Trade union demonstrations in Istanbul against Erdogan condemn the dismissal of the three mayors and the living conditions

Trade union demonstrations in Istanbul against Erdogan condemn the dismissal of the three mayors and the living conditions
August 27, 2019, 8:15 am

Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey, Confederation of Public Workers' Unions, Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects and Youth Union of Turkey, organized a demonstration in the district of Qazi Koy, Istanbul, to protest against the dismissal of the mayors of three municipalities and the appointment of regents from the AK Party.

re organized under the title: "We have won, we will defend our gains together, and the government-appointed officials will leave." The will of the people faces a coup attempt, the participants said at a press conference.

"There is a coup against the will of the people in our country. We call on all forces of democracy to resist for the departure of the government-appointed officials, and to recognize the will of the people without any conditions or restrictions" added the press release of the demonstration, which was attended by hundreds of citizens.

The demonstrations came in protest against the decision of the Interior Minister of the Justice and Development Party Suleiman Sweilo, the dismissal of three of the mayors of the Kurdish People's Democratic Party in Mardin, Van and Diyarbakir, and replacing them by government-appointed officials of the Justice and Development Party, despite their success in local elections last March.

The statement stressed that Erdogan does not respect the decisions of the judiciary, and dismissed the mayors who were appointed by the judiciary decisions after their success in the elections, pointing out that the purpose of Erdogan's decision is to control the municipalities lost in the elections.

jobs, bread, freedom … yellow vests looming

Meanwhile, in Istanbul, thousands of Turks took to the streets of Istanbul on Saturday to protest against the high cost of living and high inflation in Turkey.

The demonstrators raised banners pointing to the movement of "yellow vests" in France, which began as a demonstration against the rise in fuel prices before it gained momentum and turned into protests against the government.

According to Turkish media opposed to the ruling regime in Turkey, the demonstrations, organized by Confederation of Public Workers' Unions, were attended by people from different regions of Turkey, including the provinces of Edirne, Bursa, and Yalova.

The demonstrators chanted slogans “jobs, Bread, Freedom”, holding banners reading “The crisis for them and the streets for us” and “June” in reference to the mass demonstrations in Turkey in June 2013 against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was then Prime Minister, when it began to protest The project of building a shopping center in the park "Gezi" near Taksim Square in the center of Istanbul.

The demonstrations took place on Saturday, about a week after a demonstration called by trade unions of public sector employees in which thousands participated against the high cost of living in Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey.

The economic situation in Turkey has deteriorated in recent months due to the decline in the value of the Turkish lira and the rise of inflation to unprecedented levels exceeded 20% in 2018, as reports came from international economic agencies such as Finch and Bloomberg provided negative readings and not reassuring figures.

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