Contents page 1 — In Erdoğan’s onion page 2 the case of — “onions are a storage product” On a page to read

intervention of the state violence are nothing New in Turkey. At the latest since the foiled coup attempt more than two years, searches in the offices of government-critical journalists, teachers, rooms, and military academies, normal. Tens of thousands were dismissed Turks since the summer of 2016 from the state service or are incarcerated. Since a couple of months, but the Turkish state takes on an entirely new way: with the so-called onion-operations (soğan’ operasyonu).

This is basically raids: police warehouses browse, just not to drugs, alcohol or tobacco, but according to onions. It is the latest attempt by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the voters shortly before the municipal elections, the economic crisis in the country to distract. Because of the resentment on the last 25 percent increase in food prices is large. In order to convey to the population that the government has no blame for this, since the months, increasingly, farmers in the pillory. The accusation: the farmers hide their crops and driving the prices up artificially.

“RAID in Ankara: 1,300 tonnes of onions seized!” was the title of government Akit close to Newspapers such as Yeni already the end of November. In the television Prime-time flurry of images of onion were stalls in the Bazaar are shown, with dramatic music. After the RAID on a camp of the station A commander-in-chief sent out a Reporter. Movie-the man with the microphone stand in a warehouse. The camera dozens of bags showed up with onions. There is plenty of it in Turkey, told the Reporter that only the criminals, farmers would hide their crops. This view fitted well to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s warning that he had announced previously, with a serious look in front of the cameras: “Who are hoarding potatoes and onions, will get his punishment for it.”

Turks, tinkering with onion necklaces

onions have become symbols of the economic crisis in Turkey. A kilogram of 2017 at a cost of no more than about 1.5 Lira, request the seller today, four times. Initially, many took it with Humor, and necklaces made out of onions, which they shared on Twitter. In the meantime, the economic power of crisis to create many Turks, but seriously. Ask yourself why a so simple it can product such as the onion so expensive.

The time of the onion crisis, the Turkish government is very bad. 31. March country-wide municipal elections, and the Islamic-nationalist government party, the AKP, have to fear to lose because of the Unmutes in key election areas, such as Ankara and Istanbul chief and district mayor. Because the high prices make especially the poor and the conservative layers, i.e. Turks, Erdoğan is always an Alternative to the elitist secular Establishment.

to get Many for your money not only less onions than before, but also less potatoes, tomatoes and fruit. The mood among the vendors at the Bazaar is not better, because they sell less and often the frustration of the customers about the high prices get.