Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has initiated a boycott since the March 19th arrest of İstanbul Mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, a primary rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. On April 2nd, Turkish consumers were invited to abstain from all purchases entirely in a move initiated by university students.
As the boycott has gained momentum, various opposition actors have been targeted by government officials who accuse boycott organizers and supporters of inflicting ‘damage on the nation’.
University students call for day-long abstention from all purchases
Following the CHP’s announced list of government-linked businesses to be boycotted, students from universities across Turkey decided to expand boycotting of their university class attendance to a call to abstain from all spending for the entire day Wednesday (April 2).
On Tuesday (Aprıl 1), CHP chairman Özgür Özel had announced his support for the student-led initiative, saying “I invite all to join this boycott and exercise their power as consumers.”
Istanbul Chief Prosecutor launches investigation
On Tuesday (April 1), Istanbul Chief Prosecutor announced an investigation was being launched into ‘those calling for boycotts’. While boycotts remain technically legal in Turkey, Tuesday’s investigation accuses those of calling for boycotts with ‘inciting the public to hate and animosity’.
Erdoğan himself has issued numerous calls for boycotts throughout his 22 year rule, and previous supporting statements by the president on the topic have circulated on social media in recent days, including a 2008 speech by the then-Prime Minister shared by Özel in which Erdoğan said “Boycotting is a democratic right.”
Media watchdog threatens boycott-supporting channels
In a statement Wednesday, Turkey’s government-run media watchdog RTÜK threatened TV channels and broadcasters supporting the boycott, saying they were being monitored and that “necessary steps will be taken”.
In late March, RTÜK imposed steep fines and bans on certain networks that had been broadcasting footage of the protests. Most notably, the opposition-leaning Sözcü TV network was hit with a 10-day ban, the harshest punishment allowed in Turkey short of cancelling a network’s broadcast license.
Actors cut from TV shows due to boycott support
In recent days, several Turkish actors and actresses who have voiced their support for the boycott have been cut from their casts.
Actress Aybüke Pusat, who appears in the series ‘Teşkilat’, was cut from the show on Wednesday following a pro-boycott social media post earlier in the week. ‘Teşkilat’ is broadcast by Turkish state broadcaster TRT, which is under control of the Erdoğan government.
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Following Pusat’s dismissal, TRT general director Zahir Sobacı released a statement saying: “The person in question has been removed from the Teşkilat series following several disappointing posts. Although we have already filmed stock footage, the series will now need to be revised. There should be no doubt that similar steps will be taken in the future in similar situations.”
Another actor, Furkan Andıç, was removed from TRT’s ‘Muhabir’ series after he shared a social media post expressing support for Pusat. The removal of another ‘Muhabir’ actress who had expressed support for the boycott, Başak Gümülcinelioğlu, was announced Thursday.
A TRT scriptwriter, Ali Aydın, was also fired by the network after expressing support for Pusat.
CHP’s official boycott site closed
In another move aimed at hindering the CHP-led boycott, the party’s official website (boykotyap.com) listing government-linked businesses to be boycotted was closed by authorities.
Following the website’s closure, Özel announced the opening of a new website, boykotyap.org.
16 detained for boycott-related social media posts
On Thursday, Istanbul’s Chief Prosecutor announced that 16 had been taken into custody for boycott-related calls on the charges of ‘inciting the public to hate and animosity’.
