Reflections on the May 4th attack...

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel was subjected to a physical assault by a perpetrator—who had previously killed his own children—as he was leaving the Atatürk Cultural Center (AKM) in Istanbul's Taksim district, where Sırrı Süreyya Önder had attended a funeral ceremony on May 4.

We are people who have learned enough from political history to know that no political attack in Turkey is a coincidence. In the attack on Chairman Özgür Özel, the fact that the assailant is a hardened murderer, that he found the exact door the Chairman would exit as if he had been guided to it, his statements during his testimony, his long-term stay in a studio apartment in Taksim, and his recklessness and audacity all raise questions about whether there might be other planners or stakeholders behind this attack. Another indicator that this attack may have been planned can be understood from Chairman Özgür Özel's remarks at the first parliamentary group meeting following the attack, where he said, "I am telling those who sent that child-killer empty-handed: if you have the courage, load him up and send him again." Furthermore, the date of the attack is also interesting: May 4.

The fourth of May takes us back to the dusty pages of history, to the dark days when the car of İsmet İnönü, the second Chairman of the Republican People's Party and Commander of the Western Front, was surrounded in Topkapı, Istanbul, following a chain of attacks that began in Uşak.

The year was 1959; the Democrat Party had increased its pressure on the press and the opposition due to its dissatisfaction with the results of the 1957 elections, in which it had lost 10 points compared to the 1954 elections. The Republican People's Party Chairman of the time, İsmet İnönü, set out from Ankara to Uşak on April 30, 1959, to explain the Democrat Party's oppressive practices to the public.

In his book titled "10 Years with İsmet Pasha," veteran journalist Metin Toker stated that after the travel plans were made, İsmet Pasha received a warning from the Minister of the Interior, Dr. Namık Gedik, who informed him that "the public was too agitated, that disturbances could occur, that the government could not take responsibility for protecting İsmet Pasha, and requested that the trip be canceled."

During the Uşak trip, undertaken in such a climate, a glass was first thrown at Hamdi Avcıoğlu, one of the reporters for Akis magazine who was traveling with İsmet Pasha. Then, on the morning of May 1, as İsmet Pasha was heading toward the train station, his vehicle was blocked and stones were thrown at him. Stones were also thrown at the windows of the train they boarded, breaking two of them. It was precisely at this moment that one of the thrown stones hit İsmet Pasha in the head, causing an injury. Three days after the Uşak attack, on May 4, 1959, İsmet Pasha's vehicle was surrounded in Topkapı, Istanbul, and attacked with stones and sticks (Karayaman, M. 2010, Causes and Consequences of the Stoning of İsmet İnönü in Uşak).

Yes, exactly 66 years after this grave incident, on the same day, Republican People's Party Chairman Özgür Özel was subjected to an attack in Istanbul. Moreover, interestingly, after the attack, tweets were posted from certain X accounts claiming that the attack was orchestrated by the CHP, in an attempt to create a false perception.

Republican People's Party Chairmen have been subjected to such attacks and assassination attempts at various periods in history. For instance, Chairman Bülent Ecevit was a leader who faced life-threatening assassination attempts and attacks in Gerede, New York, Niksar, and Çiğli Airport during the 70s. Additionally, Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu was subjected to a lynching attempt in April 2019 while attending a martyr's funeral in Çubuk, narrowly escaping a catastrophe. The Çubuk lynching attempt has still not been fully clarified.

The common goal of all these dark attacks is to intimidate, frighten, suppress, and portray the Chairmen of the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party, as weak, helpless, and vulnerable to all kinds of danger. Although the assailant, Tengioğlu, has been arrested, the forces behind this attack must certainly be investigated, and the investigation must be deepened to bring any potential collaborators to light. This is not a matter to be taken lightly or brushed aside. On this occasion, I wish a speedy recovery to Republican People's Party Chairman Özgür Özel. I hope this is the last one.