Main Opposition Party Leader Ozel: “The citizens who play democracy at home in Europe but support autocracy in Turkey should know that this government will change. To all friends who remain silent these days, we will remember where you stood.”
by AccessModifier
24 comments
Context:
[you can find the speech with english subtitles via this link](https://www.reddit.com/r/Turkey/s/a1tbt7FwMX)
“Those who play democracy at home, while supporting autocracy in Turkey with the intention of making Turkey a refugee nest, and using the Turkish army as a shield for Europe should know that this government will change next year. To all who stay silent these days, within and outside our borders, I say this; we will look back and see where you stood on what is being done to our youth, and what is being done to Ekrem İmamoğlu.”
The full quote is
“Those who play democracy at home, while supporting autocracy in Turkey with the intention of making Turkey a refugee nest, and using the Turkish army as a shield for Europe should know that this government will change next year. To all who stay silent these days, within and outside our borders, I say this; we will look back and see where you stood on what is being done to our youth, and what is being done to Ekrem İmamoğlu.”
totally agree, the EU is way to silent
EU’s hypocrisy on this topic is sickening.
What specific actions or policies do you propose to ensure this change in government?
people in this sub suffer from multiple personalities. They want EU to play realpolitik, but also to act as the moral and ethic beacon of the word
I do not know what EU can do because man might guess all of these are approved by the US / Trump administration
Turkey, Britain and the US will stick to each other. Europe only can hope Erdogan will help them.
March 16: Trump and Erdoğan spoke on the phone.
March 18: İmamoğlu’s diploma was revoked.
March 19: İmamoğlu was detained.
March 22: Trump’s Middle East Advisor said, “Good news is coming from Turkey.” (to Tucker Carlson)
March 23: İmamoğlu was arrested.
March 25: Hakan Fidan went to the US.
As a Turk I’d like to take this opportunity to apologize to the people of Europe for some of our nincompoops living in your countries, enjoying the freedoms and opportunities your nations have provided them. They were never our best and brightest. But still. No excuse.
If there was a way for europe to seriously support the revolution in turkey, I would be 100% for it. A true democracy would make a much better ally than Erdo, there is no better outcome in the fight against fascism. But what is there that we can do? What could I write to members of my government?
Every time I see a post about Turkey I get reminded of all the people crying about the US being facist after winning a democratic election.
While at the same time we got actual fascism right here at home in Europe.
EU is at odds with Russia and at the same time Erdogan seems to have taken EU’s side on the conflict.
And, like it or not, EU’s priorities are to contain Russia.
So yes, EU is being real quiet criticizing Erdogan because in the grand scheme of things Erdogan is an ally against Russia and has a massive army. It sucks but that was always the reality of geopolitics.
Churchill was sending men to fight the bolcheviks in 1919 and was alied with USSR 22 years later, in the end countries will side with whom they have a common enemy.
Also, in the past few weeks we had the serbians and now the turks blaming Eu for the lack of support. You know it was the serbs and the turks that voted for their own government knowing exactly what to expect right? Wasnt’t a massive Red flag when Erdogan simulated a Coup D’Etat to lock a few of his opponents?
Turkey under Erdogan is utter shit, okay, but EU is the most hypocrite about that. They supported AKP since the beginning, knowing they are fully corrupt islamists who have dangerous agenda. They eroded the democracy, every kind of modern values, Turkish government is openly crusading against the LGBT people, students, freedom of expression, there is no more rule of law. We, secular Turkish citizens, know that since 2002.
And now, The EU embarrassingly turns blind against the biggest protests ever. Turkish president does the EXACT same thing with his Belarusian counterpart. Eu sanctions them, even contests lukashenko’s presidency.
Why is the EU so AGAINST the Turkish people who yearns for the democracy and the free elections for years? Don’t tell me the majority voted for the ruling party because no, those elections were rigged as hell, as free as the elections in Azerbaijan. The government has the COMPLETE control of media, judiciary (all judges are members of the ruling party), police force (all police officers are members of the ruling party). And despite even all of that they BARELY held the 52%.
For anyone that thinks they are wrong for sayings this, let’s not forget there are MEPs and EU leaders that HAVE shown support and have been welcomed with open arms by the Turkish people and CHP.
However is it so odd to think that calling on EU leaders that have reminded silent so they don’t lose their deals with Erdogan at the expense of the Turkish people’s freedoms is really such a bad thing to condemn?
Totally fair tbh. The silence is deafening.
From what I’be heard, most Turks do not want EU governments to get involved in this, because it would give Erdogan ammunition about it all being just a “foreign sparked riots”.
It has just began, my guy. It’s been what, ten days? It’s important to get international support but that comes naturally after showing a consistent and growing domestic support. To what good would be if the EU were to position itself against firmly with actions if the people from Turkey let it cool down after a month? Then the EU would have burned a needed bridge today over a movement that wasn’t gonna succeed.
But to do those empty threats to what would be your immediate partner post revolution…? What good does it serve? If anything it just paints yourself as being unreliable as well.
He’s right.
The short-termist cowardice that people have been trying to pass off as realpolitik is nothing short of infuriating and embarrassing. More importantly, it also has failed to produce any results and, quite the opposite, brought democracy as a whole to the brink of disaster.
Normally, when you do realpolitik you do something amoral but shrewd today to win tomorrow, but this European realpolitik is just doing cowardly and stupid shit today to lose tomorrow. Does anybody think that once the current regime can no longer be dispatched via elections, they’ll be a reliable partner?
Hey, remember when “if we don’t buy Russian oil and gas we won’t be able to compete economically” was an unshakeable realpolitik belief all the way up until February 2022? How’s that working out for Europe? Are ya winning, son?
So yeah, that’s what this head-ass “””realpolitik””” is. It’s Nordstream, it’s a terrified Merkel flinching before a giant Russian dog as Putin laughs in her face during a press conference. That is what your precious realpolitik is. It’s nothing but pathetic capitulation to autocrats.
It’s quite simple, in 2025 Francis Fukuyama’s end of history has ended, and the ideological race is on to capture as much real space as possible. Autocracy has been winning unopposed because their energized thought leaders such as Steve Bannon or Curtis Yarvin understand this, while democrats still live in the world of yesterday and sell each other out over nothing.
Simply put, in such a world, ideological policy-making IS realpolitik. The more space you can capture or deny the enemy, the more you win. Not “you” as in Germans, Turks, Europeans or whatever, but “you” as in democrats or autocrats.
Absolutely infuriating and bewildering that the ones who understand this and act accordingly by coordinating and cooperating across borders are the autocrats, who help each other regardless of the costs and even if they’re fascists of mutually hostile nations and societies, while the democrats of the world are mired in identity-based bickering and counting the pennies to determine whether it’s worth bailing a fellow democrat out.
It’s time to get your head out of your ass. Tomorrow there’ll be a Weidel in charge in Germany, a Bardella in France, a Farage in the UK. If not these people specifically, then what they represent. It’s time to wake up and realize that when this happens, and it will, you want as many fellow democrats in the world as possible so you can take them down with minimal damage. Because the autocrats are aware of this and acting accordingly.
to me it feels like he’s playing a game of politics on this one. Like wtf does he want? they elected erdogan time and time again, even large diaspora voted for him. We had to work with Turkey in some way shape or form and this is the situation we are in right now. If Ozel wants to blame someone, blame Trump and Musk for actually interfering by twitter/x and trump calls to erdogan, but hey lets blame EU, for fuck sake. Gather your people, protest or make violent protests/revolution if they don’t listen and change shit.
Bosnia is under coup by a secessionist radical, Serbia is using illegal force against protesters, Turkey is getting its’ opposition silenced, beaten and arrested – and the EU isn’t doing or saying shit.
Turns out they actually don’t stand for anything but their own goddamn self interest. Europe deserves whatever dark fate awaits it, goddamn spineless cowards.
Stop romanticizing your own hypocrisy: Erdoğan wasn’t only Turkey’s choice. He was yours too.
You keep asking, “Why did Turks vote for Erdoğan?” But let’s be honest, he didn’t survive only because of the Turkish electorate. He rose to power, gained legitimacy, and was strengthened by your governments, your media, and your backdoor deals. When secular Turks warned you in the 2000s, Europe was too busy calling Erdoğan a “moderate Muslim leader” and gave him financial and political support. You refused economic help to a secular prime minister during a crisis (Ecevit), but you embraced Erdoğan and empowered the very movement that went on to destroy our judiciary, silence our press, and jail our dissidents.
Some of you now defend this by saying, “That’s democracy, he was elected.” But democracy is not just about majority rule. It’s about pluralism, rule of law, freedom of speech, and fair elections. Right now in Turkey, elected mayors from the opposition are being removed and jailed. Opposition leaders are banned from elections. Protesters are beaten and arrested. Independent media is being shut down. This is not democracy. And if Europe keeps turning a blind eye, then you’re not neutral, you’re complicit.
Let’s not pretend this is only about internal Turkish politics. Europe finds Erdoğan “convenient” because he promises to keep refugees in Turkey, because he allows NATO strategy to function, and now because he’s agreeing to send troops to Ukraine. That’s why he’s tolerated. But when you support authoritarianism just because it serves your short-term interests, how are you any different from countries like China that back dictators when useful?
You accuse us of choosing Erdoğan, but not all of us did. And even those elections weren’t fair. Media was state-controlled. Judges were biased. Ballots were manipulated. And even then, Erdoğan barely reached 51%. Now that he sees he can’t win anymore, he’s simply removing his opponents. When someone like İmamoğlu becomes popular, he’s jailed or disqualified. The vote is being taken away from us. So when we ask for solidarity, we’re not asking you to “save us.” We’re asking you to stop helping the people who are crushing us. If you keep staying silent, you’re not just watching this happen, you’re enabling it.
Current EU political situation gives Erdogan free moves. He knows EU has much bigger problems than situation in Turkiye
Wishing so much luck to them!
Unfortunately they really won’t get any support because Erdogan is too valuable – he’s probably the only head of state that *everyone* wants to keep in place, from the USA to the EU and the Middle East (OK, maybe not Israel), even Russia and India. But that doesn’t mean he *should* stay…
EU’s stance of approving Erdoğan is not surprising. EU was the one that condemned Turkey for jailing of Erdoğan for religious extremism and they were among the biggest supporter of Erdoğan even when he first came to power for being a “moderate muslim”, despite the warnings from secular Turkish citizens while he was dismantling the opposition one by one, while a secular and one of the best leaders the republic had, Ecevit, was taken down by EU. So, all these excuses “EU can’t be the democracy police” or “EU can’t interfere with internal affairs” are just excuses to have the high moral ground. EU meddles in things they should not and supports undemocratic affairs when it benefits them.
Democracy EU preaches is only for themselves. They will gladly support autocracy and dictatorship in other countries if it benefits their citizens. Other people can just go and fuck themselves.
How long are you planning on playing the three monkeys, ~~fellow~~ Europeans? Until Er**DOG**an gets comfortable enough to start a literal civil war? Just know that if Europe ever faces yet another refugee crisis, it’s on you.
Comments are closed.