Will the hero of the Pokémon, will Pikachu be the fall of the Erdogan regime? The question is perhaps a little hasty but in any case, the favorite yellow hero of young children has already become the symbol of the opposition to the regime of the Turkish president since the publication of images seeing a person dressed in a Pokémon costume flee the repression of the Turkish police to the demonstrations against the regime in the city of Antalya this Wednesday.
Since the broadcast of this Turkish television sequence on social networks, the Turkish Pikachu has become legendary. The race of the one trying to flee the local CRS has attracted the planet.
Some Internet users note that in a few hours, the video will have allowed more media attention to the situation in Türkiye than all the reports however alarmist disseminated worldwide. “Joking aside, the revolutionary Turkish pikachu drew international attention to the anti-Erdogan uprising more than anything else,” said this user.
All jokes aside, Turkish Revolutionary Pikachu has drawn more international attention to the anti-Erdogan uprising than anything else.
– 𝗡𝗶𝗼𝗵 ♛ ♛ (@niohberg) March 27, 2025
“The most famous protester in the world right now”
“I am almost sure that the Turkish Pikachu is the most famous protester in the world at the moment,” also says a specialized account on X in Turkish news.
The canvas quickly took hold of the cartoon character, and “mythified” the appearance of the yellow hero with big eyes in the face of the police. He was then adorned with new friends – often superhero – like Batman, Iron Man, Hulk, or in Catwoman!
For some, it has even become the equivalent of the large revolutionary hero of the 20th century, the Che, under the name of Pika-Chu!
For defenders of the Kurdish cause, the “great revolutionary” has also become an ally of circumstances.
A global attention which should not in any case delight Ankara. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also caught up in these memes who do not value his regime less and less democratic. Some even quip this president who would now hunt Pokémon.
“As if the attempted coup against democracy was not enough”
Indeed, in reality, the Turkish authorities accentuate the repression to try to extinguish the dispute launched on March 19 by the imprisonment of the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, proceeding to hundreds of arrests of demonstrators, journalists and lawyers. Friday, Imamoglu, the main rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, announced the arrest of his main lawyer, released later in the day under judicial supervision.
“This time it was my lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan who was arrested for invented reasons from scratch,” announced on X the mayor of Istanbul, an opposition figure depicted on Sunday of his functions and imprisoned for “corruption”. “As if the attempted coup against democracy was not enough, they cannot tolerate that the victims of this coup defend themselves,” he added.
The union of journalists (TGS) announced for its part the arrest at the dawn of two left media reporters critical of power, faced with an unprecedented challenge since the great movement of Gezi in 2013, who left the Taksim square in Istanbul. “Let the journalists do their job. Stop these illegal detentions, ”insurgerated the union. Pikachu would probably not say better.