More than 1,1 million people took to Twitter on Tuesday to call time on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, tweeting “T A M A M” (Enough) hours after he promised “If one day our nation says ‘enough’, then we will step aside,” in a speech in Parliament. Following his speech “T A M A M” (OK in Turkish) reached number one in worldwide trends on Twitter.
Even some sources have claimed that over 1,7 million tweets have been posted, including tweets from presidential candidates Muharrem İnce of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Meral Akşener from the İYİ Party.
The most divisive politician in recent Turkish history, Erdoğan has ruled for 15 years, overseeing a period of sharp economic growth and a widespread crackdown against his opponents. Last month he declared snap elections for June 24, bringing the polls forward by more than a year.
Soon after the speech, the #Tamam hashtag swept across Turkish-language Twitter, then became a global trending topic. “We want democracy so we say #enough to Erdoğan. Please leave your seat, you did insane things to our country and people. Enough,” said one user.
“You will not step aside quietly. You will give account for the things you did. Enough!” said another.
Social media has become the primary platform for opposition against the government in Turkey, where traditional media is saturated with coverage of Erdoğan and his ministers. Erdoğan’s speeches, usually two or three a day, are all broadcast live on major channels, while opposition parties get little to no coverage.
The “Tamam” tweets also provided a rare moment of opposition unity with all major parties, including the pro-Kurdish opposition uniting behind the hashtag. Pro-Kurdish politicians and nationalists rarely find common ground.
Rights groups and Turkey’s Western allies have criticized Ankara for its deteriorating record on civil rights and have voiced concerns that the NATO member has been sliding further into authoritarianism under Erdoğan. The government claims the measures are necessary due to the security threats it faces.
After the vote, Turkey will switch to the powerful, executive presidential system narrowly approved in a referendum last year.
Social media has become one of the most important mediums for Turkish public opinion since the Gezi Park protests of June 2013. According to a Reuters report in June 2017, 60 percent of Turkish citizens do not trust the news media. “Mainstream media is controlled by government mostly,” said the report.
1- Muharrem Ince, the candidate of the main opposition CHP:
“Time is up. Enough!”
2- Temel Karamollaoğlu, the candidate of the Fecility Party (Saadet):
“Enough, god willing!”
3– Meral Akşener, the candidate of the İYİ (Good) Party :
“Enough.”
4– Selahattin Demirtaş, imprisoned candidate of the Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP):
“I am a bit late as my teapot was broken. ENOUGH.”
from Stockholm Center for Freedom https://stockholmcf.org/over-1-million-tweets-say-t-a-m-a-m-enough-to-turkish-president-erdogan/
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