Critic of his containment management in Turkey, the Minister of the Interior resigns

The powerful Turkish interior minister resigned on Sunday (April 12th) after receiving harsh criticism of his handling of the containment put in place to stem the spread of the Covid-19 in Turkey.

"May my nation, which I never wanted to harm, and our president, to whom I will be loyal all my life, forgive me," said Süleyman Soylu in a statement posted on his Twitter account. "I am leaving the office of Minister of the Interior which I had the honor of fulfilling".

pic.twitter.com/HDQ5t65vKp

Scenes of chaos in shops

Friday evening, Süleyman Soylu caught millions of Turks short by announcing the entry into force two hours later of a ban on going out for 48 hours in the thirty largest cities of the country.

This announcement at the last moment had the immediate effect of encouraging thousands of panicked Turks to rush into shops to stock up on supplies, without taking into account the rules of social distancing.

In the process, many opponents and Internet users criticized the government for the way in which this confinement was implemented, accusing the authorities of having endangered the lives of thousands of people.

After the scenes of chaos observed Friday evening, the Turkish Minister of the Interior had stressed that the setting up of the containment had taken place within the framework of "instructions from our president", Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

On Sunday, Süleyman Soylu this time assumed "full responsibility for the implementation of this measure".

"It was a measure taken in good faith, aimed at slowing the spread of the epidemic over the weekend as much as possible," he added.

Around 1,200 Covid-19 dead in Turkey

Containment, which will end at midnight Sunday (local time), was put in place as the Covid-19 epidemic has accelerated in Turkey in recent days.

Nearly 57,000 people were infected and about 1,200 people died, according to the latest official report published Sunday by the Ministry of Health.

Süleyman Soylu, 50, took office as interior minister in August 2016, a month after a bloody coup attempt to overthrow President Erdogan. As such, Süleyman Soylu, renowned for his grip and his brutal rhetoric, piloted the massive purges that were launched after the aborted putsch.

Several tens of thousands of people suspected of supporting the putschists, but also pro-Kurdish opponents and critical journalists, were then arrested in the context of this repression.

With AFP

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app