'Migrant Found in AKP Mayor's Official Car,' CHP MP Reacts: 'If It Were a CHP Mayor, Wouldn't There Be an Operation?'

An incident at the Akçakale Customs Directorate in Turkey's Şanlıurfa province has sparked controversy after a Syrian national was discovered concealed within the official vehicle of the Akçakale mayor. The discovery occurred on July 11 when customs personnel, acting on suspicion, searched the vehicle parked near the administrative building.

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Is it within the Akçakale mayor's duties and authorities to manage the entry process of Syrian nationals into Turkey, or do we not know this? What is this person's relationship with the mayor? What is the purpose of this journey? Have public power or municipal resources been used? All of these must be revealed through an independent judicial investigation.

Customs enforcement officers found the 61-year-old Syrian man hidden inside the car. According to a Ministry of Trade information note, the driver, identified as I.H.A., who is reportedly the mayor's close protection officer, was in the vehicle along with Mayor Abdulhakim Ayhan and the Syrian national, H.E.K., who was born in Raqqa.

Authorities determined that the Syrian individual attempted to enter Turkey illegally, without passing through official passport control. The Akçakale Chief Public Prosecutor's Office was immediately notified, initiating both judicial and administrative investigations. The Syrian national's temporary protection status was confirmed, and after administrative procedures, he was transferred to the Harran Temporary Accommodation Center.

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If the same allegations had emerged about a CHP mayor, wouldn't there be a dawn operation today? Wouldn't his house be raided? Wouldn't the municipality be searched? Wouldn't arrests and requests for detention come to the agenda? So why is the same determination not shown when the person at the center of the allegations is an AKP mayor?

Mahmut Tanal, a Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP) lawmaker from Şanlıurfa, strongly criticized the response to the incident. He questioned why a "dawn operation" and extensive investigation would not have occurred if a CHP-affiliated mayor were involved. Tanal argued that the law should be applied equally, regardless of political affiliation, and demanded a thorough investigation into potential human smuggling and abuse of power.

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The law cannot change according to political parties. Different laws cannot be applied to CHP members and AKP members. Everyone must be subject to the same investigation procedure in accordance with the principle of equality in the Constitution. The duty of a mayor is not to facilitate uncontrolled passage of people across the border, but to serve the public.