Turkey: Voices protest over rising energy prices

Shopkeepers, city councils and a religious group in Turkey protested on Tuesday against rising energy bills, while doctors went on a one-day strike over their working conditions as a wave of dissatisfaction fueled by inflation spread across the country.

Inflation soared to close to 50% in January, raising the cost of living for Turks already struggling to make ends meet after the Turkish lira's crash in December 2021 sparked by the Turkish president's unorthodox low interest rate policy , Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The Turkish government has raised the minimum wage by 50% this year due to unrest. However, it also increased the prices of gas, electricity, gasoline and tolls due to the instability of import prices, burdening household budgets and increasing poverty.

The religious minority of the Alevis of Turkey decided not to pay the electricity bills for their places of worship, the Tzemevites, where they worship.

"Come and cut off our electricity. "Our cemeteries are not business premises, they are places of worship," said Alevi federation leader Celal Firat on Twitter, where he posted a 30.000 Turkish lira ($ 2.200) electricity bill owed by the Alevi club.

Some restaurant owners posted notices on windows showing inflated electricity bills, as social media posts showed.

Oguz Kaan Salici, deputy leader of the main opposition CHP party, said some households' electricity bills were as high as their rent.

"People do not know what to do, at home or at work. Citizens can no longer cope. Withdraw price increases immediately! ” wrote on Twitter.

Mayors from 11 cities, including Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, have called for action by the central government to ease the "unbearable" burden of rising energy prices.

"Significant increases are now making it difficult for local governments to provide services," they said in a joint statement.

Doctors and health professionals went on a one-day strike across the country to protest poor working conditions and seek better rights and better services.

Health workers also protested the deterioration of their standard of living, saying they were facing a more hostile work environment amid rising microns. COVID-19 and patient dissatisfaction.

"We can not do it. "Our salaries have been severely eroded, of course, as for everyone else, but we are trying to practice our profession in a very dangerous environment," said Deniz Devrim, a 46-year-old family doctor at a rally in Istanbul attended by about 100 workers. health.