Turkish police have been beating protesters black and blue since the detention of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on March 19 saw people pour onto the streets. Big media institutions have at the same time stopped short of relaying the full extent of the violent assaults, focusing instead on nonsensical gimmicks devised by the so-called main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

In the video below, the enthusiasm of the police gets the better of them as they mistakenly knock to the ground an undercover colleague, while a reporter of Now TV reports from the scene.

Video: “I’m saying I’m police. Are you stupid?”, the beaten undercover officer complains to his colleagues.

According to latest information provided by interior minister Ali Yerlikaya, the Erdogan regime has detained more than 1,500 people, including dozens of journalists, since March 19.

Across the country, the police are using tear gas (shot in wounding capsules from guns) and plastic bullets against the protesters.

Values? What values?

On March 23, bne IntelliNews noted: “Make no mistake, if this regime feels threatened it is ready to kill.”

And added: "The Erdogan regime does not care about all the talk, the human values, the law or anything else in that vein. It has an army, it has a police force, an intelligence service, private security personnel and paramilitary forces. It has tanks, jets, guns and bombs."

Call some meetings baby

You can hold as many meetings as you wish as long as you do not pose a threat to the regime. You can deliver impassioned speeches. You can do whatever you want.

However, if you become a threat to the regime and ignore the warnings, you’ll end up in jail, just as Imamoglu and many others have.

The CHP’s role in the current political order in Turkey is to play the fool and act like some laws are still in effect in the country.

It has appealed against Imamoglu’s arrest and jailing. It regularly files some appeals at the constitutional court too, against unlawful legislation devised by the regime.

For someone who has little idea about Turkey, these activities may sound like the opposition is going about its role with the seriousness it deserves. The problem is that no law, constitutional or otherwise, is actually in effect in the country.

“Competitive authoritarianism”

Turkey’s regime refrains from claiming massive “80%” victories in elections (something Russia's Putin regime is known for) since Ankara is dependent on external borrowing from investors who need to be seen to be dealing with acceptable governments. It cannot escape its constant requirement to source crates of dollars.

Thus the henchmen of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stage some theatre (the observer, for instance, can expect a “49%” victory in the first presidential voting round and a “52%” triumph in the second round) that, from space, can be said to resemble “competitive authoritarianism”.

His Majesty’s Opposition

It should be reiterated that there is no place in this political theatre for anyone that poses a real threat to the regime such as an effective opposition.

If a UK allegory is employed for the sake of truly describing the so-called opposition in Turkey, it could be said that it amounts to “His Majesty’s Opposition”, His Majesty being Erdogan of course.

Again, when observed from space, it appears that there is an opposition within the political system of the country.

Limited value of local elections

Local elections in Turkey also serve to create an image that appears to reflect some real political “competition” in the country.

Yet Turkey is a seriously unitary state. It has been governed from Ankara for about a century and by a single man since 2017, when the country shifted from a parliamentary republic to a presidential system.

Local municipalities in Turkey collect rubbish, operate water utilities and attend to other commonplace stuff. They are important in that they distribute the building permits (i.e. they decide who will make the money to be had from construction projects) and run tenders (i.e. they decide who will grow rich from their spending).

The regime seizes municipalities when it wishes.

Imamoglu, a threat

On the election evening of the March 2019 local polls, the regime, as per usual, announced that its candidate had won the Istanbul contest.

To then, under normal conditions, an ordinary CHP candidate was expected to turn tail and serve as the "notary" who confirms the election result released by the regime, providing legitimacy.

Imamoglu, however, refused to give in and in the end managed to secure the mayorship. In a rerun demanded by Erdogan and his henchmen, Imamoglu won an even more resounding victory that could not be denied.

This is the reason why Erdogan does not want to see him as his rival.

Is Imamoglu a fool too?

Imamoglu is seen as not an ordinary CHP politician, as neither a fool nor playing the fool. That said, if he has failed to calculate that the president would jail him and seize his wealth, he will have proved that observation wrong.

So far, if Imamoglu has a clever plan, there is no sign of it.

CHP playing its role

The CHP has called an end to its mass gatherings in front of Istanbul’s municipal headquarters. It has scheduled a meeting for Saturdday March 30 at an event venue on the sea coast of Maltepe district on Istanbul’s Asia side.

It will be a good occasion for the media to churn out some more stories that treat the CHP ever so seriously. However, it will simply provide for more perfect nonsense, while tiring angry crowds, lacking imaginative leadership, continue with meaningless activities.

“[The CHP chair] Ozgur Ozel, known scathingly as 'Minister of the Opposition' in Turkey, is not in a cell since he is no threat to the Erdogan regime,” this publication reiterated on March 20.

Since March 19, Ozel has each evening delivered an impassioned speech to a crowd assembled in front of Istanbul’s municipality building, having talked nonsense all day long. For those in the headlines industry, he’s a star performer.

After delivering his speech, Ozel hurries into the municipality building. The CHP’s social media accounts cut the livestream. And the police brutally disperse those in the crowd who’ve been slow in departing.

Such scenes play out up and down the country.

If at any time the regime thinks that it is losing its grip on events, it will kill a few people and everyone will return to their homes. Imamoglu will remain in his prison cell.

Business as usual

Assessing the chances of the Imamoglu detention and prosecution generating a game-changing response, on March 19, bne IntelliNews concluded: “No challenge expected”.

“On past experience, the few media outlets in Turkey that still back Imamoglu’s party […] will kick up a fuss for a few days and some tweets will fly back and forth,” this publication added.

There is no visible sign that a real challenge to the rule of Erdogan is any longer possible in the country. Whenever a few protesting Turks come together on the street, the police quickly swoop and take them away.

Also, little external pressure is expected.

Regime killed before, it's ready to kill again

If the homicides committed by the Erdogan regime in the past two decades were added up, the number would be a six-digit figure. The map of its crimes covers a geography ranging from Libya to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Just two weeks ago, the jihadists in Syria who are directly organised/financed/equipped/utilised by the Erdogan regime slaughtered some more Alevis (also known as Alawis or Alawites). No one gave a damn.

During the Gezi protests that broke out across Turkey in 2013, the regime killed six people, fractured the skulls of 91 people and inflicted severe eye injuries on 10 people. In all, it wounded at least 7,478 people.

The death toll in the Imamoglu protests remains at zero so far. The regime has not killed anyone since it has not felt threatened.

Istanbul under siege, TV censored

Since March 19, the Istanbul governorate has blocked main boulevards in the city and has sporadically halted public transportation on main roads and metro lines.

Social media across the country has been periodically throttled, off and on.

On March 22, the Istanbul governorate announced that people suspected of attempting to travel into Istanbul to join the protests would be refused entry.

Ebubekir Sahin, head of the broadcasting watchdog RTUK, has, meanwhile, been issuing threats to TV channels that consider broadcasting Ozel’s gatherings.

At the city courthouse where the Imamoglu proceedings were held, even MPs were not permitted to enter the courtroom as the charges were presented on March 23. They made a bit of noise and shared some videos, but they kept well away from the courtroom.