Protests and arrests…repercussions of Turkish lira’s collapse

QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Thousands protested through Turkey’s Istanbul, yesterday, after trade unions criticized the rise of poverty in the country and called for increasing the minimum wage.

Turkey’s monthly minimum wage was 2,825.90 liras equivalent to $380 in January 2021, but in December it was equivalent to $222 (€197).

The lira hit a record low on 24 November; a day after Erdogan defended a recent sharp cut in interest rates and vowed to win his economic war of independence in response to the currency’s fall.

Turkey’s financial hardship has topped media headlines, despite positive talk in the pro-government media. Yesterday, Turkey’s Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati alarmed investors and ordinary Turks with fatalistic statements about the economy in an interview on HaberTurk news website, that were seen by financial analysts as adding further pressure on the lira.

“If we win, we will win together. If we lose, we will lose together,” he told HaberTurk.

In the same context, Kerim Rota, in charge of economic policy at the opposition Future Party, said the Turkish lira was suffering the worst monthly devaluation since 1994, and the second-worst in the past 40 years, according to local media.

“If it reaches 14.25 to the dollar at the end of the month, it will be the highest. It is now out of control, this is clear to see,” Rota told local media outlets.

YouTubers behind bars   

Several YouTubers were arrested in Turkey due to publishing street interviews with the public and discussing the finance of the country and the impacts of the ongoing hardship.

The arrests came the day after Erdogan declared social media as “the main threat to democracy.”

Mehmet Oyuncu, one of the arrested journalists tweeted “We are journalists trying to make the voices of the people on the street heard in the palaces. Every day, they try to intimidate us with violent provocateurs, detentions and arrests, but we have not taken a step back.”  

All of those arrested were released, but they remain under house arrest and so are prevented from continuing their work, according to media reports.

Decline of Turkish lira’s impact on Syria

The recent collapse in Turkey’s currency has impact beyond its borders, affecting Syria’s opposition held areas.

Syria’s northwest region, held by the Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, adopted the Turkish lira in June 2020 as its own currency in a step to face the rapid devaluation of the Syrian currency.

North press covered in many reports the impacts of the Turkish lira on the livelihood of the people in the opposition-held areas, since the markets in general is witnessing soar prices.

Watad Petroleum Company run by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in Idlib city, posted on social media that it has switched prices for purchasing fuel to USD instead of the Turkish currency. 

Such a decision only serves the interests of traders and companies, local sources told North Press.

On November 15, dozens of people from Turkish-held Idlib, took to the streets protesting an unprecedented inflation and soar of fuel prices.