the streets, huge crowds of protesters have taken to the streets, including many university students who are not normally seen as politically engaged.

The protests are the biggest in Turkey since the massive demonstrations of 2013, which began at Istanbul’s Gezi Park to protest its demolition and spread across almost the entire country.

“The feeling of being trapped — economically, socially, politically, and even culturally — was already widespread,” Kemal Can, journalist and author of numerous books on Turkish society told AFP.

Imamoglu’s arrest, he said, had sparked a strong reaction, “especially among young people worried about their future in a country where freedoms are increasingly restricted. It’s a reaction that goes well beyond Imamoglu.”

Protesters hold flags with Turkish modern state's founding father Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in front of Turkish riot police during a demonstration outside Istanbul's city hall. — AFP pic

‘Children of the raiders’

“We’re the children of the ‘raiders’ who have now grown up,” reads a slogan carried by many young protesters, using an old-fashioned term that Erdogan coined for the 2013 Gezi Park protesters when he was prime minister.

“This is not only about the CHP, but about everyone. The question is whether Turkey will live under an authoritarian regime or be a democratic country,” said Ilhan Uzgel, who handles the party’s external relations.

In a bid to highlight the non-partisan nature of the protest movement, the CHP has invited all Turks, not just party members, to join its symbolic primary vote on Sunday when Imamoglu is to be named the party’s presidential candidate.

“We are determined to hold this primary although (the government) is trying to block it. But it will go ahead,” insisted Uzgel.

The pro-Kurdish opposition DEM, the third party in parliament, has also thrown its support behind the protests which have taken place for three nights in a row outside Istanbul City Hall.

“By using the judiciary, they are trying to reshape the opposition in order to consolidate the regime,” explained DEM lawmaker Ibrahim Akin.

Protesters clash with Turkish anti riot police using tear gas and water cannons during a demonstration following the arrest of Istanbul's mayor, in Ankara on March 22, 2025. — AFP pic

Dividing the opposition

DEM is regularly accused by the government of having ties with the banned Kurdish militant PKK, which is blacklisted by Ankara as a terror group.

But in recent months, the Turkish government has sought to end the decades-long conflict and last month, jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan urged his fighters to lay down their weapons and disband.

“For several years, the government has sought to split the opposition, or keep it tied up with internal issues. It has succeeded several times. But this time, the opposition has thwarted this strategy,” said Can.

For Gonul Tol of the Washington-based Middle East Institute, the government’s efforts to “drive a wedge” between DEM and CHP through its peace overtures towards the PKK had clearly failed, after DEM came out strongly against Imamoglu’s arrest.

“The government now seems to be seeing how long this wave of discontent will last, hoping to weaken it through pressure, protest bans and arrests,” said Can.

“If the opposition gives in to threats from the authorities who are accusing it of provoking the street, and gives the impression its determination has weakened, the government will increase the pressure,” he said.

“The coming days will be crucial.” — AFP