TURKEY: Erdoğan + Akşener & more – 11th Jun 2024

Merhaba from BA! This is the Rorshok Turkey Update from the 11th of June twenty twenty-four. A quick summary of what's going down in Turkey.

On Wednesday the 5th, President Erdoğan met with Meral Akşener, the former Good Party leader, at the presidential palace. The government didn’t disclose what was discussed, and no press conference followed. After the forty-minute meeting, the Good Party MPs criticized the lack of a statement. On social media, an MP warned that without a satisfactory explanation, the meeting could lead to a major rift in the Good Party, stating that it would imply a tacit acceptance of aligning with the palace or making a deal with the government.

The Good Party received almost 10% of the votes in the twenty twenty-three general elections when it joined the opposition People's Alliance, including the main opposition the Republican People’s Party or CHP, the Future Party and the Deva Party. The Good Party’s votes dropped to around 4% in the local elections this year after leaving the People's Alliance. After its prominent defeat, Akşener didn't run for re-election as party leader.

Moving on… Necmi Sıbıç, the newly elected mayor of Giresun’s Bulancak districts from the CHP, will reclaim and repurpose a municipal building as a marriage office. The building was previously leased for free to the Erdoğan-linked Turkish Youth Foundation, or TÜGVA, under the former Justice and Development Party, or AKP mayor. Sıbıç decided to reclaim the building after winning the local elections earlier this year, ending nearly twenty years of AKP rule. TÜGVA, founded by President Erdoğan’s son, used the building for ten years and ran summer schools offering Quran lessons and other activities. The organization has faced criticism for allegedly placing its members in key government positions and frequently receiving state tenders.

In other news… On Wednesday the 5th, the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, or TBB, held its presidential elections. The TBB represents municipalities at national and international levels and chose Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul's mayor from the CHP, as its president. He won with 515 votes, defeating Ahmet Metin Genç, the AKP mayor of Trabzon, who received 250 votes. His council list included mayors from the CHP, the Good Party, the New Welfare Party, and the Pro-Kurdish Democracy and People’s Equality Party, or the DEM Party, but none from the AKP or its ally, the Nationalist People’s Party. In his speech, İmamoğlu emphasized cooperation among municipalities and a just relationship with the central government.

İmamoğlu might be doing well but other mayors aren’t. On Wednesday the 5th, a court sentenced Mehmet Sıddık Akış, the co-mayor of Hakkari province, to nearly twenty years in prison for alleged links to militants. Recall that the police detained him last week for allegedly holding a high-level role in the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and the government appointed a trustee mayor in his place. The pro-Kurdish DEM Party, the third largest in parliament, declared the verdict null and void. The government‘s removal of the public-elected mayor Akış before he even got sentenced to the crime could be seen as a provocative move.

More on rulings as on Saturday the 8th, a court in İzmir ordered the Interior Ministry to pay two and a half million liras or 77,000 dollars in damages for failing to protect femicide victim Hülya Şellavcı, who had repeatedly reported death threats from Kaffar Yeğin, her estranged husband. Back in twenty twenty-two, Şellavcı was found murdered at her workplace despite filing four criminal complaints and obtaining restraining orders against Yeğin. A court sentenced him to aggravated life imprisonment for premeditated murder.

Şellavcı’s family filed a lawsuit against the government for their daughter's death, resulting in the unprecedented ruling that highlighted severe administrative negligence. Their lawyer emphasized the need for accountability to prevent future failures in protecting victims.

In some international news… Last week, on Monday the 3rd, the Turkish Foreign Minister visited Beijing, marking the highest-level Turkish visit to China since twenty twelve. During his visit, he met with Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and visited Xinjiang, home to millions of Uyghurs, Turkic people living in China. In a talk at the Center for China and Globalization, he expressed interest in Turkey joining BRICS, a geopolitical bloc that includes Brazil, China, Russia, Iran, among other countries. The minister mentioned Turkey's aim to enhance cooperation with BRICS members and planned to attend a meeting in Russia, who welcomed Turkey's interest, highlighting that its membership would be discussed at the next BRICS summit.

Turkey’s Western allies, like NATO members, have been criticizing the country for its ties with Russia, saying Turkey was shifting sites. However, Turkey has repeatedly reaffirmed its commitment to NATO and the EU over the years.

The Foreign Minister also mentioned that the two countries discussed narrowing Turkey's trade deficit with China by boosting agricultural exports and encouraging Chinese investment and tourism. In twenty twenty-three, Turkey reportedly imported forty-five billion US Dollars worth of services and goods from China. However, its exports were less than four billion US Dollars.

Still on the minister’s China trip…. Beijing has faced scrutiny, including from Ankara, over its inhuman treatment of the Uyghur minority, though China denies the accusations. Turkish citizens have also criticized the Turkish government because of its inaction regarding the issue. However, during his visit, the foreign minister told Chinese officials that Uyghur Turks are very important to Turkey and highlighted the sensitivities of the Turkic and Muslim worlds regarding the protection of Uyghur cultural rights and values.

Since we mentioned imports from China… On Saturday the 8th, Turkey announced a 40% additional tax on vehicle imports from China to boost domestic production and investment, and to prevent further deterioration of its current account deficit. This tariff, effective from the 7th of July, will be at least seven thousand dollars per vehicle. In twenty twenty-three, Turkey imposed similar tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports.

China is the top manufacturer of affordable, high-quality electric cars, so many drivers prefer these vehicles. However, according to some nations, China heavily subsidizes these exports to support its struggling economy.

The European Commission plans to impose provisional additional tariffs next week.

On Sunday the 9th, a radical Islamist mob attacked a dance troupe in Diyarbakır, a city in southeastern Turkey, injuring two people. The incident occurred at the Tema Park, where the Swing Amed dance school was holding an event. Reportedly, a group of about fifty people entered the park, shouting religious slogans, and demanded the participants stop the event. When the dancers refused, things got physical. Emergency services and police arrived, and two injured individuals were taken to the hospital.

And to wrap up this episode, Sunday the 16th marks the first day of the four-day Feast of the Sacrifice, or Kurban Bayramı. The festival is one of the biggest Islamic holidays in Turkey. It commemorates the story of Prophet İbrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son İsmail to show his faithfulness to God. Seeing İbrahim’s faith in him, God sends Ibrahim a ram to sacrifice instead of his son. The festival is about charity and solidarity. Traditionally, on the first day of the festival, many households sacrifice livestock. They keep one-third of the meat and give the rest to people in need. However, with the rise in animal activism in recent years, more and more people opt to donate money to charities instead. In addition to the concern for animals, because of the rising inflation and living costs, many people can’t afford to buy livestock anymore.

Since this is a public holiday, all the public institutions will be closed throughout the four days of the festival. However, private businesses might choose to open their stores on the third or fourth day.

Even though the festival is only four days long and ends on Wednesday the 19th, the government gave the rest of the week off to public officials, making it a nine-day holiday. Though private companies aren’t legally obliged to do the same, some are giving extra holidays to their workers too.

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

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