ISTANBUL // Just over two weeks remain before Turkey’s crucial April 16 constitutional referendum and campaigners on both the “Yes” and “No” sides have stepped up their efforts throughout the country. But those who oppose the proposed reforms say they are now facing not only heated verbal arguments but also physical violence on a frequent basis.
In recent weeks, campaigners have faced alleged police harassment and assaults in the street by fellow citizens – as well as a lack of coverage from many media outlets.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is seeking to add another political victory with the referendum which, if it goes his way, will grant him even more power in a political system he already dominates. Critics of the constitutional changes say they are an open power grab which will pave the way for a “one-man” system. With the polls indicating the vote could go either way there is still all to play for, but the playing field is far from level.
The lavish “Yes” campaign is bolstered by state resources, and massive posters of Mr Erdogan and prime minister Binali Yildirim – whose job would ironically be eliminated in the event of a “Yes” vote – have been plastered on walls all over Istanbul.
But when 100 campaigners were out distributing “No” flyers round the Istanbul district of Kadikoy last month, the police sprayed them with tear gas and detained several of them. The campaigners, who say they were targeted for handing out the “No” flyers, claim police also drew their weapons and threatened to fire.
This was just one of dozens of incidents of violence against “No” campaigners in recent weeks in districts across Istanbul and throughout Turkey, according to media reports.
Another incident occurred on the main square of Istanbul’s Bakirkoy district earlier this month, when one person knocked flyers out of a “No” campaigner’s hand and then six others kicked and punched another campaigner who tried to intervene.
“No” campaigner Mehtap Turedioglu witnessed the attack but says she is determined to carry on.
"We're not scared at all," she told The National as she handed out pamphlets on the same square a few days later in Bakirkoy with a group of fellow "No" campaigners from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).
Furkan Edepli, vice president of a local youth branch of Mr Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and an active “Yes” campaigner, condemned the reported attacks.
“These ugly people can be found in every country and from a number of different ideologies,” he said over tea inside an AKP referendum campaign tent in the centre of Istanbul’s bustling Besiktas district.
“If I encounter someone distributing “No” brochures, I don’t get in their way, and they don’t get in mine either. Everyone will continue working in an atmosphere of peace and brotherhood.”
He insisted all parties were able to campaign freely.
Directly across the Bosphorus in the conservative district of Uskudar, however, things appeared less rosy.
"Members of the AKP and the [far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or] MHP come here and call us terrorists," said Solmaz Acikkol, who spoke to The National while distributing "No" pamphlets on behalf of the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP).
The government accuses the HDP of being linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Since being stripped of parliamentary immunity last year, a number of HDP members of parliament – including the party’s co-leaders – have been jailed on charges of supporting terror by the PKK. Other officials and supporters of the HDP have also been arrested on such charges.
"We are waging a difficult campaign and are being attacked everywhere," Ms Acikkol said. During the The National's five-minute conversation with Ms Acikkol, a young man lurked over her shoulders, scurrying off only after she put her hand in his face.
President Erdogan has not spared the country any of his famously divisive rhetoric in the months leading up to the referendum, and has said that voting “No” is tantamount to supporting terrorism, claiming that the PKK also favours a “No” result. The “Yes” camp is composed of an alliance between the AKP and the MHP, which has likened voting “Yes” to a show of support for national unity.
In addition to having successfully mobilised pre-existing nationalist sentiment, the “Yes” campaign also has the media in its corner. Figures from a study by the Unity for Democracy campaign show that between March 1 and March 20, the AKP and the office of the presidency were allocated a combined 470 hours across 17 national television channels for referendum campaigning. The CHP was granted a mere 45 hours, and the HDP not a single second.
This along with the police interventions and reported attacks have left “No” voters convinced that the dice are stacked against them.
“It’s not equal,” said CHP supporter Mehtap Turedioglu. “It’s an asymmetric campaign.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
KEY DATES IN AMAZON'S HISTORY
July 5, 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Cadabra Inc, which would later be renamed to Amazon.com, because his lawyer misheard the name as 'cadaver'. In its earliest days, the bookstore operated out of a rented garage in Bellevue, Washington
July 16, 1995: Amazon formally opens as an online bookseller. Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought becomes the first item sold on Amazon
1997: Amazon goes public at $18 a share, which has grown about 1,000 per cent at present. Its highest closing price was $197.85 on June 27, 2024
1998: Amazon acquires IMDb, its first major acquisition. It also starts selling CDs and DVDs
2000: Amazon Marketplace opens, allowing people to sell items on the website
2002: Amazon forms what would become Amazon Web Services, opening the Amazon.com platform to all developers. The cloud unit would follow in 2006
2003: Amazon turns in an annual profit of $75 million, the first time it ended a year in the black
2005: Amazon Prime is introduced, its first-ever subscription service that offered US customers free two-day shipping for $79 a year
2006: Amazon Unbox is unveiled, the company's video service that would later morph into Amazon Instant Video and, ultimately, Amazon Video
2007: Amazon's first hardware product, the Kindle e-reader, is introduced; the Fire TV and Fire Phone would come in 2014. Grocery service Amazon Fresh is also started
2009: Amazon introduces Amazon Basics, its in-house label for a variety of products
2010: The foundations for Amazon Studios were laid. Its first original streaming content debuted in 2013
2011: The Amazon Appstore for Google's Android is launched. It is still unavailable on Apple's iOS
2014: The Amazon Echo is launched, a speaker that acts as a personal digital assistant powered by Alexa
2017: Amazon acquires Whole Foods for $13.7 billion, its biggest acquisition
2018: Amazon's market cap briefly crosses the $1 trillion mark, making it, at the time, only the third company to achieve that milestone
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Infobox
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the next stage of qualifying, in Malaysia in August
Results
UAE beat Iran by 10 wickets
Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia by eight wickets
Oman beat Bahrain by nine wickets
Qatar beat Maldives by 106 runs
Monday fixtures
UAE v Kuwait, Iran v Saudi Arabia, Oman v Qatar, Maldives v Bahrain
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
UAE rugby season
FIXTURES
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes v Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers v Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Division 1
Dubai Sharks v Dubai Hurricanes II
Al Ain Amblers v Dubai Knights Eagles II
Dubai Tigers II v Abu Dhabi Saracens
Jebel Ali Dragons II v Abu Dhabi Harlequins II
Sharjah Wanderers v Dubai Exiles II
LAST SEASON
West Asia Premiership
Winners – Bahrain
Runners-up – Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership
Winners – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Runners-up – Jebel Ali Dragons
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners – Dubai Hurricanes
Runners-up – Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Conference
Winners – Dubai Tigers
Runners-up – Al Ain Amblers
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Memory: 8GB
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Platform: iOS 17
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Main camera video: 4K @ 24/25/30/60fps, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps, HD @ 30fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps, ProRes (4K) @ 60fps; night, time lapse, cinematic, action modes; Dolby Vision, 4K HDR
Front camera: 12MP TrueDepth (f/1.9), Photonic Engine, Deep Fusion, Smart HDR 4, Portrait Lighting; Animoji, Memoji
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In the box: iPhone 15 Pro Max, USB-C-to-USB-C woven cable, one Apple sticker
Price: Dh5,099 / Dh5,949 / Dh6,799
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Uefa Champions League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Company Profile
Company name: myZoi
Started: 2021
Founders: Syed Ali, Christian Buchholz, Shanawaz Rouf, Arsalan Siddiqui, Nabid Hassan
Based: UAE
Number of staff: 37
Investment: Initial undisclosed funding from SC Ventures; second round of funding totalling $14 million from a consortium of SBI, a Japanese VC firm, and SC Venture
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Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
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Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)