To cries of “ resistance everywhere! “, Hundreds of people gathered in the main cities of Turkey on Tuesday evening April 26, the day after the life sentence of the patron Osman Kavala for “attempting to overthrow the government”.
With our correspondent in Istanbul, Anne Andlauer
In Istanbul, the demonstrators found themselves not far from the symbolic place Taksim, theater in 2013 of the Gezi Park protests against the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The heavy prison sentences imposed on Osman Kavala and his seven co-defendants illustrate the leaden screed that has fallen on Turkish civil society.
To meet in the street, to be seen and to be heard, for Kemal Akdemir, a worker, to denounce the verdict which overwhelms Osman Kavala and his co-accused, is also to fight for the right to demonstrate in Turkey: “ This verdict is an attempt to intimidate those in power towards all those who do not vote for it. The question is whether you internalize this intimidation or not. The police roadblocks around us are part of this attempt at intimidation. »
Protesters who denounce a climate of fear
The demonstrators chant the slogans of Gezi, this protest movement of the summer of 2013 that Osman Kavala is accused of having financed. Deniz, a lawyer, scans the crowd. She fears that the verdict has partly achieved its goal: “ Gezi had gathered more than three million people all over Turkey. As you see, we are not even 3 000 gathered here today. »
Serdar Erbas, member of the Workers’ Party (TIP), also denounces a ” climate of fear “: ” People are afraid to post a simple message on Twitter, so demonstrate… So I can partly understand the fears of those who dare not demonstrate with us. I hope this climate of fear will end, this power will fall and we can rebuild a beautiful Turkey. »
The elections are due to take place in June 2023. Until then, the debate is likely to grow within the opposition between those who call for mobilization in the streets, and those who fear that the authorities will use the slightest movement for their benefit. of dispute.
►Read also: Turkey: the opposition positions itself in the face of the frustrations of the population