CIVICUS discusses Turkey’s ongoing protests with Rümeysa Çamdereli, Research Director of the YADA foundation, a civil society organisation (CSO) that works to strengthen civil society’s impact. Rümeysa also co-founded Havle Women’s Association, Turkey’s first Muslim feminist CSO.
The recent arrest of Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s mayor and the opposition’s presidential candidate for the next general elections, triggered the biggest wave of protests Turkey has seen since the 2013 Gezi Park protests. Starting in Istanbul and quickly spreading to dozens of cities, the protests have brought together an unprecedented coalition of students, workers, opposition politicians and first-time protesters. What began as spontaneous gatherings has evolved into coordinated nationwide actions involving millions of people demanding İmamoğlu’s release and calling for judicial independence, democratic accountability and an end to political persecution. The government’s heavy-handed response has only intensified public outrage.