The continuing international silence over the prosecution and jailing of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chief political rival, Ekrem Imamoglu, on June 26 prompted an angry outburst from Turkey’s main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel.

“It would be inaccurate to say Erdogan is even feeling 10% of the pressure he should be under from the EU and the international community,” Ozel told a meeting of the Party of European Socialists (PES) held in Brussels ahead of an EU leaders’ summit, as reported by Anka news agency.

Turkey right now was enduring an escalating crackdown by Erdogan on democratic institutions and political opponents in the country—particularly targeting Imamoglu, the politician seen as having every chance of beating Turkey’s leader of 22 years at the ballot box—noted Ozel.

“Unfortunately,” he added, “European leaders continue to treat Erdogan as irreplaceable and are signalling this to him. He uses that perception to his advantage domestically, reinforcing the idea that the world has no alternative to Erdogan.”

Ozel says part of the Erdogan crackdown on the threat of Imamoglu and democracy to his continuing rule over Turkey is the targeting of the CHP with multiple politically driven court cases and arrests (Credit: CHP).

Ozel is head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) that, after the March 19 detaining of Imamoglu in a dawn swoop on his Istanbul home, held a vote, open to both party and non-party members, to make Imamoglu its presidential candidate.

He warned that the West’s perceived tolerance of Erdogan had encouraged him to tighten control at home, especially by targeting the CHP with multiple politically driven court cases and arrests.

He also accused Erdogan of “acting like the owner of Turkey” even though public support for his ruling AKP party has sunk below 30% in recent polls.

“Meanwhile, the CHP has become the leading party, polling at 41% after our recent electoral victory [in last year’s local elections],” he added.

“Turkey is more than Erdogan’s government. Our party is now the main political force, and a change in power is only a matter of time,” Ozel also said.

He called on European leaders to connect with Turkey’s democratic institutions and civil society, not just its government. “Turkey should move closer to the EU, but this must be based on democracy and the rule of law,” he said. “Our people still look to Europe.”

Since Imamoglu’s arrest on corruption charges he says are based on faked evidence that serves an obvious political agenda, this publication has been critical of Ozel’s politics-as-normal approach, contending that a regime that is ready to kill to stay in power will never allow itself to be removed by conventional reliance on free and fair elections or demonstrations that do not strike at the heart of the government and economy, no matter how large.

“It is ultimately the responsibility of the CHP to galvanise this protest movement, and the wider population for that matter,” said an analyst writing in May for The New Arab, using a pseudonym, Orhan Kaya, due to the sensitivity of the situation and his work.

“It is, after all, by far the largest opposition party that has a national network of party officials and members, infrastructure and finances, connections to trade unions and businesses, and the longstanding loyalty of older opposition-minded Turks,” he added. “Not to mention, it is the imprisonment of their future presidential candidate that sparked the protests. However, so far the CHP has failed to take up this challenge.”