MEHMET TAHSİN
The old saying goes, “A village in plain sight needs no guide!” One of our most significant and meaningful proverbs… It means that for a situation that is clearly visible, there is no need for additional guidance. In other words, if something is obvious, there is no need for further explanation or a guide to understand or act upon it.
You may recall the story: Nasreddin Hodja falls from a tree and writhes in pain. As those gathered around him shout, “Call a doctor immediately!” the Hodja says, “I don’t need a doctor, find me someone who has also fallen from a tree!”
And so, today, as someone who has “fallen from a tree,” I want to offer guidance to Ekrem İmamoğlu. I am sure he is already aware of what I am about to say, but sometimes, people struggle to accept reality. They desperately hope, “Maybe this time, it will be different.”
For a long time, we have been saying, “An object is approaching İmamoğlu!” It was quite clear that when Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke of “the biggest turnip,” he was referring to İmamoğlu. Having lost to him three times at the ballot box, Erdoğan could not afford to launch a direct operation against İmamoğlu. Instead, he chose to start from the periphery and work toward the center, creating the perception that CHP-led municipalities were riddled with corruption.
Appointing Akın Gürlek as the Chief Public Prosecutor of Istanbul was the first step in this plan. The next steps were arresting the mayors of Esenyurt, Beşiktaş, and Beykoz and replacing them with government-appointed trustees. Three key mayors of the country’s main opposition party were arrested in rapid succession. This was unprecedented in Turkish political history.
They Trampled on the Constitution
Barış Terkoğlu from Cumhuriyet newspaper has reported that asset freezes have been placed on the companies, bank accounts, properties, and vehicles of several individuals close to İmamoğlu. Terkoğlu writes, “First came the company documents, then the asset freezes. These are signals of an upcoming operation in the coming days.”
To this, one can only say, “Good morning!” Because we have seen this scenario play out countless times before. Not only have we witnessed it, but we have also lived through it—feeling it in our very bones when the Koza İpek Group, Zaman Media Group, Samanyolu Broadcasting Group, and dozens of other private companies were seized. We saw it happen when Kaynak Holding, Bank Asya, schools, and tutoring centers were confiscated.
I am personally familiar with what happened to the media group I worked for. Just as we see now, they first assigned a prosecutor, then gathered statements from secret and open witnesses. After that, they paved the way for confiscation. They conducted small-scale police raids here and there, making the investigation public knowledge. Meanwhile, trolls on social media spread fake news, and in the end, they seized every department of the newspaper.
All of this was done despite the clear provisions of the Constitution. Article 30 of the Constitution states, “Printing presses and their annexes, established as press enterprises in accordance with the law, and press vehicles may not be seized or confiscated on the grounds that they are instruments of crime.” Yet, despite this, they raided the newspaper with hundreds of police officers, broke down its doors, seized it, and later shut it down, looting its assets. And that wasn’t enough—they used the excuse of “seemingly non-criminal writings” to imprison dozens of journalists and columnists.
It has been nearly ten years. Many of those journalists have been forced to continue their profession under difficult conditions abroad. Almost all of them have had their bank accounts and assets frozen, including inherited properties passed down from their ancestors. Aside from a few exceptions, such as Can Dündar, who has sought refuge under the protection of the country where he resides, most are struggling financially—if they are even able to continue working as journalists at all.
Hidayet Karaca and Mehmet Baransu have now spent over ten years in prison. Many journalists who were imprisoned and later released remain under constant surveillance, with the threat of re-arrest hanging over their heads like the Sword of Damocles.
It’s not just journalists associated with the Gülen Movement who are under pressure; the Kurdish political movement is facing the same oppression. While MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli is paving the way for a new solution process through Abdullah Öcalan, the movement fears defending its members—who are being arrested by the dozens daily—out of concern that it may derail the process. They can’t even utter a word against the appointment of trustees to their municipalities week after week.
What’s Happening to İmamoğlu Today Is the Same as What We Experienced in the Past
The only difference is that today’s judicial and law enforcement bureaucracy is even more brazen, shameless, and ruthless than it was back then. This makes İmamoğlu’s situation even more difficult.
As I write these lines, 32 people have been detained in an operation targeting CHP-led Sarıyer and Şişli municipalities on the grounds that they “provided financial support to the DHKP-C terrorist organization through tenders between 2014 and 2016.”
So, What Is İmamoğlu Doing?
He has effectively declared his candidacy for the presidency by adopting a “now or never” stance. His first major campaign rally was held in İzmir on March 8. During a rally in Adana the other day, he openly challenged Erdoğan, saying at one point, “Do not act like FETÖ terrorists!” in reference to Erdoğan and his circle.
At this point, I asked artificial intelligence what it thought. It responded:”… The impact of this rhetoric on voters is complex. It may consolidate CHP’s base and garner limited support from marginalized groups, but it carries risks among nationalist and conservative voters. In Turkey’s polarized political climate, such strong statements usually energize supporters while pushing the opposition even further away. İmamoğlu’s success will depend on how he manages his communication strategy in the coming days and how the government manipulates this rhetoric. If he aims to build a broad coalition, he may need to balance such statements with a more inclusive tone.”
If İmamoğlu continues down this path, Erdoğan’s re-election for another term seems highly likely.
As for İmamoğlu, when he looks back, there are plenty of cautionary examples for him to learn from. The simplest of these is the case of Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been imprisoned for 8.5 years simply because he said, “We will not let you become president!”
And unlike İmamoğlu, Demirtaş was not a political figure who had defeated Erdoğan three times. That is why not only İmamoğlu himself but also everyone around him—including his family members—are at risk.
