Ilgin was interviewed by Jessica Maas for Parool, read the article here:
"Politics is not something you deal with every day in the Netherlands. In Turkey it is, whether you like it or not," says Ilgin Demirkir from her parental home in Istanbul. In late March 2025, she marched in the Turkish city - with banner and whistle - in the big demonstration organised by the centre-left CHP, the largest opposition party. Hundreds of thousands of people turned out for the protest.
The arrest on 19 March of Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul's popular mayor, caused great unrest in the country. Imamoglu is considered President Erdogan's biggest rival and was about to be nominated as the CHP's candidate in the 2028 presidential elections. After his arrest, he was still symbolically declared a presidential candidate.
Besides being accused of corruption by Erdogan, Imamoglu's university degree - needed to participate in the elections - was also declared invalid. For many Turks, this was the straw: they took to the streets in several major cities. The protests were the biggest in a decade. The police acted harshly - more than two thousand people, including many students, were arrested.
Why did you want to return to Turkey just now?
"To my mind, I had no other choice. I couldn't stay in Amsterdam while my friends and family risk everything here. I already feel so privileged to have the chance to study abroad. A close friend told me how aggressive the police have been since the first day of the protests. Tear gas is sprayed in people's faces from a few centimetres away. Friends have been hit, covered in bruises from plastic bullets. Another friend was trapped by the police."
You took part in the protests yourself.
"I joined a smaller protest with friends on Thursday and I was at the big demonstration in Maltepe, on the Asian side of Istanbul, on Saturday. It was so crowded, people kept coming. According to the CHP, there were 2.2 million people. The mutual solidarity was amazing. Left, right, old and young stood side by side, protesting against the authoritarian regime, against the breakdown of our democracy."
"A lot of people are fed up. The politics, the economic situation - the huge inflation, the minimum wage insufficient to pay the rent, the widespread nepotism. Critical voices end up in jail. It is a protest for freedom of speech. Some protesters had a Pikachu with them - in fact, last week a video went viral because a protester in a Pikachu costume had to run from the police. The Turkish resistance is always full of humour."
Were you scared?
"No, the atmosphere was not as tense as the other protests last week. There was a large police force on the scene though, with armoured cars and teargas cannons. My friends and I were checked as many as three times. We had to show our bags and banners. But things remained calm because this was an official demonstration."
"The spontaneous protests, mostly organised by students, are cracked down harder. Students cover their faces during those protests, as they are now actively tracked down by the police and arrested at home. We are talking about youngsters aged 18, 19. The images remind us of the Gezi Park protests of 2013: a local protest against building plans in that park then grew into a national protest. I was very young then, but I still remember the images from that time. Friends of our family were also injured at the time."
You also protested in Amsterdam, standing on Dam Square on 22 March. Was that not enough?
"That was also special, I was proud of all the Turkish people there. 'From Amsterdam to Taksim, resistance everywhere' was on my banner. A Turkish woman got very angry and started shouting at the protesters. According to her, it was all lies. Many Turks who have lived in the Netherlands for a long time support the AKP, Erdogan's party. But they do not know what the situation in Turkey is really like. They earn nicely in euros here and spend their lira there."
"The protest in Amsterdam also made me sad. We, Turks abroad, do we have this right? I saw how calmly the Dutch police acted and made sure everyone was safe. We could chant our slogans, sing protest songs. But what's the point? I thought later. In the evening, I heard again about the protests in Istanbul, about the arrests of students, of journalists and photographers. That's when I decided to go to Istanbul. I couldn't do otherwise. Imagine that because of the protests a state of emergency is declared and I'm here in Amsterdam?"
How do friends in the Netherlands react when you tell them about the situation in Turkey?
"I don't know if they can really understand. Every conversation with my Turkish friends and family is about politics, about the situation in the country. It was already like that in primary school. I don't know any better. When I was seven, I got into a protest with my mother and aunt. The police intervened, using tear gas. I remember how much my eyes hurt. My aunt quickly got lemons, which helped."
"I came to Amsterdam in 2023 to study political science here. I really liked Amsterdam, all those cultures. I soon noticed that the Dutch enjoy small things much more. Now that I've lived there a bit longer, I see the difference with Turkey even more sharply. People here can be who they want to be, feel free to express their opinions. Surely that has everything to do with politics. Basic human rights are guaranteed here, the rule of law, the economy is stable."
"In Turkey, everyone is busy surviving, and that causes a lot of stress. I still haven't lost that stress. We always take the worst-case scenario into account. Many young people who have the chance leave. They no longer see a future in Turkey."
"Friends of mine in Amsterdam think it's brave that I went home to protest, but I don't think that's the right word. I am not brave, we have to keep resisting. Not let ourselves be frightened. I don't think this protest in Turkey will just let itself be stopped. The large numbers of people taking to the streets now give me hope."
And your parents? What do they think?
|"They are happy that I am back home for a while. I fly back to Amsterdam on Tuesday. But they worry a lot about the country. I come from a secular, democratic family. My father comes from a small village; he worked hard all his life to get me to study. I am the first in our family to go to university."
"My parents are fierce, but I don't want them to go out now. My mother has trouble with her lungs, tear gas would be very dangerous, and my father has heart problems. 'Leave the protesting to me,' I said. That is why I am happy to cooperate with this interview, I would like to give my opinion; it feels like my duty."
"People in Europe may think it's all radical or nationalist Turks who are now taking to the streets, but that's not the case. Globally, we see a huge growth of authoritarianism - in Turkey, in Hungary, in the US. In the Netherlands, Wilders has been elected. People need to stay alert, guard democracy and above all make their voices heard."
Ilgin Demirkir, with whistle at her mouth, walks with hundreds of thousands of people in the demonstration in Maltepe, on Istanbul's Asian side. Photo: Bradley Secker (Parool)
Text: Jessica Maas for Parool