<
https://theconversation.com/arrested-and-stripped-of-degree-twin-moves-to-bar-istanbul-mayor-from-ballot-suggests-turkeys-erdogan-is-really-worried-this-time-252580>
"Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu had expected to become Turkey’s opposition
presidential nominee on March 23, 2025; instead, he lost his freedom and
college degree.
On March 18, the politician – seen as a powerful rival to long-ruling Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – saw his bachelor’s degree revoked by Istanbul
University. A day later, Imamoglu was arrested along with staff members and a
district mayor of Istanbul.
As an expert on Turkish politics, I believe the timing of these two measures
suggest that Erdogan is really worried that Imamoglu poses a serious threat to
his 22-year-long rule.
The 100-plus people rounded up in the police sweep in Istanbul were all from
Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party, or RPP, which
was established by Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. The charges against
them include corruption, forming a criminal organization and aiding the PKK, a
Kurdish group designated by Turkey as a terrorist group, through collaboration
with the pro-Kurdish political party.
What makes that accusation more perplexing is that it comes at a time when the
government is promoting Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK, as a peacemaker
who will dissolve the organization. The about-face on Ocalan, who for the past
26 years has been in a Turkish prison, is seen by political observers as an
effort by Erdogan to court Kurdish support for a constitutional amendment that
would remove the presidential term limit that otherwise prevents him from
running again."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
