A new wave of arrests hit Turkey on Tuesday, as the main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), held its final call for protests. From now on, it will begin collecting signatures in support of İmamoğlu’s candidacy in the form of a referendum, says the Vice President of the CHP.

“Right now, dozens of citizens are being arrested in Istanbul. This is a new wave of arrests meant to stop the mobilizations,” Turkish journalist Erkin Onztan told to BHMA. “Those arrested are being detained and put through fast-track trials today. We are living through a second Gezi.”

Since the start of the protests around 1,420 people have been arrested. Specifically by Tuesday afternoon, 206 citizens were arrested in Istanbul, among them seven journalists, students, and political party representatives – even İmamoğlu’s own associates. Thirteen were placed under house arrest. Investigations are ongoing. In the morning, lawyers were informed that most of those detained in previous days would be released. Later, however, prosecutors issued new arrest warrants, citing participation in protests that began on March 19, the day 48 people, including Ekrem İmamoğlu, were arrested.

Despite the pressure, repression, and arrests, Tuesday night the CHP issued, for the seventh consecutive day, a protest call at the Istanbul City Hall. “This is our final call,” CHP Vice President İlhan Uzgel clarified to To BHMA. “From now on, citizens are free to protest on their own. We will no longer continue with street demonstrations,” he added.

Facing judicial persecution and with public mobilization starting to wane — participation already “dropped” yesterday — the CHP parliamentary group decided today to do two things: 1) launch a signature campaign, framed as a referendum, in support of İmamoğlu’s candidacy to safeguard it and 2) hold a closed-door party meeting, likely on Thursday in either Ankara or Istanbul, to formally endorse İmamoğlu as a candidate. The meeting will be chaired by CHP leader Özgür Özel.

“Our parliamentary group will express its support for İmamoğlu, just as 15 million citizens did,” CHP members said earlier today, referring to presidential election laws that allow political party groups to nominate candidates.

“If a decision is made for early elections, a new primary will be held with İmamoğlu as the sole candidate,” Uzgel told To BHMA.

The Goals of the Boycott

Meanwhile, since Monday night, the CHP has announced a boycott of media outlets and their affiliates that acted in a biased manner and did not report on the protests, as well as of cafés, bakeries, etc., that take a hostile stance toward young protesters.

“The government is worried about this development. The companies included in the CHP boycott will put a lot of pressure on it,” said Şükrü Çınar, a CHP voter.

“In fact, the boycott could even be a positive thing,” argued Turkish economist Ahmet Küçüksahin, “since the Turkish economy doesn’t suffer from low domestic consumption, like Japan’s. Its problem is a trade imbalance and very low savings rates. A successful, widespread boycott might actually help reduce inflation.”

Still, Küçüksahin does not expect a large-scale boycott, except perhaps against “certain high-profile espresso chains.”

What Will the Pro-Kurdish DEM Party Do?

Although the pro-Kurdish DEM party abstained from the CHP’s primaries, in Tuesday’s party group meeting, co-chair Tülay Hatınoğulları stated: “Whoever turns a deaf ear to the voice of peace rising from the squares will lose greatly.” Addressing the government, she asked, “Will you arrest everyone?”

“They’ll arrest us all. That’s how it was during Gezi,” said Canter Bahçeli to To BHMA. She protests every night in front of Istanbul City Hall and says she won’t stop, even if CHP does.

The mass arrests have not discouraged tens of thousands of students, either. They marched to the Şişli municipality, which, like Istanbul’s, is now under state-appointed administration after its mayor was arrested alongside İmamoğlu.

Student protests continue both in Istanbul and Izmir, where students at Aegean University and 9 Eylül University are boycotting classes until the mayor of Istanbul is released.