The opposition of Turkey indicates that the plan of the Erdogan canal behind the last arrests | National

The Party of Imamoglu, the main opposition CHP, said that the arrests were to counter its efforts to block the proposed project of the Istanbul canal, intended to connect the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. The project is supported by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking during a rally on Saturday, Ozgur Celik, chief of the CHP in Istanbul, accused the government of having “relaunched” the project just after the arrest of Imamoglu.

The vice-president of the CHP parliamentary group, Gokhan Gunaydin, also argued that “the real reason for these arrests is the Istanbul canal”.

But the Ministry of the Government for the fight against disinformation denied the accusations.

“The operation follows the investigation opened on March 19 against the mayor for corruption,” he said.

From his cell, Imamoglu also denounced arrests, blaming “an ambitious people … who began to fill empty files with lies and slander”.

Imamoglu was arrested for an alleged corruption the day he was appointed CHP candidate for the presidential race in 2028. He is considered the most high -level politician in opposition to Erdogan, whose AKP has ruled Turkey since 2002.

The detention of Imamoglu sparked a huge crowd gathering during night demonstrations outside the town hall of Istanbul. The demonstrations quickly spread across the country in what has become the largest wave of Turkey troubles since 2013.

Among the people detained on Saturday was the Imamoglu assistant and the brother-in-law Kadriye Kasapoglu and the town hall officials, Turkish media reported.

The Bir Gun information site, which is close to the opposition, said that raids were underway in the homes of persons detained in Ankara, Istanbul and Tekirdag in the northwest of the country.

“Today's operation is not a coincidence,” said Celik on X.

The Istanbul water and wastewater authority had ordered the demolition and closure of construction sites along the canal road, he said.

“Municipal employees who have opposed (the project) are currently at the main police station,” he added.

The project was launched by Erdogan in 2011 when he was Prime Minister. The plan is to relieve congestion in the Bosphorus strait, a stretch of 50 kilometers long (31 miles), 150 meters wide and 25 meters deep.

Environmentalists vehemently oppose it, arguing that it would encroach on natural and agricultural land and modify a reservoir which provides part of Istanbul water.

Earlier this week, Ozel also told Parliament that the arrest of Imamoglu was linked to his retreat against the channel.

“They cannot dig the channel because the goalkeeper of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, opposes. But they started to build houses all around! Why? Because they sold them,” he said.

The Turkish authorities have launched a social housing project and recently put land next to the road to the future channel for sale.

The head of the Istanbul urban planning agency, Buggra Gokce, is one of the experts who have warned against the developments of the canal and housing.

Gokce warned of seismic risks due to the active flaw line under the route. Last Wednesday, Istanbul was shaken by a major earthquake of 6.2, followed by many aftershocks.

The arrest of Imamoglu, which was largely denounced as an attempt to leave the leader CHP, also had economic implications.

Aside from a call for opposition to boycott companies considered to be close to the government, the Istanbul Bist 100 reference scholarship fell by almost 14% during the month.

The Turkish LIRA lost almost 8% compared to the dollar, reaching a historic hollow despite an injection of $ 50 billion by the central bank to limit damage.