“Do not think we will not raise our shields for security"
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu on Sunday threatened football fans who protested the government's shortcomings in dealing with the disaster following the massive earthquakes in Turkey that killed more than 45,000 people.
"Those who think we are busy with earthquake response should not think that we will not raise our shields for safety," Soylu said after the entire Besiktas FC stadium in Istanbul echoed with slogans demanding the government's resignation.
He accused the fans of “having a marginal mentality and poisoning the earthquake response of the government.
Soylu said that those who coordinated these protests were a few people who were trying to create chaos amid the earthquake relief effort, but he “would not allow them to darken the future of Turkey.”
During a game on Sunday, the fans united in their chant: “Government must resign”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">In Istanbul, Beşiktaş are underperforming against Antalyaspor. But their fans are making known what matters most: “GOVERNMENT MUST RESIGN!” <a href="https://t.co/stzrOmFAMU">https://t.co/stzrOmFAMU</a></p>— Timur Kuran (@timurkuran) <a href="https://twitter.com/timurkuran/status/1629892011229691906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Turning the games into political demonstrations started at the previous game Fenerbahce FC Stadium who also demanded the government’s resignation.
