CHP's Ali Mahir Başarır speaks to 12punto: March 19 is a day of a coup

The university diploma of IMM Mayor and CHP presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu was cancelled, and following the diploma cancellation, a detention warrant was issued for him this morning.

Reactions from politicians following the decision to detain İmamoğlu are growing like an avalanche.

Speaking to 12punto, CHP Group Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır said that March 19 is a black mark on Turkish history.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING IS A PROBLEM FOR ALL 86 MILLION"

Describing this day as a coup, Başarır spoke as follows:

"March 12, September 12, March 19... This is a coup. It is a coup carried out against the political party that came in first in the last elections in the Republic of Turkey, and against the will of 17 million people. What is happening is a problem for all 86 million. The one-man rule, which has disgraced our country before the world and turned law and the economy upside down, has resorted to this method as well."

Responding to government officials who criticized those calling today's detentions a coup by saying "we cannot describe this as a coup," Başarır said, "In this period where there is no fair trial, where 35-year-old diplomas are cancelled, where trustees are appointed to television channels, where passports are cancelled, and where journalists are arrested, what else can we talk about?"

Başarır concluded his speech by saying, "We will continue our struggle and we will save this beautiful country."

News Source: Sinem Nazlı Demir