Politics
Turkish interior minister vows relentless fight against gangs
Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, who took office in February, told journalists that Türkiye cannot afford to lose youth and children to criminal gangs.
“(The gangs) should surrender, and otherwise, we will continue cracking down on them,” Çiftçi said on Sunday at a meeting with journalists.
“I instructed the police and gendarmerie to continue operations. There will be more and more,” he said. Criminal gangs employing children have flourished in Türkiye in recent years. Gangs turn to disadvantaged youths and minors to carry out hits on rivals and extort businesses, especially in big cities, in a bid to avoid criminal liability, as minors are often handed down more lenient sentences compared to adult offenders.
Çiftçi said they also stepped up the fight against narcotics, citing a nationwide operation last week where 358 suspects were captured. “Drugs fuel other crimes, and counter-narcotics operations are multi-layered. Drugs lie at the foundation of many issues and crimes affecting society. It funds gangs and terrorism. Sadly, it targets our youth,” he said. “We are determined to drain it. Between Jan. 1 and March 22 alone, we seized more than 13 tons of drugs, and it shows our determination,” he said.
New job for night watchmen
The night watch department of the Turkish police department closed in 1991 as law enforcement sought to modernize itself. In 2017, they were reintroduced, with modernized uniforms and more patrols, especially in big cities. Çiftçi said they were now working to reform the force once again. He said the new regulations they planned would allow night watchmen to work during the day as well if the local governorates needed extra manpower for security on certain occasions. “Based on the needs, they will be allowed to work as patrols in predetermined locations in cities,” the minister said.
Border woes
Another issue Çiftçi commented on was the security of the Turkish-Iranian border as the U.S.-Israel-Iran war raged. The minister was at the Gürbulak border crossing last week to inspect the measures. In statements on Sunday, he assured that the borders had no extraordinary situation at the moment. “We have no problems on the border now, but we still took all necessary measures. We have no gaps in the security,” he highlighted.
Municipal corruption
On a question regarding investigations into municipalities whose mayors and bureaucrats are involved in corruption, Çiftçi denied any political bias. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) repeatedly claimed that the charges against its mayors were politically motivated.
Providing official figures regarding the cases, Çiftçi said 3,224 investigations were carried out by his ministry’s inspectors since the March 2024 election. “The ministry granted permission for investigation in 1,298 cases, and 591 among them are municipalities run by the AK Party,” he said, referring to the ruling Justice and Development Party. Çiftçi said 321 CHP municipalities were also investigated and that 102 other municipalities investigated by inspectors were run by the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
Türkiye’s Justice and Development Party on Monday dismissed claims that the ruling party was involved in the opposition’s turmoil, saying the Republican People’s Party (CHP) was consumed by an internal power struggle “more chaotic than the Middle East.”
“The AK Party is not involved in this incident in any way,” party spokesperson Ömer Çelik told reporters in Ankara. “This is entirely an internal conflict within the CHP.”
His remarks came as the opposition continues to reel from a court decision that annulled CHP’s 2023 congress and reinstated former leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, setting off competing leadership claims and violent clashes during a police-enforced eviction at party headquarters in Ankara.
Çelik accused CHP figures of trying to shift blame outward rather than address their internal divisions.
“When they cannot solve their own problems, they try to drag the AK Party and our president into it,” he said, describing such efforts as an attempt to “cover up political inadequacy.”
Çelik said that recent rhetoric from CHP officials had crossed the boundaries of acceptable political rhetoric.
“We respect political criticism and we respect political protest,” Çelik said. “But when it turns into insults, threats and political bullying, we will never accept it.”
He also condemned the language used against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during protests outside CHP headquarters, calling it unacceptable.
“Our president is our red line,” he said. “No one should think they can cross it without consequences, both legal and political.”
The AK Party spokesperson added that the ruling party would not be drawn into the CHP’s internal dispute, insisting that the crisis originated entirely within the opposition.
“These claims were brought forward by people within the CHP itself,” Çelik said, referring to the allegations that triggered judicial review of the party’s internal elections. “The judiciary acted within its authority. The result is what we are seeing today.”
He added that any attempts to portray the situation as politically engineered were misleading.
“This is not something the AK Party is part of,” he said. “Trying to present it that way is a method used to escape responsibility for their own internal breakdown.”
Çelik also defended Türkiye’s judiciary, rejecting claims that courts were being used to shape political outcomes.
“We have always opposed judicial tutelage and judicial activism,” he said. “Politics must be decided by civilian will. But no one can use that principle to avoid accountability.”
As the CHP leadership dispute deepens between Kılıçdaroğlu and newly ousted chair Özgür Özel, Çelik said the AK Party would continue to respond firmly to what he described as “unfounded accusations,” while remaining outside the party’s internal battle.
“Our stance is clear,” he said. “We are not part of their internal conflict, but we will not remain silent against unjust attacks on our president and our party.”
Tensions were running high on Sunday outside the headquarters of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Ankara as the police moved to evict the ousted leadership.
Supporters of Özgür Özel occupied the building as his predecessor, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, was preparing to take over following a court ruling that nullified Özel’s tenure.
The issue laid bare the deep divide within the party between supporters of Kılıçdaroğlu and Özel. A group of CHP lawmakers who sided with Kılıçdaroğlu attempted to enter the building in the early hours of Sunday, only to be confronted by an angry crowd. Kılıçdaroğlu was expected to move to the building, but tensions apparently prevented him, as he did not leave his residence on Sunday. Delegations representing both sides are expected to hold a meeting later during the day to resolve the issue.
Kılıçdaroğlu earlier sent an eviction notice through his lawyer to the CHP, and a group of civil servants accompanied by police arrived to deliver the notice.
On Thursday, a Turkish appeals court annulled the results of a CHP congress in 2023 in which Özel was elected, citing irregularities. A lawsuit filed by former CHP delegates and a former mayor of the party claims associates of Özel were involved in vote-buying and fraud to sway the election in favor of Özel.
The court’s ruling reverted the chairpersonship of Türkiye’s oldest party to Kılıçdaroğlu, who ran the party for more than a decade. His political demise at the CHP began after he lost a presidential election to incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and within months, he was almost persona non grata for the party, blamed for the election loss. Still, he retained considerable support within the party. This was more evident on Sunday as lawmakers pledging loyalty to Kılıçdaroğlu joined a crowd of party members marching to the headquarters, only to be confronted by a mob pelting them with plastic bottles.
Özel, now only holding the title of a lawmaker for his Manisa constituency and leader of the party’s parliamentary group, vowed to resist the ruling, though he signalled he would be open to a compromise with Kılıçdaroğlu. On Saturday, he urged the reinstated chair to call for a new party congress as soon as possible. Kılıçdaroğlu said in a statement that he was open to a new congress but did not specify when it could be held. The Özel administration is confident that they can end the crisis in the party with a new intra-party election that will install them in power again.
Mahir Polat and Müslim Sarı, two CHP lawmakers close to Kılıçdaroğlu, told journalists outside the CHP headquarters that the Özel administration did not favor a “peaceful transition.” Polat said they agreed upon holding a new congress, but “our friends, for some reason, insist on not evacuating the building.” Sarı said they pushed for “dialogue mechanisms to de-escalate tensions,” but the Özel administration did not respond yet. On a question if Kılıçdaroğlu will force his way inside in the company of riot police, Sarı said that was out of the question.
Murat Emir, a lawmaker siding with Özel, told journalists that they were open to communication with the Kılıçdaroğlu camp, but they were also ready to protect “our home.” He accused the other side of bullying them by preventing them from entering the building, claiming the crowd arriving on Sunday morning in support of Kılıçdaroğlu was actually “a mob with no links to CHP whatsoever,” echoing Özel’s earlier remarks that the pro-Kılıçdaroğlu crowd confronting them was actually “a bunch of mafioso-like people.” Emir said they also contacted the interior minister “to discuss the latest developments.”
In his first remarks to journalists after the court ruling, Kılıçdaroğlu called on CHP members to avoid divisions and protect the moral values in the face of criticism.
On Saturday, police detained 13 people under an investigation into the 2023 congress.
The Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office said Saturday the suspects were detained across seven provinces over allegations of interference in delegates’ voting during the 2023 congress. They face charges of “violating the law on political parties,” “accepting bribes” and “laundering assets derived from crime,” the statement said. Search and seizure operations were carried out at the suspects’ addresses in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Şanlıurfa, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Malatya. Nine suspects were remanded in custody, while others were released pending judicial control.
Serdar Kılıç, a former ambassador who serves as Türkiye’s special representative for normalizing ties with Armenia, hailed the opening of the Akhalkalaki-Kars railway line to Armenia’s imports and exports.
In a social media post on Sunday, Kılıç said it was a new step in trade relations between the two neighboring countries.
He was referring to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s earlier announcement that the railway line had been opened to Armenia’s foreign trade.
Kılıç described the development as a new step in direct trade within the framework of the Türkiye-Armenia normalization process.
“I hope this new step, which will also improve quadruple cooperation among Türkiye, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia and make a significant contribution to regional peace and stability, will be beneficial for all these countries,” Kılıç said.
The Armenian premier described the move as a major development for Armenia’s economy and thanked partners in Türkiye and Georgia for their cooperation.
Pashinyan added that Armenia now has railway access to Russia through Georgia and Azerbaijan, and to China through Russia and Kazakhstan. He said that the railway route passing through Türkiye and Georgia would strengthen Armenia’s connection with the European Union, while rail links with Türkiye, Azerbaijan and Iran were also expected to be established in the near future.
Türkiye and Armenia have signed a deal for the joint restoration of the ancient Ani Bridge on the border during a visit earlier this month by Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz to Yerevan. Yılmaz was the highest-ranking official since former President Abdullah Gül to visit Armenia. His visit is more significant, though, as Yerevan and Ankara explore more ways to further cooperation and eventually, fully normalize their relations.
Since 2020, Türkiye and Armenia have held a string of talks at various levels to explore the way forward in relations. Most recently, delegations from the two sides met in Kars of eastern Türkiye to discuss the revival of a railway between the two neighbors. Earlier, direct passenger and cargo flights were launched mutually. Ankara and Yerevan also approved the opening of the Alican border crossing to citizens of third countries and diplomatic passport holders. Before Yılmaz’s visit, Pashinyan met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last June in Istanbul.
Türkiye’s main opposition Republican People’s Party has been plunged into a deepening leadership crisis after a court annulled the party’s 2023 congress, setting off a power struggle between reinstated former chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and ex-chair Özgür Özel amid clashes at party headquarters and growing uncertainty over who will ultimately lead the opposition.
Attention is now shifting to how and how quickly the CHP can resolve the dispute, with rival camps sharply divided over the timing and format of an eventual congress that could decide the leadership question.
Özel and his allies are pushing for an early extraordinary congress to settle the crisis. Following a phone call after the court ruling, Özel insisted he would not compromise and reiterated his demand for a swift vote.
“We want elections as soon as possible, we want a congress,” Özel said.
Kılıçdaroğlu’s camp has taken a more cautious stance, focusing first on restoring party institutions. Party Council member Müslim Sarı said after meeting Kılıçdaroğlu that the reinstated chair plans to convene the Party Council and disciplinary board after the holiday before outlining a roadmap.
Former CHP figure Gürsel Tekin, meanwhile, has suggested that an extraordinary congress process could take seven to eight months.
The leadership dispute has unfolded alongside a criminal investigation into violence outside CHP headquarters in Ankara. Prosecutors have launched a probe into allegations including unauthorized demonstrations, resistance to police and an incident in which a vehicle allegedly injured a person during the unrest.
The confrontation erupted after riot police, accompanied by a lawyer representing Kılıçdaroğlu, moved to enforce a court-backed eviction when members of the Özel-led administration refused to leave the building.
The Ankara appeals court Thursday nullified Özel’s election as CHP chair at a 2023 congress, suspending him and members of the party’s executive board.
The court ruling said Özel should be replaced by Kılıçdaroğlu, his predecessor, who led the party for 13 years but never won any national elections.
Tensions escalated early Sunday as supporters of both camps gathered outside party headquarters in Ankara. After attempts to deliver and enforce the ruling reportedly failed, police broke through a locked gate and entered the compound.
Inside, Özel supporters erected barricades using chairs and furniture to block officers. Police responded with pepper spray and tear gas, while CHP members threw objects and used fire extinguishers in return.
The standoff caused significant damage inside the headquarters, including shattered glass doors and destroyed office furniture. Cleanup crews worked through the night and repairs are expected to continue.
Police later swept through the multistory building floor by floor as lawmakers and officials accompanying Özel gradually left the premises.
Özel eventually emerged coughing from pepper spray exposure and criticized the operation without directly naming Kılıçdaroğlu.
“Everyone does what fits him best,” he said, accusing those behind the enforcement of trying to take control of the party.
He later walked toward Parliament with supporters, declaring that CHP’s “real center” had shifted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
The rhetoric intensified divisions within the party, with some supporters chanting anti-Kılıçdaroğlu slogans during the march.
That language drew immediate backlash from figures aligned with Kılıçdaroğlu. CHP lawmaker Mahir Polat warned that those insulting Kılıçdaroğlu could face disciplinary action, including possible referrals to party mechanisms.
Reports also circulated that figures close to Özel’s camp could face disciplinary scrutiny, though no official steps have been confirmed.
AK Party blames infighting
On Monday, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesperson Ömer Çelik said the turmoil inside CHP reflects an internal power struggle, not external interference, and sharply criticized opposition leaders for attempting to drag the ruling party into the dispute.
“The AK Party is not involved in this incident in any way,” Çelik said. “This is essentially an internal conflict within the CHP.”
He said CHP figures were attempting to shift attention away from their own divisions by targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party, describing the situation as “more chaotic than the Middle East.”
Çelik accused CHP officials of turning political debate into “a politics of lies,” adding that criticism of the government was being used to “cover up their own inadequacies.”
“We respect political criticism and political protest,” he said. “But when it turns into insults, threats and political bullying, we will not accept it.”
He also described remarks directed at President Erdoğan during protests as unacceptable, saying: “Our president is our red line.”
Çelik added that the CHP crisis originated from internal allegations later taken up by the judiciary and rejected claims that courts were being used for political engineering.
“These claims were brought forward by people within the CHP itself,” he said. “The judiciary acted, and the result is what we are seeing today.”
He said the AK Party would remain outside the dispute but respond firmly to what he called “unfounded accusations,” both politically and legally.
The United States and Iran are reportedly closer to an agreement to end their conflict, three months after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran. Türkiye, a NATO ally of the U.S. and a western neighbor of Iran, awaits the good news.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a teleconference early Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump and regional leaders on Iran and Middle East developments, according to Türkiye’s Directorate of Communications.
The meeting was also attended by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Asim Munir and members of the U.S. Cabinet. It came after Trump’s announcement that an agreement with Iran to end the war between the two nations “has been largely negotiated, subject to finalization.”
Erdoğan welcomed that the diplomatic process with Iran had reached the level stated by Trump.
Praising countries that contributed to the negotiations, Erdoğan said any agreement with Iran ensuring free passage through the Strait of Hormuz would support regional stability.
Ankara will provide all necessary support for the implementation of any potential agreement with Tehran, Erdoğan reaffirmed.
Türkiye seeks a new era in which regional countries do not pose threats to one another, he said, stressing that a “just peace would have no losers.” Erdoğan said Türkiye has always advocated resolving problems through dialogue and diplomacy.
He added that Türkiye was working to establish peace in the region, and believed that suitable solutions could be found over time to issues that appear difficult, including the Iranian nuclear issue.
The U.S. and Iran have been negotiating proposals and counterproposals through Islamabad to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as well as tackle concerns about Tehran’s nuclear program and its demand for sanctions relief.
Trump said Monday that the U.S. postponed renewing attacks on Iran after requests from Gulf leaders, and that serious negotiations were underway.
Erdoğan held another phone call with Trump last Wednesday, again, on the issue of the war. Türkiye has been in close contact with Washington, Tehran, and mediators Pakistan to seek an end to the war. It has called for an end to the conflict and passed messages between the sides.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said an announcement was possible later Sunday on a deal with Iran that could formally end the Middle East war, insisting goals had been met.
“I do think perhaps there is the possibility that in the next few hours the world will get some good news,” Rubio told reporters in New Delhi.
Rubio, who is on his first visit to India, said the emerging deal would address U.S. President Donald Trump’s concerns on the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has largely blocked in response to the U.S.-Israeli attack.
The agreement would also start a “process that can ultimately leave us where the president wants us to be, and that is a world that no longer has to fear or worry about an Iranian nuclear weapon,” he added.
The emerging agreement has quickly met criticism from usual supporters of Trump, including Senator Ted Cruz and Mike Pompeo, Trump’s secretary of state in his first term.
Both are staunch supporters of Israel and voiced opposition to Iran soon receiving benefits such as the unimpeded ability to sell its oil.
Cruz said the outcome could be a “disastrous mistake.”
Asked about the criticism, Rubio said, “No one has been stronger” among U.S. presidents against Iran by launching the war, code-named Epic Fury.
“When this conflict began with Iran, the goals were outlined; they were very simple, they were very clear, we were going to destroy their navy, which was done,” he said.
Rubio said the U.S. also aimed to “significantly reduce” Iran’s ability to fire ballistic missiles and to “do damage to the defense-industrial base” of the country.
“Those were the objectives of Epic Fury. Those objectives were achieved,” Rubio said.
Turkish police on Saturday detained 13 people under an investigation into a 2023 congress of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) that elected as chair Özgür Özel, who was ousted by a court ruling on Thursday.
A Turkish appeals court on Thursday annulled the congress, at which Özel was elected, citing unspecified irregularities. In his place, the court reinstated former CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, a divisive figure who lost to President Tayyip Erdoğan in elections earlier that year.
The Ankara court found that “the will of the delegates was corrupted” at the congress, making the leadership vote legally invalid. The ruling cited allegations that some delegates were offered money, municipal positions, jobs and other benefits in exchange for support during the congress that ended Kılıçdaroğlu’s 13-year tenure.
The CHP leadership has denied the accusations and Özel promised to fight it through legal appeals and to personally remain “day and night” in the CHP’s Ankara headquarters.
Both the Supreme Court of Appeals and the Supreme Election Council (YSK) rejected the CHP’s appeal to overturn the ruling on Friday.
The Istanbul chief public prosecutor’s office said Saturday the suspects were detained across seven provinces over allegations of interference in delegates’ voting during the 2023 congress.
They face charges of “violating the law on political parties”, “accepting bribes”, and “laundering assets derived from crime”, the statement said. Search and seizure operations were carried out at the suspects’ addresses in the provinces of Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Şanlıurfa, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis and Malatya.
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