Turkey: CHP protests municipal operations, claims political motive

The CHP's Izmir provincial branch has strongly criticized ongoing operations targeting municipalities led by the Republican People's Party (CHP), labeling them as politically motivated and lacking substantive evidence. The protest, held outside the Buca Municipality, saw participation from CHP Izmir Provincial Chairman Çağatay Güç, local mayors, and party officials.

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We gathered for the will of our nation.

Güç denounced the operations in Güzelbahçe and Buca municipalities as acts of "political indigestion." He asserted that the processes, which he described as standard audits by the Court of Accounts rather than criminal investigations, were being presented as if the officials were "outright criminals." He emphasized that the gathering was not just for Buca or Güzelbahçe, but for "democracy and the will of our nation."

The CHP chairman highlighted the detentions of Güzelbahçe Mayor Mustafa Günay and his colleagues on May 26, followed by an operation in Buca a week later that involved the mayor, bureaucrats, council members, and citizens. Güç argued that these operations create a false perception of organized crime, driven by "political preference and political indigestion." He accused the ruling party of using the justice system as a tool for political survival, stating, "Courts do not belong to any ruling party. Justice is not anyone's toy."

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The processes, the content of their files, which lawyers do not find correct, and which should have gone through the standard Court of Accounts audit of the municipality, were carried out as if they were outright criminals, found in the early hours of the morning.

Güç insisted that there is no concrete evidence to justify the arrests, contrasting the operations with the nation's "real agenda" of kitchen-table economics, cost of living struggles, and the plight of retirees and low-wage workers. He suggested the operations are a diversionary tactic to avoid discussing pressing economic issues. "Is there anyone who can present a crime, evidence, or corruption? No. If there were, they would have broadcast it day and night," he stated, characterizing the actions as "managing perceptions" based on mere "neighborhood gossip."

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Justice is not anyone's toy.

The CHP maintains that the sole purpose of these operations is to impede the CHP's path to power, crush public hope for change, and silence the growing voice of the people. They view these actions as an attempt to wield the threat of government-appointed trustees (kayyum) against opposition municipalities.

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Is there anyone who can present a crime, evidence, or corruption? No. If there were, they would have broadcast it day and night.