Economist Özgür Demirtaş breaks his silence on the 'İmamoğlu' agenda

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu being taken into custody and his subsequent detention have sparked protests across the country.

In addition to politicians, artists and academics have expressed their support for İmamoğlu.

Economist Özgür Demirtaş, who has frequently provided assessments on the country's agenda in the past, broke his silence following questions directed at him.

Posting on his X account, economist Özgür Demirtaş wrote the following:

"Dear Friends,

As in the past, there are those asking, 'Why don't you write about the country's agenda?' Some of those asking are my friends and those who care about me, who are saddened by my silence. Others are those who want to use my silence as an opportunity to lynch me on social media.

I returned to my country permanently in 2011. Since 2012, I have issued many warnings about issues I saw as wrong, especially in my area of expertise and on social issues. I wrote everything that could be written. I saw that the impact of what I wrote remained quite limited. Those who have followed me for a long time are witnesses to the past 14 years. For this reason, in line with my own decision, I have not given statements to any newspaper or TV for the last 7-8 years. Afterwards, I left my YouTube channel and stopped filming videos. Most importantly, for the last 3 years, I decided to apply self-censorship on social media and not write anything about the agenda. (You can see my past tweets regarding this decision and their dates in the image I shared below)

In summary, my decision not to write about Turkey is a principle that was made a long time ago and one that I have tried to stick to as much as I can (except for the occasional response to trolls). From now on, I will continue to focus only on 'Global' finance topics, which are my area of expertise, and will continue even more firmly not to write about Turkey.

I love all kind-hearted people, and I am sending my heart to you as well."

Sevgili Arkadaşlar,

Geçmişte olduğu gibi yine, “Neden ülke gündemiyle ilgili yazmıyorsun?" diye soranlar oluyor. Bunu soranların bir kısmı, yazmamamdan üzüntü duyan dostlarım ve beni sevenler. Bir kısmı ise suskunluğumu fırsat bilip beni sosyal medyada linç etmek isteyenler.… pic.twitter.com/jp5qjuqb81

— Özgür Demirtaş (@ProfDemirtas) March 24, 2025

News Source: 12punto