Turkey's opposition leader backs protesting teachers, criticizes government

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel has voiced strong support for teachers protesting in Ankara, accusing the ruling AK Party government of using state police to shield its own incompetence. Teachers have been demonstrating for days, demanding better working conditions and fair treatment.

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This country's teachers, we are with the teachers against those who say 'You cannot seek your rights, you cannot demand justice, shut up, sit where you are.'

Özel stated that his party stands with teachers who are being told they cannot seek their rights or demand justice. He criticized the government's approach, saying, "Instead of sitting down with the teachers and listening to their problems, we object to this cruelty that has kept them under blockade for days." The protests involve private sector teachers seeking a minimum wage and those affected by interview processes for public sector jobs demanding fairness.

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Instead of sitting down with the teachers and listening to their problems, we object to this cruelty that has kept them under blockade for days.

"Teachers who are victims of the AK Party's broken promises are trying to make their voices heard in the most democratic way in Ankara for days," Özel said in a social media post. He highlighted the specific demands: private sector teachers want a minimum wage, while those affected by interviews seek justice. "But the AK Party's corrupt and degenerate dark order is trying to use the state's police as a shield for its own incompetence," he added.

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But the AK Party's corrupt and degenerate dark order is trying to use the state's police as a shield for its own incompetence.

Özel pledged that a future CHP government would implement a minimum wage for private sector teachers and abolish the interview system for public sector appointments without any conditions. "We will change this dark order that devours teachers' rights, together with the teachers who are being disciplined with pepper spray today," he declared, vowing to rectify the situation for educators.

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We will implement a minimum wage for private sector teachers; we will abolish interviews in the public sector without ifs or buts. We will change this dark order that devours teachers' rights, together with the teachers who are being disciplined with pepper spray today.