For a week, public has been discussing the operation of December 20-21 that indexed the interest rates to USD, but that new robbery scandals kept emerging from as they did, that “small investors were robbed” as the minister of Treasury and Economy confessed to. A message tweeted about 08:00PM on Sunday night from the Ministry of Internal Affairs account waved through the daily agenda shadowing the big robbery operation in finance.

Because the Internal Affairs minister Soylu had announced with this tweet claiming 557 employees, hired during İmamoğlu administration at İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), were “connected to terrorist organizations,” and “a special audit” had started to be conducted at İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

This claim was not new. Minister Soylu had initiated this claim during the negotiations over the budget of his ministry in the General Assembly of Turkey. However, no formal inquiries had been undertaken in the two weeks after that day about those “terrorists” at İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality. Moreover, gathering the mayors of his party on last Sunday, President Erdogan, after repeating Soylu’s claims on the “terrorists at İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality,” had signalled a start by saying “Starting the new year, they (the mayors of CHP) will not be able to face the public.”

The fact that the related ministerial message was tweeted on Sunday night, right after Erdogan’s speech, surely shows that it was not tweeted by Soylu’s initiative, but upon President’s signal.

AN OPERATION NOT ON ‘TERRORISTS’ BUT ON İSTANBUL METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITY; NOT LAWFUL BUT POLITICAL OPERATION

Taking into account of the discussions in political and media platforms; it is observed that almost everybody, except the accomplices, agrees unanimously that the started operation is not on the “terrorists” but on the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and that it was started on Erdogan’s signal, is not lawful but politically motivated operation to serve the aims of the government.

Taking into accounts of the discussions during the last two days, this operation is thought to have such various aims as discrediting İmamoğlu who might challenge him in presidential election since Erdogan has not been over the twice loss of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality elections; preventing the conduct of public services by using up the resources and attention of İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality; distracting other CHP municipalities from providing for public services; and being a preparation for a “sudden” or “pressed election,” and also being a step directed towards assigning a trustee mayor for İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

Without a doubt, many rightful evidences can be suggested for justification of each and every one of the said aims. However, taking into account of Erdogan’s and single-man regime’s strategic aim, each and every one of the said aims, in any case, has content to be a bonus from this operation.

FROM ‘LAME DUCK TACTIC’ TO “TRUSTEE OPERATION’!

Because, the only aim of the government is to stay in power. However, both AKP and People's Alliance have been dragged into the situation where they lost the support of the people, and the chance to win on an election that could be seen normal even in Turkey standards. For this reason, at least since the last local elections, by pushing a side to a second and third level the attempts to widen its electoral base to stay in power by winning on elections in normal ways, the single-man regime has put in the centre of its strategy of marginalizing the opposition by oppressing it before the eyes of the people in order to stay in power. To accomplish this, it would not refrain from using the police, judiciary system, administration, treasury… state powers, and of course, the nationalist and religious paramilitary forces at their full force.

Here, it is beneficial to assess the question of why Istanbul and İmamoğlu. Because Erdogan has revealed to his supporters during the last election process the fact “Who loses Istanbul loses Turkey,” he did this not only to motivate his supporters but also to state a reality proven by 75-80 year period since essentially the establishment of multy-party system.

Moreover, Erdogan and his party have been defeated twice in Istanbul in the local elections.

Indeed, Erdogan had announced, after losing a number of crucial greater cities, “They are lame ducks. We are in majority in the municipality councils. And I am in power in the central government. We will not let them operate,” clearly implying that the opposition municipalities will not be let operate.

In order to render the opposition municipalities “lame ducks,” Erdogan had done more damage to them than he was empowered for, and he went ahead to assign trustees to the HDP won municipalities directly!

And now here; the question is “Through this operation, does the government want to assign trustee to the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality?”

IF THE SLOGAN OF ‘WE WOULD BRING DOWN THE SKY ON THEIR HEADS’ WILL NOT BE A ‘WISHFUL CRY IN THE SKY…’

The answer to this question is that, in order to assign a trustee to İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, we are assured that the government would not care for any one’s cry if the forces of democracy in Turkey, CHP at the head, all opposition forces do not react to this operation and understand it as the operation not only against İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality but also against themselves, for example, speakers of CHP do not align themselves in a struggle demonstrating that they have started cutting the posts of “the sky” in order to carry out what their repeated slogan of “We would bring down the sky on their heads” requires them to do.  One should not forget for a moment that the single-man government has succeeded in assigning trustee mayors to HDP won municipalities because the forces of democracy in Turkey have not reacted to it in the way they were supposed to!

Therefore, the height of reaction rising from the public opinion would determine how far the single-man government would proceed in this operation.

Because, showing that Istanbul was lost through election “but it was taken back by the skipper through trustee,” the core elector would be motivated by “Even if we lose the elections, the skipper will get it back by his own methods!”

“What about rights, law, democracy, human rights, justice, political ethics, people’s will … ?” If these are not crucial for them to stay in power, it is crystal clear that they will be thrown into the garbage can because they will be called “the values of old Turkey.”

Have we not seen this fact for years?