For the last few weeks Turkey has been experiencing one of the most significant and widespread socio-political upheavals in recent years. The detention of Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, on 19th March triggered an outpouring of anger in Turkey against the government, President Erdoğan and the discomfort caused by the ongoing socio-political-economic crisis. After Imamoğlu was arrested and sent to prison on 23rd March, the protests turned into a street mobilisation not seen in Turkey for a long time.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, was seen as Erdoğan's strongest rival in the upcoming presidential elections and “the next President of Turkey”. For some time now Erdoğan has attempted to“block” his political rival. First, İmamoğlu's university diploma was unlawfully cancelled to prevent him from running for president in the next elections. Then he was detained within the scope of 'corruption' and 'aiding terrorism' investigations - the 'corruption' investigation eventually led to his imprisonment. This process turned into a clear demonstration of Erdoğan's “fear” of his potential rival.

The common discourse of the protests: Erdoğan's resignation

Since 19th March, the protests across Turkey have gone beyond condemning the attacks and repression against İmamoğlu. The anger on the streets has converged around discontent with the social-political-economic crisis in Turkey, distrust of the government and a reaction to Erdoğan himself. The main discourse and demand of the protests is now the resignation of Erdoğan and the government.

From the very beginning of the protests, it was a big question as to how this street mobilisation would evolve. This is because, especially in the aftermath of the 2013 Gezi park protests (when protests against the gentrification plan for Taksim Gezi Park in Istanbul spread across the country and turned into a social movement against authoritarianism)  we have witnessed an ever-increasing crackdown on civil society and human rights organisations in Turkey. Since the Gezi park protests, social opposition had been greatly weakened and the street as a space for action was restricted and often even banned. The weakness of the social opposition has made it difficult to understand and analyse what this process and street mobilisation will evolve into. Since İmamoğlu's detention, “protest bans” have been introduced, first in Istanbul and then in other cities. Official statements made by the government said that “provocation” would not be allowed on the streets. However, the ongoing mobilisation on the streets has clearly shown that these bans were not recognized by the public in Turkey.

In big cities like Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, large mass protests were organised but we have also witnessed similar actions in many other cities across Turkey, in a way we have not experienced before. Street protests, university student boycotts, education unions joining the university student boycotts, calls for economic boycott by the main opposition party, and a nationwide call for boycott...

Criminalisation of the street protests, increased use of force and lawlessness

In almost all of the protests we have seen the same reaction from the authorities: Police brutality, the use of force against protesters, detentions and arrests and so on... The mobilisation on the streets is facing increasing police brutality and state repression every day. On a daily basis the homes of people involved in the protests are raided by the police in the early morning hours. University students - who make up the bulk of the masses on the streets - are often the targets of these operations, alongside journalists who are trying to document the events.

According to the Interior Minister, as of March 26, more than 1800 people were detained during the protests and more than 250 were arrested, but since that official statement was made, the number of detentions and arrests has continued to increase. The protests have been met with unlawful use of force by the police, with people beaten with batons and kicked while on the ground. Police have indiscriminately used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons against protesters, causing numerous injuries. Some of the detained protesters reported being subjected to ill-treatment and torture in detention. Some detained women reported physical abuse and sexual harassment by police officers.

Profile of protesters and future of protests

According to a survey, 70.2 percent of the participants in the protests are between the ages of 18-24; and 55.3 percent are college or university students. According to the same survey, most of the young people who participated in the protests see a dark future if Erdoğan and his AKP party continue to rule Turkey.

This anxiety expressed by young people on the streets is reflected in the slogans chanted during the protests, their banners, as well as in interviews circulated on social media. It is clear that the anger and frustration of a generation who spent their childhood and early youth in Erdoğan's power, who were condemned to live in the wreckage of the social-political-economic devastation, and who “no longer see a future in this country” is one of the main mobilising forces on the streets.

On the other hand, the attitude of some young people on the streets from the generation who spent their childhood in a period when social opposition was weakened and activism was criminalised raises some questions.

In addition to the revolutionary groups participating in the protests, some of the groups masses come from Kemalist/nationalist backgrounds. Racist groups are also active in some protests, and anti-Kurdish discourses have also been present. In addition, there are also examples of discriminatory discourses against women and LGBTI people, which is why it is very important to analyse the streets, recognize discriminative discourses and try to stand against them. It is clear that the social forces in the opposition, who have been significantly weakened by years of state repression, have a lot to learn from each other.

Where are the Kurds?

While Turkey is experiencing the biggest street mobilisation in recent years, Kurdish people remain the most vulnerable subject of this process. While some in the opposition say that the DEM Party (a Kurdish party with legal representation in the Turkish parliament) has remained “passive” because of the current peace process between the PKK and the Turkish government, some of the protesters are united around racist and fascist discourses. Although Kurds were subjected to similar criticism during Gezi due to the “peace process” with the government back then, they were not subjected to racist and fascist discourses and targeting as intensely as they are now.

After the appointment of trustees to some CHP (the Republican People’s Party) municipalities in recent months the main opposition party described the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu as a “political coup”, while its attitude towards the “trustee policy” that has been in place over the past years was also sometimes questioned and criticised. Over the past years, the frequent seizure of municipalities in Kurdish provinces and the dismissal and replacement of DEM Party mayors with government-appointed trustees had become a policy.

Even though CHP as the main opposition party “condemned” the repeated exposure of DEM Party municipalities to the practices what they now define as “political coup”, no strong opposition was organised against the government's trustee policy during these periods. This lack of strong and organised opposition prepared the environment for the government to change the target of its trustee policy, first towards smaller CHP municipalities and finally towards Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul.

While the DEM Party is currently being accused of “supporting authoritarianism” due to the ongoing dialogue process with the government, it is trying to conduct politics on a fine line. While criticising the anti-democratic practices, police brutality against protesters and state repression, the DEM Party is also trying to manage the “peace and democratic society” process, which is very fragile, while taking part in the protests.

What awaits us in the process?

During the Gezi protests in 2013, the most common slogan we shouted on the streets and the common phrase that excited us was “This is just the beginning, keep fighting”. The process that began on March 19 is actually a new beginning for us: The beginning of a social opposition against the state oppression that has been increasing for decades, against the gradual restriction of human rights and freedoms, against police violence, against the and against the fear of getting organized and against authoritarianism.

The period we are going through in Turkey is very fragile, complex and dynamic. It is uncertain if the mass street mobilisation will continue and the roadmap of the social opposition is vague. However, one thing is clear: people are finding the courage to rebel against the social-political-economic crisis we are trapped in a way that is new and exciting.

The politcal order that Erdoğan has built throughout his 20+ years in power has now turned into a huge ruin. Increasing unhappiness, insecurity and uncertainty have united different layers of society around one common idea: the need for change and the belief in being able to change.

The street, a space for action that had been lost for decades in Turkey, was regained when this process that started on 19th March. Many people who had been afraid of politics and the street, or who had been intimidated or isolated, regained the ability to go out on the street and take part in political activity.

Different social dynamics united against a “systematic injustice” felt the power to change. We know that the road we have to walk is long and sometimes uncertain. But this time, we are uniting around a different slogan: “There is no salvation alone, either all together or none of us!”