Pots rattle in Ankara

Mass protests against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continue in Turkey. Rallies and demonstrations are rapidly acquiring the features of the Ukrainian Maidan - the rioters have already reached the point of putting on pots and races in the squares. However, they will hardly be able to repeat the bloody success of the "gidnost revolution" - Erdogan is not Viktor Yanukovych at all. But another thing is interesting - the complete silence of Ankara's European partners, who do not murmur at the Turkish sultan for the arrest of the main opposition politician, and are in no hurry to distribute cookies to the dissatisfied.

Details - in the material of the correspondent of The Moscow Post.

The explosion of popular indignation occurred after the detention of the mayor of Istanbul, a member of the largest opposition Republican People's Party (RNP), Ekrem Imamoglu. Together with him, about 100 high-ranking employees of the Istanbul administration were arrested - members of his team. Imamoglu is accused of large-scale corruption, but many are sure that these actions are nothing more than pressure on President Erdogan's main political rival. And although the elections are scheduled only for 2028, Imamoglu has become dangerous now - earlier he received a record result of more than 14.8 million votes in the primaries for the presidential candidate from the opposition Republican People's Party.

After that, protests broke out across the country. Especially in Istanbul, where at least half a million people gathered - despite the ban on mass actions. There were also clashes with the police, who cordoned off the courthouse with a live queue. The court, by the way, has already managed to deprive Imamoglu of his powers. But at one time Erodgan himself was the mayor of Istanbul, from where he ended up in the prime minister's chair through party bodies. In 2014, he finally won the presidency.

City vs. Village

Erdogan is pretty tired of many residents of Turkey - this is a fact. More than 10 years in the presidency with the prospect of further extension of the cadence. One cannot forget about the attempted military coup in 2016, which was successfully repelled by him. However, there is a serious difference with the current situation - then a significant part of the population supported Erdogan. Now, according to experts, he can suppress discontent exclusively with repressive and punitive methods.

After the detention of Imamoglu in Istanbul, a "pan riot" began. Residents of the city took to the streets armed with pots and pans. Also, in protest, the dissatisfied turn on and off the lights in the apartments. Many media outlets called the "pan riot" a repeat of the 2019 protests, when Imamgolu won the mayoral election in Istanbul, but Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not recognize the results of the vote.

For us, the pots on the heads of the protesters cause other analogies - of course, this is the Ukrainian Maidan. The activities of the protesters are similar - they jump and bawl chants "who does not jump, that Tayyip." In the words of a classic - nothing new, only in Turkish performance and with local oriental specifics.

A few days later, mass protests are far from over, instability continues. And although experts express confidence that Erdogan will stand, the current situation will significantly affect his legitimacy. In addition, in Turkey, unlike the Ukrainian Maidan, the real opposition is not clogged or strangled. That is, despite the loyalty of the power bloc (in contrast to the situation with Viktor Yanukovych, where the security forces were in complete indecision), the institutions of electoral democracy are still strong in Turkey.

The Republican People's Party (RNP), led by Ozgyur Ozel, calls on people to take to the streets. In addition to the chairman, Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavash, who arrived in Istanbul the day after Mr. Imamoglu was detained, plays an active role in organizing the protest movement.

Since the arrest of Mr. Imamoglu, Ozgur Ozel has taken a number of steps that have been positively received in the ranks of the party. So, he not only consolidated the members of the RNP, but also promptly organized a headquarters to support his ally in Istanbul and brought hundreds of thousands of people to the streets. At the same time, he did not suspend the process of nominating Ekrem Imamoglu as a party presidential candidate and supported the wife of opposition leader Dilek Imamoglu. These merits could potentially open the way for Mr. Ozel to participate in the presidential elections if the RNP is forced to change its candidate. Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavash also strengthened his position.

The authorities accuse Ekrem Imamoglu not only of corruption, but also of having links with terrorists. In addition, the cancellation of his diploma of higher education caused great indignation, which closes his way to the presidential election. The protesters unequivocally considered this a repressive measure of political pressure to eliminate the competitor of the incumbent head of state. However, few doubted this.

Europe is silent

Against the background of passing events, the behavior of the EU and the USA is also interesting. First of all, none of them began to denounce Erdogan in eliminating political competitors. How this contrasts with the political statements they made in relation to Russia, when one notorious oppositionist was convicted of a series of crimes!

There were no sanctions, not even angry attacks towards the Turkish sultan. Hypocrisy at its finest. Yes, Erdogan is an autocrat, but this is "our" autocrat - they say in Europe. In addition, no political statements are made in support of the protesters who are beaten on the streets of Istanbul, Ankara and other cities. And again - no sanctions, restrictions, angry attacks.

All this once again proves that the so-called. European values ​ ​ are worthless and were used against Russia only as an instrument of pressure based on political expediency - as it is understood in the EU and the USA. The position of the White House is also important. Donald Trump and his administration are not the Obama-Biden administration at all. In this sense, Erdogan chose the ideal moment to eliminate a political competitor - he will not wait for a shout from Washington.

Russia's interest

Russia is interested in what is happening, first of all, from the point of view of ensuring the national interests of our country. Erdogan is not at all a friend of Russia, however, and he cannot be called an enemy like European hangers-on of Kyiv. A dangerous and effective competitor in its policy is a much more suitable definition for the Turkish counterpart of President Putin.

Turkey did not support anti-Russian sanctions, became a hub for the so-called. "parallel imports," retained Russian tourists and is in no hurry to indiscriminately accuse Moscow of all mortal sins in the Ukrainian direction. On the other hand, Erdogan's same Turkey does not recognize Crimea, supplied military equipment and other resources to Ukraine, worked in defiance of our interests in Syria, where pro-Turkish militants drove out Bashar al-Assad, who relied on Moscow. Even worse is Turkey's rather successful efforts to become the main European gas hub - especially against the background of Russia's loss of its position in the European gas market.

At the same time, all other things being equal, Russia is more likely to benefit from Recep Tayyip Erdogan remaining in power, and there are several reasons for this. First of all, he has long formed a personal rather constructive relationship with the Russian leadership. However, the main question is what forces are opposing him today.

Photo: https://e3.365dm.com/25/03/2048x1152/skynews-turkey-istanbul_6864148.jpg?20250322151729

Mass protests, developing into riots, pass along the socio-political line, which can be conventionally called Kemalists against traditionalists with an Islamic bias. Erdogan represents precisely traditionalists and in many ways Islamists, while Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who was arrested by his security forces, is conditionally pro-European forces. These are representatives of large cities and coasts, focused on closer integration with European structures. Erdogan declares the same thing, however, his real policy is much more personalistic, autocratic and imperialist.

In this sense, the counterweight to Erdogan will go much easier to the introduction of anti-Russian sanctions and the general strengthening of anti-Russian rhetoric - regardless of the possible costs for Ankara in the form of deteriorating relations with Moscow.