Turkey is shocked. The government imposed a complete ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages during a new three-week lockdown that began today (April 29). However, many fear that this is not just a temporary measure, but a training session for the country’s Islamic future, Der Standard said, adding that the anger in Turkey was immense.

“Erdogan is prohibiting our way of life,” the main opposition newspaper Cumhuriyet and several newspapers wrote. Experts They consider this action to be completely counterproductive. The Austrian newspaper notes that many in Turkey already suspect the president is using restrictive measures against the pandemic for his own purposes.

Strict closing

The new lockdown takes effect in Turkey on April 29, but now includes, for the first time, a ban on the sale of alcohol. Until May 17, all retail outlets will remain closed, including Restaurants And cafes. Have citizens of the state right They left their homes only for urgent reasons, one of them being to buy food. Travel between settlements is permitted only with prior permission.

Once it became apparent that a ban on the sale of alcohol had been in place, stores were broken into by people trying to stock up on alcohol. A table rich in brandy, salads, and many starters are typical for families celebrating Ramadan. In some stores in Istanbul, customer abuse was so great that it was not necessary to put bottles of alcohol on the shelves – they were sold out in a jiffy, according to the Rainische Post. According to critics of the decision, it is part of a long and biased policy by Erdogan’s conservative government. Former Culture Minister Fikri Saglar said the pandemic is a cover for the government to ban alcohol. Others recall that the Turkish government first raised the consumption tax on alcoholic beverages, then banned the sale of alcohol after 10 pm, and finally the sale of alcohol over the weekend. The sector expects to bankrupt a large part of its 160,000 stores after closing for three weeks.

Record sales

Anger over the ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages is huge, especially in major cities and along the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts, where opposition centers against Erdogan are located. In the small cities of Anatolia, where alcohol is not consumed anyway, the ban does not provoke anyone. If Erdogan wanted with this decision to anger his opponents, he surely succeeded. But if he thought he would refuse to take the Turks into the cup – he is clearly wrong, Rainische Post commented. Alcohol producers announced that they sold as many bottles as usual during the New Year holidays alone.

Turkey