Turkey’s Fight Against Coronavirus Fails to Heal Divisions, Opponents Say

Source:New York Times Date:10Apr2020

The government’s initial response to the outbreak appeared to have public support. A survey by pollster Metropoll on Wednesday showed a strong rise in Erdogan’s approval rating to 55.8% in March, when the first cases emerged in Turkey.

But more than 200 people have been arrested for social media posts on the pandemic and Erdogan, who obtained sweeping new powers in a 2018 switch to a presidential system, has blocked opposition aid campaigns, saying only the state can raise funds.

“The lack of a presidency that embraces all its citizens and unites them is felt more than ever today,” Faik Oztrak, a spokesman for the main opposition CHP, told reporters this week.