TURKEY: Ceylan’s Speech & more – 22nd April 2025

Merhaba from Keswick Village! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 22nd of April twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Friday the 19th, during a Republican People’s Party or CHP rally in the central city of Yozgat, which has traditionally been a strong supporter of the ruling Justice and Development party in past elections, local farmer Abdullah Ceylan took the stage and gave a fiery speech about injustice, corruption, and the struggles of farmers. Ceylan said that he received a hefty administrative fine for protesting in support of Ekrem İmamoğlu, the jailed mayor of İstanbul and the CHP’s presidential candidate. He criticized the government’s handling of agriculture and democracy.

He told the crowd that “the country cannot be governed with turnips and pickled juice, and must be run with justice and law”, a phrase that quickly went viral on social media, and which referred to an earlier jab where President Erdoğan likened İmamoğlu to a radish — using the idiom to suggest superficial appeal without substance.

On that note about protesting, on Sunday the 20th, Eren Üner, a protester detained during the demonstrations said that the police harassed and mistreated him in custody. He shared his accusation online, alleging sexual assault during a search. The General Directorate of Security responded by denying the allegations and calling them an attempt to discredit the force. Officials said they would file a criminal complaint against him.

Authorities stated that doctors found no signs of physical abuse during his detention from the 24th of March to the 9th of April. They also noted that Üner didn’t report any mistreatment during or after custody until almost three weeks later. The police said all procedures followed legal guidelines and were carried out with care.

Next up, on Saturday the 19th, the Health Ministry updated its regulations on private outpatient clinics. The changes, published in the Official Gazette, mainly targeted childbirth procedures. According to the new regulations, medical centers cannot perform planned cesareans unless there is a proper birth unit, which itself must meet strict conditions, like delivery rooms of at least sixteen square meters and having easy access to operating rooms.

This came shortly after a national debate over the ministry promoting natural births, which sparked when Sivasspor football club players held a banner reading “What’s natural is Normal Birth,” — a story we covered last week. Because of this situation, the new regulation was put into question, with many calling it a way to prevent access to cesarean births.

Speaking of birth, earlier this month, the Population Policies Council met to outline new strategies for maintaining a healthy demographic structure. Reportedly, during the meeting, officials drafted a proposal to extend maternity leave for working mothers, including increasing paid leave from sixteen weeks to one year and unpaid leave to one and a half years. The plan also introduces childcare support.

The council aims to remove the current gap in paternity leave between public and private sectors—civil servant fathers currently get ten days, while workers get five. The proposed changes are part of a broader effort to support families and encourage higher birth rates through long-term planning and workplace reforms.

On Friday the 19th, İmamoğlu warned that the government had reignited the controversial Kanal İstanbul project, which plans to dig an artificial waterway between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara through İstanbul. He pointed to a housing construction near the Sazlıdere Dam, which sits directly on the planned route. Once the canal is dug, land along its banks—including the area around the dam—will effectively become seafront property, raising its value. The housing project includes twenty-four thousand homes, already marketed in Arab countries as a good investment.

However, the İstanbul Water and Sewerage Administration reported that the development violated basin protection laws and had no permits. İmamoğlu said a presidential decree erased the dam’s protected status without public notice, undermining both water security and transparency.

In other news, on Monday the 21st, prosecutors reclassified the killing of fifteen-year-old Ahmet Minguzzi as an organized crime case, after discovering threatening messages sent to his family. Ahmet was violently stabbed by a minor at a local market on the 24th of January.

The case sparked widespread public concern over youth violence and gang activity in Istanbul, especially since the suspect is part of a group of young offenders known for acting as a street gang. Authorities had already charged several suspects with the intentional killing of a minor, requesting up to twenty-four years in prison. Police later arrested six people accused of threatening the Minguzzi family.

The case now stands as a symbol of growing fears around organized crime targeting minors.

Meanwhile, on Monday the 21st, Pervin Buldan, a lawmaker of the Democracy and People's Equality or DEM Party, and lawyer Faik Özgür Erol visited İmralı prison to meet Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK. The meeting lasted five hours, but the party hasn’t yet shared any details.

This marked the fourth such visit since October, when Devlet Bahçeli, the Nationalist Movement Party leader, called for renewed contact with the PKK.

Sırrı Süreyya Önder, the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament and a DEM lawmaker, who joined earlier visits, missed this round because he suffered a heart attack on Tuesday the 15th. He underwent a twelve-hour surgery for an aortic rupture and remains in the hospital unconscious with delayed reflexes. His neurological condition is still uncertain.

In some updates on education, on Thursday the 18th, a court upheld a key ruling limiting excessive tuition hikes at private universities. The case involved a student who challenged a fee increase of more than 100 percent. The local court capped the hike at 67%, in line with inflation, and the appeals court confirmed the decision. A lawyer representing many students said hundreds of similar lawsuits remain ongoing. Some private universities have demanded over one million liras, which is about 23,000 US Dollars, for annual tuition, especially in medical faculties, almost twice the price it was a year ago.

He argued that inflation-busting hikes violate both the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. He said many schools still impose steep increases while waiting for a final ruling from the Court of Cassation.

On Wednesday the 23rd, Turkey will celebrate National Sovereignty and Children’s Day with parades, concerts, and school ceremonies across the country. The day marks the anniversary of the Grand National Assembly’s opening in nineteen twenty, seen as the beginning of the country’s modern democracy.

Atatürk, the founder of the Republic, dedicated the holiday to children, calling them the future of the nation. As part of the tradition, children will symbolically take over official roles for a day—stepping into Parliament, mayoral offices, and even the president’s seat.

Schools will organize performances, and streets will be filled with music, flags, and kids in costumes.

All public institutions and private schools will be closed.

Shifting gears, on Sunday the 20th, three Turkish Airlines planes landed at the same time on different runways at Istanbul Airport, marking a European first. The Transport and Infrastructure Minister authorized the operation called Simultaneous Triple Independent Runway Operations. The planes arrived from Stockholm, Antalya, and Paris and touched down together at 4:30 pm local time.

The moment was recorded on radar and celebrated as a milestone for the airport.

The airport operator announced plans to begin four-runway operations in the future.

And to wrap up this edition, this week, the Advertising Board fined several major clothing brands, including Beymen, Sarar, Ramsey and Vakko, for misleading discount ads and incomplete product information. The board said many fashion retailers advertised discounts of up to 80% but failed to offer enough stock or gave vague details.

The board also penalized New Balance, Vans and Camper for not disclosing the use of pigskin in certain shoe models sold in the country. While their international websites listed the material, the Turkish versions left it out. In Islam, pork and its by-products are considered impure, making this detail especially significant for many consumers.

New Balance received a fine of 1 million 730 thousand liras, which is around forty-five thousand dollars, and Vans was punished with 864 thousand liras, about twenty-three thousand dollars. Meanwhile, the board also ordered a stop to Camper’s ads entirely.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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