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Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of İstanbul and vice presidential candidate of the Nation Alliance, was targeted in a stone-throwing attack during an election rally yesterday in Erzurum, eastern Turkey.
The attack occurred while İmamoğlu was speaking on a bus, and he had to take shelter inside the vehicle due to the hail of stones. Some attendees of the meeting were injured.
İmamoğlu expressed his disappointment that the police present at the scene did not take any action against the attackers. He further commented, "There is an unworthy will in Erzurum, with a governor and police chief who are not fit to hold their positions. Those responsible, from the interior minister to the president, need to be held accountable."
After the attack, some members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) applauded the incident on social media, while AKP Erzurum Metropolitan Mayor Mehmet Sekmen shifted the blame to İmamoğlu and CHP members.
"Thank you, Erzurum"
The Interior Minister, Süleyman Soylu, referred to the incident as a "theater," downplaying the seriousness of the attack. The assault on İmamoğlu has been widely condemned by the opposition.
"This person carries out these kinds of provocative and inflammatory acts wherever he goes," he told Ülke TV during a live broadcast.
Following the attack, AKP Erzurum MP Selami Altınok wrote on social media, "Thank you, Erzurum," and AKP Erzurum MP candidate Mehmet Emin Öz made a post saying, "You deserve all the praise, Erzurum." However, both of them deleted their posts after the reactions.
AKP Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) member and Deputy Chairman of Promotion and Media Emre Cemil Ayvalı said in a post that he later deleted, "In democracies, supporters of terrorism do not receive equal treatment with citizens."
AKP Ankara MP Emrullah İşler made a post saying, "You will walk shoulder to shoulder with the PKK; organize rallies with the political extension HDP and make victory signs together. Then, when you realize that you will lose the election due to the reactions you see, you will provoke and act like a victim!"
AKP executive Mücahit Birinci addressed bureaucrats, saying, "Speak their language," while sharing footage of İmamoğlu talking to the Erzurum Governor during the incident.
Mayor blames CHP
Erzurum Metropolitan Mayor Mehmet Sekmen, also a member of the AKP, blamed İmamoğlu and CHP members during a live broadcast on CNN Türk after the attack, stating, "These are groups that came with İmamoğlu from Erzincan and Sivas. Stones were thrown from the crowd created by the CHP.
"They came prepared. They are completely provoking from that group. While 20 million people in Istanbul have nightmares about an earthquake, the Environment Minister is knocking on doors, and the mayor of that place is traveling around Turkey instead of working." (VC/VK)
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