Gov’t, opposition slam insulting slogans in protests

ISTANBUL

Demonstrations against the imprisonment of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu continued for the sixth night on March 24, with slogans insulting President Erdoğan and his family sparking controversy and condemnation from both the government and the opposition.

İmamoğlu, a high-profile figure from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), was jailed pending trial last week on corruption charges, igniting a wave of nationwide demonstrations.

Within five days, over 1,100 individuals were detained, while 123 police officers were injured, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on March 24.

On the night of March 24, protests continued outside the city hall in Saraçhane.

A group of demonstrators chanted insults targeting Erdoğan, his late mother and his family, while carrying placards emblazoned with similar derogatory remarks.

Some 43 individuals identified as chanting the slogans were detained and efforts were ongoing to identify others involved, the interior minister announced, condemning the insults.

The outcry over the offensive slogans was echoed by senior government figures, including Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Justice Minister Yılmaz Tunç and ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) spokesperson Ömer Çelik, who all decried the insults.

The opposition also spoke out against the slogans, with imprisoned İmamoğlu, through his lawyers, issuing a statement unequivocally denouncing them.

"I cannot accept insults against mothers. I wholeheartedly condemn the remarks made against the president’s late mother," he said, also denouncing derogatory statements about his own family and calling on prosecutors to act.

CHP leader Özgür Özel also weighed in, asserting that protests and insults should not be conflated.

"Using profanity — especially against one’s family or mother — is absolutely unacceptable. I take such insults as if they were directed at my own mother," he wrote on X.

"Our political struggle and our opposition are conducted with decency and dignity. Anyone who hurls insults at a politician’s family is not one of us," Özel added, while also cautioning against exploiting the reprehensible actions of a few to delegitimize the broader protest movement.

 AKP criticizes boycott call

The AKP spokesman denounced the opposition leader’s call for a consumer boycott targeting certain media outlets and brands across various industries.

On March 24, Özel explicitly named a series of companies, accusing them of aligning with the government while disregarding the opposition and urged the public to boycott them.

“Özgür Özel’s blatant intimidation of media institutions and corporate entities in this manner is nothing short of political bullying,” Çelik said.

“By calling for a boycott against national enterprises, Özel has effectively undermined his own legitimacy as the leader of the CHP,” he added.

Meanwhile, a separate boycott movement has emerged from university students in Istanbul, the capital Ankara and the western city of İzmir.

Prosecutors have launched an inquiry into the Eğitim-Sen after the education union extended its support for these boycott calls and urged its members to abstain from academic activities on March 25.

The investigation was instated against the union on charges of “public incitement to commit a crime.”

Student demonstrations initially erupted at Istanbul University following the annulment of İmamoğlu’s university degree and spread to other universities.

 Ankara, İzmir extend protest ban 

In a related development, authorities in Ankara and İzmir once again extended the ongoing protest ban, which was initially set to expire on March 26.

The governor’s offices of the two cities declared that all demonstrations and protests will remain prohibited until April 1.