Why this young activist is risking his freedom to speak out against Turkey’s president

Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators calling for democracy have flooded the streets across Turkey, marking the largest anti-government protests in the country’s recent history.

The protests erupted on March 19 in response to the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on corruption charges. 

İmamoğlu is Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s main political rival. He was poised within days to be named by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) as its presidential candidate for the upcoming election.

The protests quickly grew beyond calls for İmamoğlu’s release, with demonstrators demanding broader political reforms and an end to the democratic backsliding under Erdoğan’s rule.  

In over one week, almost 2,000 people were detained, including student leaders, journalists and municipal workers. 

CHP leader Özgür Özel announced a boycott of businesses linked to Erdoğan’s government. 

Youth activist Enes Hocaoğulları gave a speech as a youth delegate at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Strasbourg, France, urgently calling on decision makers to take a stand. He is the international relations coordinator of Ankara-based ÜniKuir, an association advocating for the rights of 2SLGBTQ+ people within Turkish universities.

He spoke to As It Happens host Nil Köksal about returning to Turkey and the anti-government protests there. 

What was it like to return?  

What I feel is a mix of euphoria and stress — not knowing if I’ll be detained [in the] next hour. But the euphoria definitely [outweighs it] since for every one message I receive saying I should be put in jail or killed, I get 10 that says they are glad someone has given us a wake-up call. 

Your family, were they worried after they saw that speech being shared and reshared? 

Yes. I was anxious about whether I was going to be able to enter the country without detention.  

Are you prepared for that possibility of detention?  

Yes. Unfortunately, right as we speak, 301 of my peers are in jail waiting for a decision to be made. 

We are not certain whether I will join them or not. But I am as prepared as I could be when it comes to preparing a bag and telling my mom I love her, as well as preparing myself mentally for such [an] unfortunate result.  

Why [are] so many young people so vocal? 

Mayor İmamoğlu has been a key opposition figure against Erdoğan since 2019. But these protests are not necessarily about İmamoğlu alone. 

The demonstrations focus on issues like media censorship, authoritarianism, freedom of expression and assembly, all together.

They are not only necessarily protests for İmamoğlu, but against Erdoğan.  Why the Turkish youth is so courageous right now is that they have lost their future. 

They have lost their opportunities, but while doing so, they also lost their fear. We have nothing left to be afraid of. So that’s how we are so easily on the streets fighting for a possibility of a future. 

Are you seeing a difference this time compared to past protests?

The biggest difference, especially in comparison to the Gezi protests in 2013 and 2014, which was the biggest in that decade, is the intersectionality. 

Erdoğan has gained so many enemies in the past ten years that people don’t care about their differences anymore. They just care whether you are in favour of Erdoğan or against Erdoğan. 

I have never seen such inclusive, such diverse protests in my life. They know that they are against Erdogan and that’s enough for them. 

Even the slogan CHP is using for these protests is, “There is no salvation alone, whether it’s altogether or none of us.”

It makes sense that we’ve had so much polarization in the country, [so] that the only way to go through this is to get together. 

Do you think [the economic boycott] will have the kind of impact you and your supporters are hoping? 

Yes, I think so. If not, even if it does not have a big impact on the country’s economy, I think it will still give the people the feeling that they can do something.

What would you like to hear and see from other countries? 

I would say the main problem in Turkey right now is the authorities not caring about the protests, so what I would suggest to decision makers abroad is to urge the Turkish authorities to listen to our needs and if you’re not a decision maker outside Turkey I would urge you to contact your decision makers so that they can speak out against these human rights violations.  

How do you feel about the climate right now and the potential for İmamoğlu’s release and the kind of change that you would like to see? 

I still feel a bit more optimistic about the possibilities, considering that I’m not a politician, I’m not spending my days in the parliament, talking to the same people.

I’m always on the streets, I see the hope in the people, I see the hope in the youth. That’s what keeps me still optimistic. 

The possible future we are talking about does not necessarily consist [of] İmamoğlu. It just consists [of] democracy. It consists [of] human rights. It consists [of] a holistic … human rights-centred and intersectional future where the rule of law is respected.