While Cumhuriyet and Konak Atatürk squares were surrounded by police barriers, YENİ Party İzmir Provincial Chair Çağatay Güç reacted to Tugay, saying, "İzmir has dismissed you." Following the press statement, citizens who broke through the police blockade began marching, chanting "Traitor Cemil."
Before the gatherings planned by political parties, democratic mass organizations, and citizens in the city center, police teams restricted access to Cumhuriyet and Konak Atatürk squares with barricades. While the intense security measures around Cumhuriyet Square drew attention, gatherings in the area were not permitted.
YENİ Party İzmir Provincial Chair Çağatay Güç also met with police officials at Cumhuriyet Square to negotiate the march route.
Güç gathered with party members and citizens in front of the YENİ Party İzmir Provincial Headquarters to hold a press statement. Before the statement, a coffin labeled "political corpse" featuring a photograph of Cemil Tugay and a black wreath were brought in front of the provincial headquarters.
Participants from various political parties, democratic mass organizations, and citizens frequently chanted slogans such as "Resign, resign, Cemil Tugay resign," "Traitor Cemil," "Shoulder to shoulder against fascism," and "İzmir is here, where is Cemil?"
A fistfight broke out between the crowd, angered by the police's use of pepper spray in İzmir's Cumhuriyet Square, and the police. YENİ Party İzmir Provincial Chair Çağatay Güç was also removed from the area following the intervention by police teams.
The path of the İzmir residents, who turned toward side streets, was blocked again by a TOMA (water cannon vehicle). The crowd, unwilling to disperse, expressed resentment at the YENİ Party's call to "disperse."
Protest against Cemil Tugay by İzmir residents: 'Traitor Cemil' slogans chanted https://t.co/sQeRTPNCPf https://t.co/i0RDej8N05
— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) October 7, 2026
News Source: 12punto
