Turkish police used water cannons to disperse a protest after a court removed the opposition leader — AFP
On Tuesday, Turkish police special forces used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a large rally in Izmir.
This was reported by the AFP news agency, noting that tensions in the region had escalated ahead of a major religious holiday.
The protest was organized by the ousted leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, a few days after a high-profile court ruling.
Özel called for a rally in Izmir as Turkey prepared for the four-day Eid al-Fitr holiday, which begins on Wednesday.
On the eve of the rally, the governor of Izmir ordered the city’s central square to be completely closed off to prevent citizens from gathering.
Authorities deployed a large number of police with water cannons, who attempted to disperse the crowd and prevent the situation from escalating in the streets.
Despite the strict ban and roadblocks, thousands of demonstrators chanted slogans and waved flags as Ozel addressed the crowd from the roof of a bus.
The politician called on another opposition figure, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, to immediately agree to hold a party convention so that members could elect their leader.
Opposition members are convinced that the court ruling is purely politically motivated and coordinated by the country’s current government.
The opposition leader emphasized that the court’s removal of the elected leadership of the Republican People’s Party “is not an internal party matter.”
He called on supporters to unite in their opposition to the current political regime.
“Anyone who thinks otherwise is deceiving the people… this is a matter between the people and Erdogan. The issue is to stop a party that is moving toward absolute power,” Ozel said.
Turkish court removes opposition party leader from office – Bloomberg
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison for allegedly “threatening” the Istanbul chief prosecutor.
In Istanbul, charges were filed against Mayor Imamoglu seeking a 2,352-year prison sentence.
