Turkish minister threatens action against anti-govt chants in stadiums
Erbil, Kurdistan Region - Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu early on Monday called on fans to not “turn football fields in political squares” after chants calling for the government’s resignation echoed across stadiums following the deadly quake.
Talking to reporters, Soylu hinted that the government would take action against those behind the chants despite being occupied with their quake response.
“Those who think that we are buried in the earthquake issue should not think that we will not lift our shields when it comes to security. If they want to split our shift, we will”, Soylu said.
The Turkish Super League resumed its activities on Saturday with a match between Fenerbahce and Konyaspor in Istanbul. During the match, the stadium echoed with chants of “resign, government!”
The chanting comes as a form of protest against the government’s response to the devastating twin earthquake that hit the province of Kahramanmaras and 10 other provinces earlier this month, killing over 44,000 people in Turkey alone.
On Sunday, during their match against Antalya spor, Besiktas supporters chanted the same slogans.
"Twenty years of lies and cheating, resign," fans shouted. Besiktas supporters are known to be closer aligned to the opposition rather than the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). However, such displays of opposition have been rare since a failed coup in 2016.
Fans were quick to post the videos of the protests on social media platforms, showing them shouting out the same slogans. This sparked the outrage of Devlet Bahceli, leader of Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
Four minutes into the match, the ultranationalist Bahceli, tweeted that chanting these slogans is “irresponsible and insensitive.” He later demanded the matches be held without fans if the clubs do not take action against the chants.
Hours later, MHP released a statement saying that their leader had rescinded his club membership of Besiktas. He was later followed by various figures and MPs of the party.
Fenerbahce and Besiktas are two of the three Turkish football giants in Istanbul, having millions of fans all over the country.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is yet to comment on the chants.
By Azhi Rasul