​HEADS UP: Anger spills out to the streets

TURKEY - In Brief 08 Feb 2022 by Atilla Yesilada

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Rising poverty in Turkey has been a constant theme in our reports since the beginning of 4Q2021. New Year wage, salary and pension hikes soothed some of the pain of national impoverishment. Erdogan than committed another mistake by allowing regulated prices to be hiked faster than disposable income gains. The first cold streak of the year struck the populated Western cities hard. Now, stuck betwixt bitter cold, rising Omicron cases and the daily increase in the prices of basic necessities, Turks are seeking relief by street demonstrations. I am still unable to predict whether impromptu, disparate and still small scale protests would gel into a national protest a la Gezi, in 2013, but it is my fiducial duty to inform our readers to monitor this development very closely. It started with a few cities, where angry citizens marched in small groups in the evening, supported by the steady clang of pot and pans being banged. Anger spread to Turkey 1 mn strong couriers, who are currently striking in big-name e-commerce companies. Doctors and teachers march sporadically to protest grueling working hours and low pay. In the last seven days, I’ve collected evidence of “visible” (i.e. attended by --what I estimate to be-- 1K or larger crowds) protests in Istanbul, Agri, Izmir, Urfa, Mardin, Hakkari, Isparta (which suffered a 3-day black out) Gaziantep and Bingol. The crowds are growing by the day, as the picture below attests. Also, there is video footage of a small scale Istanbul march, supported by local residents (link here). There are several details in these marches and protests which may elevate them to a national movement: Turkey’s Moslem religious minority Alevis are partic...