Times finanziario – “L’Europa non può ripetere i suoi errori in Turchia”

Full article for those who can’t access;

“Just days before Turkey’s main opposition party held Sunday’s presidential primary, Ekrem İmamoğlu, Istanbul’s mayor and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leading political rival, was arrested pending trial on corruption charges and removed from office. İmamoğlu’s arrest has sparked Turkey’s [biggest](https://www.ft.com/content/643368db-038a-4da0-91ad-adf241b42016) protests in over a decade, but there is far more at stake than the fate of one opposition mayor.

For the university students at the forefront, the government has crossed the line separating Turkey’s competitive authoritarian system from a Russian-style autocracy. And they are furious, not just at Erdoğan, but also at Europe’s leaders. “Where is the EU, always preaching democracy and human rights, while our future is being stolen, and we’re being beaten for defending it?” a student protesting in Istanbul asked me. 

Protesters are taking big risks to defend Turkey’s democratic future. The police are cracking down with increasing violence while the government [ramps up online censorship](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/03/24/turkey-istanbul-mayor-protest-journalists-detained-erdogan/977d8440-0886-11f0-8e5e-3a8d70fc4250_story.html). The authorities have closed roads and imposed a four-day ban on demonstrations. Despite this, close to [15mn](https://www.birgun.net/haber/ozgur-ozel-15-milyon-yurttas-sandik-basina-gitti-imamoglunu-secti-609702) people cast their votes for İmamoğlu — surpassing the party’s total votes in the 2023 elections. It was a clear sign that people reject Erdoğan’s power grab…

after seeing the reaction of EU to what it is happening in Serbia, Georgia and Turkey, I am loosing my trust in the EU and I am a EU citizen

also they are very weak against trump and just react to what trump does

I never saw EU to act, they only react

Why is it the West’s (again) fault that Turkey voted in a fascist. I don’t remember the West telling everyone it’s compulsory.

I think I disagree.
With the US gone, international values are gone.
My suggestion is: enforce human rights and high ideals within your borders but ignore what’s happening beyond your borders.

We just can’t afford to piss off China, the Middle East or South America because of how they treat their own citizens. 

I much rather have good relations with these countries authoritarian governments because we need them for a number of reasons….

“EU preaches democracy and human rights”

But that doesn’t mean EU should force authoritarian regimes into a democracy. It shouldn’t be that countries interfere with other countries politics. What would happen if EU openly speaks out against Erdogan and then the Turkish people fail in taking him down? EU is just staying neutral and whoever comes out on top they try to work with.

The world is fucked up now. One day Erdogan is offering umbrela for Zelensky, talk about helping EU to fight ruzzia, next day goes full putin mode himself.