CHP Chairman Özgür Özel's harsh criticism of TRT: He recalled July 15

CHP Chairman Özgür Özelis speaking at his party's group meeting.

Highlights from Özel's remarks are as follows:

THEY GAVE ERDOĞAN A 'TWO-MINUTE' TREATMENT

We are in the 4th year of Idlib. Suddenly, a lot of news started coming in; our convoy in Syria had been fired upon by fighter jets. 34 of our soldiers were martyred in Idlib. 

He was saying their blood would not remain on the ground, but the whole world knew where the attack came from. They pulled him aside and put a timer on him. They gave him a 'two-minute' treatment. Since that day, no one has spoken of Idlib again. 

You call those who left you waiting at the door in Russia your closest friend. You even see it as a gesture to have natural gas bills postponed during elections. They love you when they want, they beat you when they want. They martyr our soldiers. I wish patience once again to the grieving families of our soldiers in Idlib.

I also promise that when the day comes, we will hold those who martyred them accountable.

CRITICISM OF TRT

Article 133 of the Constitution states that TRT is impartial. Article 5 defines impartiality and accurate reporting. Regarding the metropolitan mayoral candidates for Istanbul, Izmir, and Ankara; Tuncay Keser conducted a 2-day study. Murat Kurum was given 29 minutes and 12 seconds, Ekrem İmamoğlu 0, Hamza Dağ 26 minutes, and Cemil Tugay 0. Turgut Altınok 17 minutes and 50 seconds, Mansur Yavaş 0. 

Their law states impartiality. This Parliament has instructed them to act impartially. 

The AKP has turned the state television into its own private channel. 

TRT is the first to arrive and the last to leave; I suppose they will report it if the Headquarters burns down. When will you show me? Sooner or later, if I die and pass away, those who do not come to me while I am alive should not come to my funeral either. I do not want TRT at my funeral.

The moment I mention TRT, TRT cuts the broadcast, friends. 

JULY 15 COUP ATTEMPT

We said, 'We stand behind the elected Parliament, we will not surrender to a coup.' A Haber says, 'CHP is writing an epic today.'

Chandeliers weighing tons were clashing against each other. The Speaker of Parliament's security detail took us to a bunker. They devastated the Parliament. There were those with diabetes who couldn't speak. They said there was water by the members' door; chaos was unfolding 300 meters away in the dark. We found the last room, I kicked the door open with both feet, and I saw it was a TRT studio. I looked, there was a huge studio there. TRT was asking, as if we had no idea. They said, 'Who are you bringing out? Sorry, we will bring you out too.' They said, 'We will host you here plenty.' Neither I nor our group deputy chairmen entered through that studio.

Times change, and you will be held accountable for this, as will Tayyip Erdoğan.

HE RECALLED THE ISRAEL BANNER

We were at the Socialist International summit in Madrid. I said it there too: Israel's response to what Hamas did has targeted civilians. The children in Ukraine are ours, and the children in Gaza are ours. I said, 'Let's end this atrocity.' While I was saying these things, Erdoğan was in Sakarya. A banner was opened demanding an end to the shame of trade with Israel. It was hastily confiscated. Those who opened the banner knew that this shame was being committed by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his family.

RAMADAN PITA BREAD PRICE

Özgür Özel reacted to the price of Ramadan pita bread as follows:

"After the March 31 elections, austerity measures, price hikes, and savings circulars will come one after another. They are suppressing everything until March 31. The price of Ramadan pita has been set at 15 liras. The pita has been hiked by 50 percent. There is a game being played. Last year, 300 grams of pita was 10 liras; this year, 250 grams of pita is 15 liras. That is an 80 percent hike! And they claimed inflation was 64 percent."

CALL FOR A 'RETIREE CARD'

Recalling the 'Ankara Card' application by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mansur Yavaş, which provides one thousand liras per month to retirees, Özel called out, "Let's turn this card into a retiree card. We are ready to do our part. Let's issue a Retiree Card and end this suffering."

REACTION TO THE GOVERNMENT REGARDING THE 'UNEMPLOYMENT FUND'

Reacting to the government regarding the Unemployment Fund, Özel stated the following:

"There is a regulation regarding the Unemployment Insurance Fund. They even used this fund for the construction of dual carriageways. Then, at the point reached in 2023, the money paid to workers from the Unemployment Insurance Fund was 18.5 percent, while the incentives given to employers were 67 percent. The law states that a maximum of 30 percent of the total resources accumulated in the Unemployment Insurance Fund can be used. They are increasing this to 50 percent. We have opposed the payment of anything to employers from the workers' piggy bank since the very first day."

EMPHASIS ON THE 'TURKEY ALLIANCE'

Giving a 'Turkey Alliance' message, Özel said, "The only way to balance the power of the People's Alliance is the Turkey Alliance. In the Turkey Alliance, there are us social democrats, there are conservative democrats, there are nationalist democrats; there are Lazs, there are Kurds..." 

News Source: 12punto