Leader of the Turkish opposition party, Özgur Özel, has criticised UK PM, Keir Starmer, over Downing Street’s deafening silence in the face of Erdogan’s growing anti-opposition. Erodogan, last month, and through the Turkish courts, allegedly launched legal attacks against the leading opposition candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, the current Mayor of Istanbul leading to an unprecedented detention which sparked violent protests in Istanbul and other major Turkish cities. Imamoğlu, 53, was accused of ties to rebel forces and terrorist groups. His diploma certificate of 30 years was revoked by Istanbul University, in what many see as a plot to ruin chances at the 2028 ballot given Turkey’s electoral laws require a degree qualification to run for presidency. Having suffered a devastating defeat in the Turkish midterms, last year, Erdogan, the 71-year-old extremist Islamist leader now appears hellbent on extending his decade-old grip on Istanbul’s politics by crippling all forms of opposition. In advancing Erdogan’s bidding, the Istanbul courts have, so far, defied the European Commission’s call to drop all charges against Imamoglu. Such defiance is seen even in greater amounts among anti-Erdogan protesters who defied internet and telecommunication shutdowns to express anger against the witchhunt. Over 1100 protesters were arrested with dozens others detained. Many say time is running out for Erdogan and his imperialist desires to restore the Ottoman Empire. With the fall of the Assad regime and the establishment of a pro-Turkish leadership in Syria, Erdogan’s dream of an extended Islamic caliphate has become more realistic—even if it means confronting Israel. Ožel’s criticism of Starmer’s—and other world leaders—silence on Erdogan’s autocratic tendencies is only proper. Such behaviour—the persecution of key opponents—typifies the modus operandi of today’s leftist extremists across Germany, France, Romania, Canada, and the US, who seek to destroy, all too often, the democratic systems that bring them to power. This is a call for strong resistance and condemnation against the growing tyranny of the radical left government.
