Young Turks drive protests against Erdogan as new generation seeks change
By Mert Ozkan and Emilie Madi
ANKARA (Reuters) - A new generation of young Turks is at the forefront of mass protests against President Tayyip Erdogan's government, demanding change in a country they see as increasingly authoritarian.
Demonstrations erupted after Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a popular opposition figure, was jailed pending trial on corruption charges. Unlike older generations who remember the heavy crackdown on the 2013 anti-government Gezi Park protests, today's young protesters say they are undeterred by the risks.
'I think growing up under just one regime makes us a generation looking for change, looking for proof we live in a democracy,' said Yezan Atesyan, a 20-year-old student at Middle East Technical University (METU).
'The idea of a power that lasts forever scares us.'
Hundreds of thousands of Turks nationwide have heeded opposition calls to protest since Imamoglu was detained last week.
Protests have been mostly peaceful, but more than 2,000 people have been detained.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), other opposition parties, rights groups and some Western powers have all said the case against Imamoglu is a politicised effort to eliminate a potential electoral threat to Erdogan.
The government denies any influence over the judiciary and says the courts are independent.
Students from across Turkey have mobilized, facing police blockades and water cannon trucks. Drone footage from METU captured clashes between protesters and state security forces.
Atesyan said all were targetted in the crackdown: "Not just minorities, not just women, not just the LGBT community — it is against all of us."
A GENERATION ON EDGE
Beyond political frustration, economic hardship has fueled the unrest. High inflation and unemployment have made young people feel their future is slipping away.
'I graduated in 2024, but I can't find a job, and my family struggles financially,' said 25-year-old protester Duygu at an opposition rally in Istanbul.
She fears for her safety but also worries about her friends. 'Some of them have already been detained.'
Concerns over the state's response are growing. 'I don't want to show my face because the police could come for me,' said Duygu, who wears a mask at protests. 'If that happens, it would devastate my family.'
Despite the risks, demonstrators remain resolute.
'This feels like our last chance,' Atesyan said.
'If we don't succeed, many of us will have to leave Turkey.'
The government dismisses the protests as politically motivated, but the youth-driven unrest signals a growing divide.
'Imamoglu represents hope,' Atesyan said. 'The possibility of real change.'
As protests continue, young Turks insist their demands are simple: democracy, accountability, and a future worth staying for.
(Writing by Ece Toksabay; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state
FIRST ON FOX: Aaron Reitz, a top official in President Donald Trump's Department of Justice, has resigned his post in the administration to run for attorney general of Texas, entering what he is calling a "fight for the soul of Texas." Reitz, a former Marine and chief of staff to Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, served in the Trump administration under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi as the assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy. Following speculation of a possible run for Texas attorney general, one of the most powerful positions in the state, Reitz resigned his position with the DOJ on Wednesday and officially launched his campaign the day after. "If we lose Texas, we lose the Republic," Reitz said in a statement sent to Fox News Digital. 205 Arrested In Fbi Child Sex Operation, Patel And Bondi Announce "This is no time for half-measures or untested cowards," he said, adding, "We are in a fight for the soul of Texas, our nation, and Western civilization itself." Read On The Fox News App "As Attorney General, I'll use every ounce of legal firepower to defend President Trump, crush the radical Left, advance the America and Texas First agenda, and look out for everyday Texans," he said. This comes as current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is running in hopes of replacing incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in one of the most hotly contested primary races of the year. Reitz pledged to partner with the Trump administration to "clean up the border catastrophe with mass deportations and enhanced border security, take down the Soros-backed district attorneys, obliterate woke indoctrination, expose and root out election fraud, and defend our Constitutional rights without apology." John Cornyn Scores Tim Scott Endorsement, But John Rich Calls Cornyn 'The Lindsey Graham Of Texas' Reitz touted his conservative bona fides, saying, "I've spent my entire career in the trenches with the toughest conservatives in America." He is likely to garner endorsements from some of the country's leading Republicans, with DOJ officials, including Bondi, giving him a string of fond farewells after he announced his departure. In an X post Bondi said: "I'm proud to have worked with @aaron_reitz at @TheJusticeDept. Aaron played a central role in our work to Make America Safe Again — his next chapter will surely contribute to @POTUS's mission, and I look forward to seeing what Aaron does next in his home state of Texas!" FBI Director Kash Patel also chimed in, saying "Aaron is a personal friend, great American, and a relentless advocate for law and order. Thanks for serving our country, now it's time to deliver on his next mission. Good luck." Bondi Announces One Of Largest Fentanyl Seizures In Us History Before serving in the Trump administration and on Cruz's staff, Reitz previously held the position of Texas Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy under Paxton. In December, Paxton spoke very highly of Reitz, saying, "he's a proven and effective fighter for our Constitution and American Values" who was "our 'offensive coordinator' leading my very aggressive Texas-v-Biden docket." Paxton said that while working in his office Reitz "spearheaded some of our agency's most consequential actions on border security, immigration, Big Tech, Covid, energy, the environment, and election integrity." Texas Republican state Senator Mayes Middleton, another pro-Trump conservative, is also running for attorney article source: FIRST ON FOX: High ranking DOJ official resigns post to run for attorney general in red state
Yahoo
35 minutes ago
- Yahoo
German defence minister: not considering sending Taurus missiles to Ukraine
BERLIN (Reuters) -German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on Thursday that Germany is not considering delivering Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine despite Kyiv's repeated requests. Although Germany is one of Ukraine's main military backers, Berlin has never supplied Taurus missiles, which have a range in excess of 300 miles (480 km). Answering a journalist's question during his fifth visit to Kyiv since the start of the war, Pistorius said, "Since you asked me whether we are considering this, my answer is no." In the same news conference, the minister said his country's military support for Ukraine had reached 7 billion euros ($8.12 billion) this year and a further 1.9 billion euros were pending parliamentary approval. ($1 = 0.8621 euros) (Writing by Friederike HeineEditing by Madeline Chambers)
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The UK, Germany and Canada have slashed foreign aid this year, deepening damage done by US cuts, analysis shows
Western countries have slashed foreign aid budgets this year and reductions will steepen in 2026, with the United States, United Kingdom, Germany and Canada cutting the most, according to a new analysis from the Center for Global Development (CGD). The aid cuts will mean 'significant losses' for many developing nations, according to the analysis from the DC-based think tank, shared exclusively with CNN. Ethiopia is projected to lose the most aid in nominal terms, with Jordan, Afghanistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo also hit particularly hard. Smaller nations will also be hammered by the reduction in foreign aid, with Lesotho, Micronesia and Eswatini each losing around 50% of their aid. 'It's setting fire to the bold ambitions to solve poverty and transform developing countries,' Lee Crawfurd, one of the authors of the report, told CNN. 'It's some of the poorest, most fragile places in the world that are going to be hardest hit.' The analysis looked at projections of bilateral aid – money provided directly to another country rather than routed through multilateral organizations such as United Nations agencies or the World Bank – for 2025 and 2026. The US is projected to cut the most, with a projected 56% reduction compared to levels two years ago. The Trump administration's gutting of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) earlier this year has already left a hole in many international aid budgets, and several other Western nations are following suit rather than filling the void. 'A big, big chunk of overall cuts in the next couple of years are going to be from the US pulling out, rather than other countries. But these other countries are making things worse,' said Crawfurd, a senior research fellow at the CGD. The UK aid cuts are estimated to represent a roughly 39% reduction compared to 2023 levels of spending. Meanwhile, Germany is cutting about 27%, Canada 25% and France 19% of their international aid budgets. The true level of aid cuts remains unclear, as the Trump administration's proposed budget and other government proposals are still making their way through legislatures. But some funding cuts are almost guaranteed. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced in February that his government would increase the UK's defense spending by cutting its aid budget to 0.3% of gross national income in 2027, its lowest level since 1999. Many organizations and aid workers have raised alarm about European governments pitting aid budgets against defense spending. 'Cutting the already lean aid budget is a false economy and will only increase division and amounts to a betrayal of the world's most vulnerable people,' said Halima Begum, head of Oxfam GB. 'It is a false dichotomy to pit international cooperation to tackle poverty against national security interests in order to avoid tax increases.' Crawfurd said that bilateral aid is a 'really small part of government budgets' and the money for defense or security could be found elsewhere. 'It's a choice… it's a political choice,' he added. The think tank wrote in its analysis that 'one striking takeaway is that some countries are projected to lose large amounts of ODA (official development assistance) simply because of who their main donors are – while others are projected to lose very little' – a game of chance, with losses not matching up to the recipient country's needs. Yemen, for example, is projected to experience a 19% fall in its bilateral funding compared to 2023, while its 'comparable' neighbor country Somalia is projected to lose about 39%. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has also warned that multilateral aid cuts are threatening efforts to tackle 44 of the highest-priority, protracted humanitarian crises. As of April, only 11.9% of the funding for UN response plans had been covered. 'Every year, the UN has been helping more than 100 million people in the world as they go through the worst time of their lives in wars and disasters. But let's be clear: we won't reach the level of funding in 2025 that we've seen in previous years,' Anja Nitzsche, OCHA's chief of partnerships and resource mobilization told CNN in a statement. 'Vulnerable families are being left without food, clean water, healthcare, shelter or protection in places such as Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine, Myanmar and Afghanistan.' The CGD is urging Western donors to reallocate aid to the poorest countries to try to 'ensure that resources are directed to populations in greatest need.' Western countries also need to improve coordination to mitigate further damage, especially as they are withdrawing from countries receiving aid, the think tank said. In some countries, the cuts will change who the largest donor is, which 'can lead to major shifts in what gets funded and how,' according to the CGD. For example, Portugal will likely overtake the US in aid to Angola, and Japan is projected to overtake France in Egypt. 'A new lead donor may not continue the same programs' or may take time to get up and running, according to the analysis. Giving a larger share of aid to multilateral organizations can also help improve international cooperation and cut down on duplication of aid efforts. 'Coordination is an ongoing challenge,' Crawfurd told CNN. 'The easiest way to do that is just to fund big multilateral funds like the World Bank.'
