TURKEY: Dismissed Lieutenants & more – 4th Feb 2025

Merhaba from BA! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 4th of February twenty twenty-five. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

Last year, during the lieutenant graduation ceremony, five newly commissioned officers drew their swords and chanted for Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. The lieutenants made the gesture after the official ceremony to commemorate Atatürk. However, President Erdoğan condemned the move, calling it disobedience, as it wasn’t part of the official ceremony, and pushed for their removal.

On Friday the 31st of January, the National Defense Ministry dismissed them, along with three supervisors who backed them. The ministry framed the decision as a move to preserve military discipline, but critics saw it as part of an ongoing struggle between secularism and Islamism, and a reflection of the government’s opposition to Atatürk and his secular ideals. Lawyers argued they broke no rules and stated that they plan to challenge the decision.

On Tuesday the 28th of January, Özgür Özel, the head of the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party or CHP, said that the party would name its presidential candidate in the coming months to counter what he described as a systematic crackdown against the opposition. He said the party would hold an internal election with its 1.6 million members to pick its candidate, and that the election preparations would take place between February and April, though there is no set date for the election.

Two names stand out in the CHP: Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istambul, and Mansur Yavaş, the mayor of Ankara.

However, the CHP is not the only party getting a head start on the election race. On Saturday the 1st, Fatih Erbakan, the leader of the radical Islamist New Welfare Party, officially announced that he would run in the next presidential election. He recalled withdrawing in the twenty twenty-three presidential elections during the signature collection process to support the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. However, later on, tensions grew between the two parties as the New Welfare Party accused the AKP of failing to deliver promised support for local elections. The party said it had received no backing and saw no political logic in repeating the alliance.

Meanwhile, the AKP is reportedly considering changing the constitution to allow President Erdoğan to seek another term. In Turkey, one person can only serve two terms as president, but they can run for a third term if there’s an early election.

Back to the crackdown on the opposition, this week, the police detained five journalists from Halk TV, an opposition news channel, including its editor-in-chief. Prosecutors accused them of unlawfully recording and broadcasting a phone call with Satılmış Büyükcanayakın, an expert witness in cases against opposition mayors.

Last week, Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul from the CHP, accused him of bias and said he was the ruling party’s go-to expert in cases against the opposition. In the phone call, Büyükcanayakın defended his reports, insisting his assessments were objective and accusing İmamoğlu of trying to discredit him. Authorities said the broadcast aimed to influence the trials against the opposition, but the detentions raised concerns over growing judicial pressure on opposition figures and the media

Speaking of İmamoğlu, recall that last week he criticized the Chief Prosecutor’s office over actions against opposition figures, accusing him of abusing judicial authority. Well, on Friday the 31st of January, he testified in an investigation into alleged threats against Akın Gürlek, the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor, and his family.

Thousands gathered in front of the courthouse for support, leading the police to use pepper spray to disperse them. İmamoğlu rejected the accusations, saying he was exercising free speech. The case follows a series of other cases on opposition figures, including the recent arrests of two CHP district mayors.

On Tuesday the 28th, a series of earthquakes began near Santorini, a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, with nearly 600 tremors recorded since then. Turkey’s Disaster and Emergency Management Authority reported that the closest quake to Turkish territory struck 140 kilometers or eighty-seven miles offshore.

The earthquakes have raised concerns due to Santorini’s volcanic history, raising the possibility of a volcanic eruption. The region previously experienced similar seismic activity between twenty eleven and twenty twelve without triggering an eruption. However, Greek authorities have increased safety measures, even closing schools on Monday the 3rd due to landslide risks. Turkish authorities advised the public to rely on official updates, as scientists continue monitoring the possibility of earthquakes, tsunamis, or volcanic activity.

In other news, on Thursday the 30th, following the deadly ski resort fire in northwestern Bolu that killed almost eighty people, the Istanbul governor announced that authorities identified accommodation facilities lacking proper permits or failing to meet Culture and Tourism Ministry standards within the city. They said that by Monday the 3rd, municipal and fire department teams, working with district governors, would complete inspections to ensure compliance.

The Bolu fire exposed serious safety lapses and raised concerns about weak oversight and enforcement, prompting authorities to act swiftly to prevent future disasters.

On a related note, reportedly, the prices of fire safety products skyrocketed after the tragic ski resort fire. On Wednesday the 29th, the president of the Consumer Confederation condemned the sharp rise. He said that the prices of fire extinguishers and smoke detectors had increased by over 40%, calling it exploitation that endangers public safety. He urged people to report price hikes to the Trade Ministry, which has intensified inspections and penalized businesses for unfair pricing.

On Thursday the 30th, the Education Minister warned that private schools with extreme tuition hikes could face penalties, including closure. Speaking at the Private Schools Association symposium in southern Antalya, he said only a small number of schools had excessive fees, rejecting broad criticism of the sector. Private elementary, secondary, and high schools often face backlash for six-digit annual tuition costs. The minister also mentioned plans to use empty spots in private schools for public sector students.

Meanwhile, the head of the Private Schools Association argued that rising operational costs and lack of government support made fee increases necessary, criticizing media coverage for unfairly targeting private institutions.

More on education. On Monday the 3rd, reports surfaced that Sinan Aydın, the Eskişehir Provincial Director of National Education, told women teachers facing forced reassignments due to excess staffing at their schools that they could quit their jobs and stay home. During a meeting, teachers said that mid-year relocations were tearing apart their families and negatively affecting their children, and asked if the assignments could be postponed until the end of the school year. He reportedly dismissed them and suggested they adjust their personal lives to their jobs.

On Wednesday the 29th, Trakya Birlik, the country’s largest agricultural cooperative for sunflower oil production, announced that sunflowers are now covered under the Agricultural Insurance Pool or TARSİM’s village-based yield insurance, with the government covering seventy percent of the cost. It stated this was the first time TARSİM had included sunflowers, a crop highly vulnerable to drought. In recent years, dry conditions in the northwestern Tekirdağ and Edirne caused severe losses. Authorities decided to expand the coverage after reviewing last season’s harvest.

The cooperative welcomed the decision, saying it would protect farmers' income and ensure stable production. It also noted that other crops might receive similar support, emphasizing the importance of government backing for long-term agricultural sustainability.

Closing this edition, on Friday the 31st, reports surfaced that Boğaziçi University planned to sell the historic Red Mansion, or Kırmızı Yalı along Istanbul’s Bosphorus Strait. Archaeologist Halet Çambel, who lived there for over fifty years, donated the mansion to the university to be used as an institute before her death in twenty fourteen.

Reportedly, the head of the Architectural Restoration and Cultural Heritage Protection Association called on the rector of Boğaziçi University to clarify the situation. He noted that the property’s deed specifies its use as an institute and warned of legal action if it is put up for sale.

Built during Sultan Mahmud II’s reign, the mansion has been a registered historical landmark since the nineteen thirties.

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

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