Saral, removed from office under Azerbaijan pressure, says 'yes, it appears so'

Presidential Advisor Oktay Saral was removed from office following a social media post criticizing a headscarf ban in schools in Azerbaijan. Saral personally confirmed his dismissal to journalist Talat Atilla; when asked 'Was it because of your statements about Azerbaijan?' he replied 'Yes, it appears so.' The following day, he said he had 'resigned.'

Saral had posted on October 12, stating 'The blocking of headscarved students' right to education in Azerbaijan is unacceptable!' The New Azerbaijan Party accused Saral on October 13 of 'failing to understand the essence of the matter' and 'interfering in Azerbaijan's internal affairs.' London-based Middle East Eye reported that the Azerbaijani government had directly requested Turkey remove Saral from his position.

Following the decision, Rovshan Mammadov, head of Azerbaijan's state television AZTV, said on air, 'Both states this time demonstrated a principled stance.' New Azerbaijan Party lawmaker Hikmet Babaoğlu, in a statement to redaktor.az, warned 'Everyone who wants to harm Turkey-Azerbaijan brotherhood will face the consequences of our common national will.'

Strong reactions came from the opposition in Turkey. Yeniden Refah Party Chairman Fatih Erbakan asked, 'Should we watch while our President, who says the world is bigger than five, bows to Ilham Aliyev?' Political scientist Burak Bilgehan Özpek pointed out that when Saral previously used language containing insults toward opposition groups, his position was retained, emphasizing that this removal marks a significant threshold for Turkish citizens. Assessments on the issue were reported by Cumhuriyet Newspaper.