Başakşehir is the third stop in CHP's 'Defending the National Will' rally series

Following the arrest of IMM President and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 23, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel announced at the massive Maltepe rally, attended by 2.2 million citizens, that they would hold rallies in a different Istanbul district every Wednesday.

The first of the rallies, titled "Defending the National Will," was held in Şişli, where a trustee was appointed, and the second was held in Beylikdüzü.

The new address for the rally, which drew tens of thousands, was Başakşehir, often cited as the AKP's stronghold in Istanbul.

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik read a message from IMM President and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been detained in Silivri for 43 days.

İmamoğlu's message is as follows:

"My dear fellow citizens, my comrades whose hearts beat for democracy. You have been gathering since March 19. These meetings are very precious to me. Because in these squares, you are speaking out together for justice, dignity, and the future. These squares are the voice of a dream for a fair, free, and prosperous country for everyone.

The high will shown by our nation against the conspiracies carried out by the judiciary is so valuable that we are standing tall against a trap set for our future, and we are resisting together. We have stood up together. Because we know that without justice, there is no peace or prosperity. Without justice, construction sites are being set up that put the water supply of millions at risk. Our struggle is something else entirely. An Istanbul that is earthquake-resistant and one we will safely return to our children. Do not worry, we will do it. Today, we are shouting out here all together. We will never surrender to your injustice."

STRIKING STATEMENTS FROM CHP CHAIRMAN ÖZGÜR ÖZEL

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel addressed the tens of thousands gathered at the rally.

Key highlights from Özel's statement are as follows:

"This evening in Başakşehir, I see hope, awakening, resistance, and rebellion against injustice.

This evening in Başakşehir, I see tens of thousands who say 'We didn't come for a rally, we came for an action' to those who ask, 'Who holds a rally at this hour of the night in this frost?'

This evening, I see those who came to this large square, which is one of the most difficult points to reach in Istanbul, on the very other side of the city, far from residential areas but close to the rent-seeking project, Kanal Istanbul, and the tens of thousands who could not reach it on the roads. Welcome."

They said Başakşehir wouldn't work. They said there wouldn't be a crowd in Başakşehir, no one would gather. They said it was the AK Party's stronghold.

They neither knew Başakşehir nor did they know us. There is no longer 'this is his stronghold' or 'that is his stronghold.' Now, KADIKÖY IS OURS, and Başakşehir is ours too. Yozgat is ours, Mersin is ours. We are going this weekend; Konya, the city of Mevlana, belongs to all of us. I swear that the old politics no longer exist. No one has a stronghold. Strongholds have now been conquered by hearts. Başakşehir is the stronghold of the nation.

Let the CHP's strongholds be sacrificed for the nation, and let the AK Party's stronghold be conquered by these beautiful-hearted people, standing shoulder to shoulder. We are working for this. In this square, social democrats, conservative democrats, nationalist democrats, Kurdish democrats, and all the democrats of Istanbul are shoulder to shoulder. Greetings to you all, and may you be blessed.

"WHAT HAS BEEN DONE SINCE MARCH 19 IS A COUP AGAINST ATATÜRK'S LEGACY"

Let us all know that what has been done since March 19 is not just against the CHP, nor just against Mayor Ekrem. What has been done is a coup against the political institution in Turkey, and therefore against everyone who works for and believes in all political parties, whether opposition or government; against everyone who feels 'I can change things by going to the ballot box one day,' regardless of whether they go to the polls or not; and against the ballot box and the national will, which are the legacy of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk."

They prepared a conspiracy file to make this coup look legitimate. In that first wave, they initially based everything on secret witnesses. After all, those who used the rent of Istanbul as capital for their own politics in the past... Those who set out from Istanbul and financed their politics across all of Turkey through urban crimes against this city... Those who once confessed, 'We have betrayed this city,' when the day came, handed over a slander file to a chief prosecutor, saying, 'Go look, you will find it as if you placed it there yourself,' with the logic that a person judges others by their own actions. They prepared a file full of lies with their secret witnesses.

"THEY SAID 'HEARSAY,' THEY COULD NOT SAY ANYTHING CONCRETE THAT WOULD SERVE THE PROSECUTOR'S PURPOSE"

However, when those secret witnesses could not support their claims with a single piece of concrete evidence, and after 3 months of explaining, the MASAK report emerged and fell apart like a paper bag, they turned to trying to create slanderers from their own crony contractors. It is impossible for them to have any concrete evidence or to say they witnessed anything. They said 'I heard,' 'hearsay,' and could not say anything concrete that would serve the prosecutor's purpose.

In the end, they resorted to threatening and blackmailing our friends held inside, attempting the evil of making them false witnesses against each other. They took the women inside into a room with the prosecutor without their lawyers, saying, 'We are taking you to the doctor,' and told them, 'Testify as I say, speak for your child, otherwise you won't see your child for 10 years.' They connected via remote link and said, 'You have 4 minutes left, if you don't testify as I say, forget about me and your child.' They went after people who would benefit from effective remorse under these conditions, but these evil people were left empty-handed in the face of our honorable and proud friends."

Our İSKİ Department Head entered the IMM during the Erdoğan era; we didn't say, 'He entered during the AK Party era,' he was a competent person who was kept in his position. He was even promoted. When the Kanal Istanbul madness emerged, because he did not turn a blind eye to illegal structures and initiated proceedings against them, they detained the İSKİ Deputy General Manager and department head, whom Erdoğan himself had appointed. Again, the İSKİ General Manager was threatened because he did not issue a license to someone who requested an illegal license, and even asked Ankara about it and received a document stating that the license could not be issued. He applied to the state and received protection. They detained our İSKİ General Manager based on the statement of the attacker, who was under state protection due to the threats he received.

Here you have those who look at the earrings of a 15-year-old girl with a detector to see if they are gold, try to remove them, and claim they found gold in a so-called operation. There are those who try to show the money found in a small child's cardboard piggy bank as bribe money. This is the second wave. This is their morality, this is their conscience. The CHP vouches for the morality, honor, and cleanliness of all our friends. We are with them all, we are behind them like lions.

He has only one demand from Trump. Power is slipping from his hands in Turkey. 'I have an opponent I cannot defeat. We competed 4 times, he defeated me 4 times. There is no dirty trick I haven't done in 5 years. 5 years later, he defeated me again. If he becomes a presidential candidate, he will defeat me. He will become the head of the Republic of Turkey. I will stage a coup against him, don't make a sound, Cyprus and Palestine can both be yours,' says the Erdoğan we are facing."

"EVEN IF HE DID NO SERVICE FOR 6 YEARS, IT DOES NOT AMOUNT TO 560 BILLION"

If there were law, rights, and justice, they first said on all their television channels that there is 560 billion in corruption. Oh, you godless people, we have managed Istanbul for 6 years. The 6-year budget is 497 billion. 560 billion is more than the 6-year budget. Already, 70 percent of the budget is personnel salaries. If you didn't pay personnel salaries for 6 years, didn't provide any service, didn't pour any asphalt, didn't do any service at all, the whole money amounts to 490 billion. This guy says there is 560 billion in corruption. When they say this, they talk first and then go silent.

"LET THIS BE A LESSON TO YOU"

The Minister of Transport, who tried to close this square to us last night, who tried to turn off its lights... The State Railways train passed by and saluted the square; let this be a lesson to you.

The AK Party has lost its moral superiority, lost its psychological superiority, has fallen into opposition in its own mind, and is afraid of the CHP and this square. It is telling its deputies how to defend themselves. Be afraid of us, we are right, we are the powerful ones, we will win."

"ERDOĞAN, I AM HERE, WHERE ARE YOU?"

We are calling out to Erdoğan from here. If you trust yourself, put the ballot box out, let the people of Istanbul decide, Istanbul or Kanal Istanbul.

Look Erdoğan, I am right in front of you, it has been 43 days. I am here, I am in the square. I am in Saraçhane, I am in Samsun, in Yozgat, in Mersin. I am in Başakşehir today. Where are you, Erdoğan, the man of the halls?

"YOU CANNOT DESTROY NEITHER ME NOR ANY CHP MEMBER"

Erdoğan said, 'How many more CHP members will be destroyed on the way to the Presidency?' He is saying, 'I put İmamoğlu in prison.' Listen to me well, Erdoğan... You cannot destroy İmamoğlu. This nation will bring İmamoğlu to the office of the Presidency. Erdoğan, you have no shame left. Animal lovers also oppose the word 'destroy' (telef). 'Telef' means to kill for nothing. He says to me, 'Will you also be destroyed?' You cannot destroy me or any CHP member.

Don't mind Mr. Bahçeli saying, 'What does it matter if they collect 100 million signatures?' This nation will show its power to both you and your alliance partner."

News Source: AA