Why this young activist is risking his freedom to speak out against Turkey's president
Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators calling for democracy have flooded the streets across Turkey, marking the largest anti-government protests in the country's recent history.
The protests erupted on March 19 in response to the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on corruption charges.
İmamoğlu is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's main political rival. He was poised within days to be named by the Republican People's Party (CHP) as its presidential candidate for the upcoming election.
The protests quickly grew beyond calls for İmamoğlu's release, with demonstrators demanding broader political reforms and an end to the democratic backsliding under Erdoğan's rule.
In over one week, almost 2,000 people were detained, including student leaders, journalists and municipal workers.
CHP leader Özgür Özel announced a boycott of businesses linked to Erdoğan's government.
Youth activist Enes Hocaoğulları gave a speech as a youth delegate at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Strasbourg, France, urgently calling on decision makers to take a stand. He is the international relations coordinator of Ankara-based ÜniKuir, an association advocating for the rights of 2SLGBTQ+ people within Turkish universities.
He spoke to As It Happens host Nil Köksal about returning to Turkey and the anti-government protests there.
What was it like to return?
What I feel is a mix of euphoria and stress — not knowing if I'll be detained [in the] next hour. But the euphoria definitely [outweighs it] since for every one message I receive saying I should be put in jail or killed, I get 10 that says they are glad someone has given us a wake-up call.
Your family, were they worried after they saw that speech being shared and reshared?
Yes. I was anxious about whether I was going to be able to enter the country without detention.
Are you prepared for that possibility of detention?
Yes. Unfortunately, right as we speak, 301 of my peers are in jail waiting for a decision to be made.
We are not certain whether I will join them or not. But I am as prepared as I could be when it comes to preparing a bag and telling my mom I love her, as well as preparing myself mentally for such [an] unfortunate result.
Why [are] so many young people so vocal?
Mayor İmamoğlu has been a key opposition figure against Erdoğan since 2019. But these protests are not necessarily about İmamoğlu alone.
The demonstrations focus on issues like media censorship, authoritarianism, freedom of expression and assembly, all together.
They are not only necessarily protests for İmamoğlu, but against Erdoğan. Why the Turkish youth is so courageous right now is that they have lost their future.
They have lost their opportunities, but while doing so, they also lost their fear. We have nothing left to be afraid of. So that's how we are so easily on the streets fighting for a possibility of a future.
Are you seeing a difference this time compared to past protests?
The biggest difference, especially in comparison to the Gezi protests in 2013 and 2014, which was the biggest in that decade, is the intersectionality.
Erdoğan has gained so many enemies in the past ten years that people don't care about their differences anymore. They just care whether you are in favour of Erdoğan or against Erdoğan.
I have never seen such inclusive, such diverse protests in my life. They know that they are against Erdogan and that's enough for them.
Even the slogan CHP is using for these protests is, "There is no salvation alone, whether it's altogether or none of us."
It makes sense that we've had so much polarization in the country, [so] that the only way to go through this is to get together.
WATCH | Demonstrators in Istanbul clash with police:
Demonstrators in Istanbul clash with police after city's mayor is detained
12 days ago
Duration 0:45
Do you think [the economic boycott] will have the kind of impact you and your supporters are hoping?
Yes, I think so. If not, even if it does not have a big impact on the country's economy, I think it will still give the people the feeling that they can do something.
What would you like to hear and see from other countries?
I would say the main problem in Turkey right now is the authorities not caring about the protests, so what I would suggest to decision makers abroad is to urge the Turkish authorities to listen to our needs and if you're not a decision maker outside Turkey I would urge you to contact your decision makers so that they can speak out against these human rights violations.
How do you feel about the climate right now and the potential for İmamoğlu's release and the kind of change that you would like to see?
I still feel a bit more optimistic about the possibilities, considering that I'm not a politician, I'm not spending my days in the parliament, talking to the same people.
I'm always on the streets, I see the hope in the people, I see the hope in the youth. That's what keeps me still optimistic.
The possible future we are talking about does not necessarily consist [of] İmamoğlu. It just consists [of] democracy. It consists [of] human rights. It consists [of] a holistic … human rights-centred and intersectional future where the rule of law is respected.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
33 minutes ago
- Toronto Star
Democrats look for reinvention and a new playbook against Trump in key committee race
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are quietly engaged in a behind-the-scenes race for a key committee position, the second time in as many months that the party has had to fill one of the most prized positions in Congress. Four Democrats are running to be the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, an investigative panel with public clout, subpoena power and an expansive portfolio. The position is open due to the death last month of Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia.
Winnipeg Free Press
38 minutes ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Democrats look for reinvention and a new playbook against Trump in key committee race
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are quietly engaged in a behind-the-scenes race for a key committee position, the second time in as many months that the party has had to fill one of the most prized positions in Congress. Four Democrats are running to be the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, an investigative panel with public clout, subpoena power and an expansive portfolio. The position is open due to the death last month of Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia. While Democrats in the minority have little power to shape the committee's work, the ranking member position comes with an enormous platform — and the possibility of becoming chair if the party wins back the majority in next year's midterm elections. Whoever wins will immediately be squaring off against Republicans as they prepare for splashy hearings this summer on immigration enforcement, LGBTQ rights and former President Joe Biden's age and mental condition while in office. As they hear from the candidates, Democrats are weighing many of the factors that were in play late last year, when Connolly, a veteran member of the committee, fended off a challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. A look at how the race is shaping up: The age factor The debate over Biden's age coincides with a reckoning over seniority and generational change happening across the Democratic Party. Four House Democrats are running for the position: Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, the acting ranking member; Jasmine Crockett of Texas, a viral sensation; Robert Garcia, a former Los Angeles County mayor who has pitched colleagues on a government reform agenda; and Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, former president of the NAACP and civil rights advocate. While Lynch is the most senior of the four, Democrats broadly said they are more open to breaking from seniority than they were in December, when Connolly, then 74, beat out Ocasio-Cortez, 35, for the job. Democrats are interested in how the candidates would communicate with the public, how they would help support lawmakers in battleground districts — and of course, how they would challenge President Donald Trump and his administration. How the four Democrats are making their case Crockett, 44, has pitched herself as the candidate best able to compete with Trump's pugnacious and attention-grabbing style. Democrats, Crockett has argued, often fail to connect with voters and explain why the president's actions may be harmful. She believes she can. 'It's a matter of bringing that in, having a hearing and making sure that we are translating it and amplifying it,' Crockett told MSNBC in an interview. 'Communications has to be a full-on strategy.' Garcia, 47, has focused on government reform and effectiveness, a key issue for Democrats after the Trump administration's blitz across federal agencies and mass firings of federal workers by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. Mfume, 76, has attracted support from members impressed by his longtime stewardship of the nation's oldest civil rights group. He returned to Congress after decades leading the NAACP following the death of a previous Democratic Oversight chair, the late Congressman Elijah Cummings, a fellow Baltimore Democrat. Lynch, 70, has styled himself as the acting chair and the lawmaker best positioned to take on the committee's chairman, Republican James Comer of Kentucky. 'There are some members who speak to a very narrow audience, and that's great,' Lynch said. 'We want them to be energized and animated. But that same person is not going to go to the Rust Belt with people that are farmers, moderates, conservatives,' Lynch told The Associated Press. 'You need different voices to appeal to different constituencies.' 'I think I have a better chance of bringing back the blue-collar working people, and I have less of a chance of appealing to very younger people who are intensely invested in social media,' Lynch said. What's ahead as Democrats make their choice The vote for Oversight ranking member is scheduled for June 24 and will be conducted by secret ballot. All four candidates are speaking before multiple caucuses this week, including the New Democrats and the progressive caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus. While many Democrats are undecided, others have made up their mind. Some who are privately stumping for their candidate believe it will be a tight race. That makes the public forums and private pitches even more crucial in the run-up to the vote. House progressives are divided over their preferred choice. Three members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — Crockett, Garcia and Mfume — are vying for the ranking member seat, which makes it unlikely the caucus will back a single candidate. 'We're looking for folks that could expose this kind of corruption and hold Trump and his billionaire donors accountable,' said Rep. Greg Casar of Texas, the Progressive Caucus chair. Rep. Brad Schneider, chair of the centrist New Democrat Coalition, said he's weighing two factors: which candidate could best help Democrats win the 2026 midterm elections and whether they can successfully lead investigations into the Trump administration and 'try to repair some of the damage that's been done.' 'The committee can be a flash point, or it can be a very effective place for us to make our point, and we want to know who's going to do best in that role to make sure the committee works to help us secure 218 (members) next November,' Schneider said. The role of seniority and the Congressional Black Caucus Some Democratic caucuses have traditionally prized seniority as a clear and reliable way for lawmakers of color to rise through the ranks. There has never been a Hispanic Oversight chairman and only one Black chairman, Elijah Cummings. 'The CBC has always stood for seniority,' said Rep. Hank Johnson of Georgia. But Johnson noted that the Black Caucus has at times 'deviated' from that norm. He said many in the caucus are open to a conversation about age. 'So, Steve Lynch, I think, is the next senior member. And but as I said, other factors have to be considered and I'm sure that, along with myself, other CBC members are going through that process,' Johnson said. 'Since I've been here, seniority has had weight,' said Rep. Gregory Meeks of New York, who said he was undecided on which candidate to back. 'But seniority is not the only thing. And there are times and circumstances where the person with the most seniority has not won. Whether that's one of these times or not is what we're going to see.' ___ Associated Press writer Leah Askarinam contributed to this report.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Alberta premier faces raucous, angry town hall on province's coal policy
FORT MACLEOD – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and three of her ministers got an earful from southern Alberta locals at a rowdy, hours-long town hall to discuss the province's coal policy. About 500 people, dressed in cowboy hats, belt buckles, and jeans, packed a community hall in Fort Macleod, Alta., for an event marked by heckling, competing applause, and placards. The premier and her ministers of energy, environment and agriculture took questions and were shouted down on several occasions by attendees as they defended changes to the province's coal policy. The town hall came weeks after the Alberta Energy Regulator, or AER, granted an Australia-based coal company permission to start a controversial coal exploration on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. A new study by Alberta government scientists, which has yet to be peer reviewed, recently said old coal mines on the eastern slopes are poisoning fish and any further coal mining there would result in 'population collapse' of fish species in a nearby lake. The premier also jousted with protesters while speaking to reporters before the town hall, where concerns about water, agriculture and wildlife were also raised. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
