The group Dutch Solidarity for Democracy in Turkey (NSDT) is organizing a protest on Saturday on the18 Septemberplein in Eindhoven.
The protest group wants to make itself heard against the arrest of Ekrem Imamoğlu – mayor of Istanbul, one of the most important political offices in the country. This makes Imamoğlu, from the social democratic party CHP, one of the main opponents of conservative president Tayyip Erdoğan. The latter suffered a heavy defeat in the local elections in 2024.
According to the Turkish government, Imamoğlu was arrested on suspicion of fraud and terrorism. Many Turks, however, do not buy this. According to opponents of the current government, Imamoğlu was arrested to sideline him politically.
Protests
There are also many protests in the country, where hundreds of people have now been imprisoned, among them academics, journalists, activists and students.
“These arrests are not isolated political acts. They represent an ongoing attack on fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, freedom of peaceful protest and the right to organise, and are therefore a serious threat to democratic values,” NSDT says.
“In a period where authoritarianism is on the rise globally, it is important to stand up for these values everywhere in the world.” The organisation calls on the FNV trade union and other political organisations and human rights groups to join the protest.
Petition
Earlier, NSDT started a petition calling on the municipality of Eindhoven to express its solidarity with the democratically elected mayor of Istanbul. At the time of writing, this petition has been signed about 300 times.
Demonstrations have already been held in Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Rotterdam. The demonstration in Eindhoven is scheduled for Saturday 19 April from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
Source: www.studio040.nl
Translated by Yawar Abbas
