ISTANBUL (AP) — Police used pepper spray, rubber bullets and water cannons against protesters in Turkey’s capital early Thursday, potentially reigniting tensions after two days of relative calm in the country’s biggest anti-government protests in over a decade.
The demonstrations began last week following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a key rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Imamoglu, jailed on corruption charges many see as politically motivated, is also accused of supporting terrorism. The government insists the judiciary is independent, but critics say the evidence is based on secret witnesses and lacks credibility.
Early Thursday, student demonstrators tried to march and gathered to read a statement near the gates at Middle East Technical University, pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV and local media reported. They were met by security forces who deployed pepper spray, water cannons and rubber bullets. A standoff ensued where the students hid behind a barricade made out of trash cans until the police charged to detain the protesters.
Melih Meric, a legislator with the Republican People’s Party or CHP, was seen soaked with water and suffering from pepper spray exposure. “My student friends only wanted to make a press statement, but the police strictly did not allow it, this is the result,” Meric was seen saying on social media videos.
Officials have not said how many people were detained.
Ozgur Ozel, the leader of CHP to which Imamoglu belongs, had promised lawmakers would stand alongside protesters in hopes of lowering tensions. He also warned that if the police provoked demonstrators after he delivered a speech Tuesday, he would “make a call for 500,000 people to (come to) the place that will disturb” Erdogan the most.
Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya has said Wednesday that 1,418 people have been detained in the past week over the protests.
Demonstrations have swept across major cities, hundreds of thousands showed up for the protests and CHP rallies outside the Istanbul city hall. A historic aqueduct near the city hall became a daily spot of standoffs between the police and demonstrators that ended with the police charging with pepper sprays, rubber bullets and detentions at the end of the day.
Other major protests were held in the districts of Kadikoy and Sisli, where a government trustee was appointed after the arrest of its mayor last week, on Tuesday and Wednesday as thousands of protesters marched through the neighborhoods as residents leaned from windows and balconies, clapping and banging pots and pans in support.
Erdogan has accused the opposition of “sinking the economy” and said those responsible for hurting financial stability would be held “accountable.”
The opposition has called for a boycott of companies that it says support Erdogan’s government. The Turkish president accused the opposition of being “so desperate that they would throw the country and the nation into the fire.”
Meanwhile, Imamoglu, speaking from prison via social media, denounced police violence against protesters, “I cannot call them police because my honorable police would not commit this cruelty to the young children of the nation,” he said.
Turkey is not due for another election until 2028, but it’s possible that Erdogan will call for an early vote to seek another term.
Imamoglu has been confirmed as the candidate for the CHP and has performed well in recent polls against Erdogan. His election as mayor of Turkey’s largest city in 2019 was a major blow to Erdogan and his party.
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