Özgür Özel speaks from Yozgat: Arrived at the rally by tractor, drew attention to farmers' problems

The CHP is holding a historic rally in the stronghold of Milli Görüş. Today, Turkey's eyes are on Yozgat, where thousands have taken to the streets following the operation against İmamoğlu...

Farmers, rebelling against the imprisonment of İmamoğlu, had staged protests with their tractors on April 2 and 6, and all of them were fined.

The CHP decided to hold a rally in Yozgat both to support İmamoğlu and to draw attention to the farmers' problems. Thus, for the first time, the CHP's thematic rallies and the Freedom for İmamoğlu rallies have merged.

ÖZEL BEGAN SPEAKING AT 14:30

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel:

Greetings to Yozgat, the cradle of the brave...

Today we came to the place where the brave are forged, to beautiful Yozgat, to valiant Yozgat. We came to embrace my dear Yozgat residents who have love for their homeland, nation, flag, and Atatürk in their hearts.

Yozgat farmers, on April 2, when their reaction to the oppression and injustice done to them, to their products not being worth anything, to the knife being at the bone, and to their patience being at an end was evident, and while they were counting the days to go to the ballot box to determine a President, they saw that some were trying to take the ballot box from them, to take their right to vote from them, to take their candidate from them, to take Ekrem İmamoğlu, the future President, from them.

That day, Istanbul stood up, Turkey stood up. They thought there would be no voice from Yozgat. Such a voice came from Yozgat that the tractor convoy, the convoy of tractors, was heard from Yozgat all over Turkey.

A stereotype was broken. They had memorized, "Yozgat is ours, they won't vote for anyone but us. Yozgat won't react. Yozgat won't protest." They reached such a stereotype. As the late Nida Tüfekçi said: He has learned his lesson and is memorizing it, where did your dark eyes get their kohl?

"YOZGAT HAS AWAKENED"

Yozgat broke that stereotype. Of course, because they voted for them, they thought Yozgat was a piece of cake. They don't know that Yozgat has awakened now. This nation has awakened. Yozgat did not remain silent against oppression and today it has not fit into this square. Mr. Erdoğan was very angry at the AK Party members in Yozgat when he came last time. He said, "What is this? How can this square be like this? Why didn't you fill these sides?". Mr. Erdoğan, don't be angry at Yozgat. We filled the place they couldn't fill today, we filled it. Today we are in Yozgat with one of the most crowded rallies in Yozgat's history. Not just the square, but beyond the square, around the barriers, in the side streets, there is a separate rally everywhere. Retirees in front of the Ziraat Bank, I kiss your hands, I kiss your hands.

Those who should have sent support to the farmers of Yozgat, who stood up all of Turkey, who were heard from 81 provinces when they honked their horns, and who were the subject of the world press, because they "set out" and "showed reaction," first put the gendarmerie in front of them.

They placed the children of the nation, the gendarmerie, against the farmers of the nation. Then, those who should have protected the farmers and sent support sent penalty notices to the farmers, saying, "Those tractors are supposedly endangering safety, traffic safety."

They sent penalty notices, and when each of us saw this, our hearts ached. When each of us saw this, we said, "They didn't deserve this. We want to take ownership of this." I called my provincial chairman, Chairman Abdullah. "Let's reach those farmers. I will cover their fines," I said. Then I went to visit Silivri Prison. Chairman Ekrem is in Silivri Prison. Our Chairman Ekrem, whom we call each other several times a day outside, and whom I cannot be at ease without knowing how he is and that he is well, was in the dungeons of Silivri.

I went to visit him. While hugging with longing every time, this time an argument broke out between us. He said: "My Chairman, was this necessary now?" I said, "What happened?". He said: "The tractors came out to support me. I had said 'I will pay these fines.' I looked at the television and it says 'The Chairman will pay.' How will it be now?" he said. I said, "Chairman Ekrem, we have never argued with you until today, we have never fallen apart. Then, according to the law of brotherhood between us, we will share this as brothers. Half from me, half from you." That is why I came here today at the invitation of those farmer brothers, sisters, and elders of mine.

Of course, we were going to hold a rally in Yozgat, but since Yozgat had made its voice heard to the whole world with a tractor convoy, we got behind the tractors and came to this rally area by greeting all the farmers, by greeting all of Yozgat. Greetings to Yozgat!

It's fine when they get votes, but then when they don't provide service, when there is a reaction to the base price, when the farmer objects to interest, when they complain about the high cost of diesel and fertilizer, when the farmer puts distance between themselves and the government, they suddenly stand against the farmer, they stand against the villager.

"WE WILL NOT LET YOU CRUSH THOSE HARDWORKING FARMERS WHO ARE LIKE ANTS"

I saw that some look from above, look with arrogance, and see the Yozgat villagers like ants and try to crush them. I am warning the government from here: We will not let you crush those farmers who are as hardworking as ants, those farmers who are as hardworking as ants. The ant has a brother, and that is the Republican People's Party. Undoubtedly, there are not only farmers in this square. Undoubtedly, there are not only Republican People's Party members in this square. This square is full of all the democrats of Yozgat who object to injustice in Yozgat, who are not silent devils against unfairness, and who take ownership of both their will and their future. As you know, in a rally, the deputy of that city is on the bus. In the alliance we made with the Good Party in the last election in Yozgat, it was one of the six cities we made an alliance with. The first place was the Good Party. Our deputy could not be elected from the second place, but this deficiency was closed by Adnan Beker, an Ankara Deputy and a child of Yozgat, joining our party. He has a lot of effort today too. I sincerely thank all the politicians, all the unions, and all the associations in Yozgat who contributed to us.

"THEY THINK YOZGAT IS THEIR DEEDED PROPERTY"

Those who think Yozgat is their deeded property are actually those who do not know Yozgat. Those who do not know Yozgat. Yozgat gave great support to the Democrat Party in 1950, but a few terms later, it voted for the Republican People's Party and won elections for the Republican People's Party in the multi-party period. It became ANAP-supporting. It became the stronghold of the Welfare Party. It voted for Fazilet. It voted for the AK Party, but Yozgat supported whoever managed well and punished whoever did evil. In the elections held on March 31, Yozgat actually made its voice heard, the AK Party turned a deaf ear, and the Yozgat Municipality was won again by Mr. Kazım Arslan, the President from the New Welfare Party. We congratulate him sincerely. Yozgat, we also competed. We also had a candidate, but Yozgat chose President Kazım. What is it? The master, the master is the nation. The peasant is the master of the nation. In democracies, the master is not the one sitting in the palace, but the Yozgat residents themselves who put him in the palace. Get the vote yesterday, get elected, very good. Then when the votes drop, when someone else is elected, start the oppression, turn your back on the city.

I remind the Yozgat residents of this: In 2011, in this square, Mr. Erdoğan promised the Yozgat residents to make Yozgat a world city, to make Yozgat a mega city, to make Yozgat leap forward. 14 years have passed. We still cannot see a mega city in the middle of the steppe. Just as the AK Party has not laid a stone on top of a stone, the Yozgat residents, as in the song of their fellow countryman Mümin Sarıkaya, say "I am tired of life, don't come at me," but this AK Party continues to come at them, to oppress, to do injustice to Yozgat.

"THEY ATE AND FINISHED YOZGAT"

Yozgat needs a hospital. There is a very suitable place in the city. To make someone rich, they go way out there and build a huge city hospital that is difficult to reach, where you can't find your way when you enter, and where you can't find a specialist doctor when you look for one. There is a doctor problem in Yozgat. There is a specialist doctor problem in Yozgat. There is a problem of making an appointment at the hospital in Yozgat. There is a problem of the city losing blood every day in Yozgat. Look, in 2002, Turkey's population was 67 million, Yozgat's population was 680 thousand. Today, Turkey's population has reached 86 million, Yozgat's population has dropped to 413 thousand. When it was 67 million, if there were 680 thousand, when it became 86 million, our Yozgat, which should have had 860 thousand people and should have been a big city, has dropped by half and become 413 thousand. Yozgat is losing blood every day.

When the government, the AK Party, first came, a total of 6 deputies were elected in Yozgat, proportional to the population. Currently, 3 deputies. They ate and finished Yozgat. They consumed Yozgat. They left Yozgat behind. Yozgat is leaving them behind now too.

"ERDOĞAN, THIS IS THE RIGHT SQUARE"

There is a saying in Yozgat: "The camel of the one who stands tall does not die." Greetings to those who stand tall, who are not afraid, to the Yozgat residents who do not surrender! When Atatürk first came to Yozgat, in 1924, he said to the Yozgat residents, "Brave children of the Bozok Plateau, be well." I am addressing the brave children of the Bozok Plateau from here. Be well, be strong, be together! We will change the fate of Yozgat together. We have been respectful to the will of our Yozgat, which has voted for all political parties in multi-party life and wants to be managed well and wants service, both in general elections and local elections. There were times when we got 4% of the votes in Yozgat, and there were times when we elected deputies. This is exactly what democracy is. What comes with the ballot box goes with the ballot box, but those who come to power with elections now do not want to leave with elections. They want to steal the ballot box from both Yozgat and Turkey. However, in democracies, the seal is in the hands of the nation. I ask: Will you allow the ballot box to be taken from you? Will you allow the seal to be taken from your hands? Retirees in front of the Ziraat Bank, they are trying to take the ballot box from you, will you allow it? Turkey has a lot to hear from Yozgat. This government has a lot to see in this square.

We could have held this meeting in Izmir after Samsun, we could have held it in Mersin, we could have held it in Antalya, in one of the party's strongholds, or in Trabzon, in Chairman Ekrem's hometown, but since it is national will, since the ballot box is important, the one who takes the most ownership of this ballot box, who broke records with an 86% participation rate in the elections, and today the one who oppresses, the one who makes a coup against the ballot box today, the one who brings a junta to the head of the country today and the one who heads that junta, if this square, this Yozgat, while supporting with 75% of the votes in the last presidential elections, is objecting to what is being done today, is raising its voice, and if it is saying "What you are doing is not right" with a crowd twice as large as the one Erdoğan gathered that day, then this square is the right square, Erdoğan, this square is the right square. Each of us, exactly one month ago...

"THEY GOT PERMISSION FROM TRUMP FOR THE COUP"

One month ago, on March 19, one month ago from today, we experienced a civilian coup attempt. I say with sadness on behalf of our country that they got permission for this coup from across the ocean, for this coup from the United States of America, for this coup from Trump, they got authorization. Before, they had canceled the mandate of the election that Chairman Ekrem won with the halal votes of Istanbul at an iftar table. Upon that, our Chairman Ekrem rolled up his sleeves. In the first election, he had won Istanbul again in the re-election with a margin of 806,000 votes over the 13,000 votes he received. Those who did this intolerance that day, this time, again on a Ramadan day. While I was at iftar with our martyr families in Ankara, and Chairman Ekrem was at an iftar table in the house of a poor family in Istanbul, they decided at iftar time and had Chairman Ekrem's diploma canceled. Actually, actually, 35 years ago, they called students with an advertisement and then, and then 31 years ago, they sent the diploma to the Faculty of Business Administration, which organized and issued the original diploma, so that the university that issued the diploma would cancel it. They said they could not cancel this diploma. The dean resigned, protected his honor, but did not enter into this wrong. They forced it. Out of seven people, the decision of the first four was required. They forcibly convinced two of them, the rest said no. While this meeting was going to be held on Wednesday, they gathered an irrelevant board of directors in a hurry at iftar time on Tuesday evening and had the diploma canceled from somewhere else. And while we were rebelling against this injustice, this unfairness, this time, in the sahur of the same night, they blocked the roads with thousands of police cars and police buses, went to Chairman Ekrem's house, took him from his house into custody, and took him to Vatan Police Headquarters. From here, from here, from here, I remind Mr. Erdoğan once again. From Yozgat Square: "You were also tried with various accusations when you were the Mayor of Istanbul. Your statement was taken many times. There was no bribery left, no malfeasance, no bid rigging, no support for terrorist organizations." Even in those days, while we found what was done then to be wrong, I am addressing Erdoğan, who today makes Chairman Ekrem do one by one what was done to him then:

"YOU ARE THE OPPRESSOR OF TODAY"

You were tried dozens of times during your tenure. Well, did the police ever come to your house in the morning? Did they surround your door at dawn, take you from in front of your wife and children, take you by the arm, and take you to the police station? You were tried, you received a sentence, but no one touched you from your duty until the sentence was approved by the Court of Cassation. Even on that day, you were sent off to serve your sentence by holding a rally in Saraçhane, by speaking from such a bus, with drums and zurnas. You stayed for three months and got out, you founded your party. The nation saw even what was done to you as injustice and victimization, and brought you to power. Today, you are doing a thousand times more of what was done to you. Forget the first instance. Forget the appeal. Forget the approval in the Court of Cassation. All of them were waited for in your case. Even before there is an indictment, you are trying to arrest, appoint a trustee, and bring someone who was not elected in his place. You are the victim of the past, you are the oppressor of today, Erdoğan, you are an oppressor.

"WE WILL BY GOD AND BY BILLAH PUT A STICK IN THE WHEEL OF THIS ORDER"

From here, I am addressing Erdoğan. I am saying it while looking into your eyes, while looking into your eyes. What you are doing is not bravery. What you are doing is not manliness. What you are doing is cowardice, cowardice, cowardice. Inside the AK Party, there are also people of common sense who say that this arrest is melting the party, that this arrest is gathering the reaction of the nation, not the appreciation, that this arrest has no benefit to Turkey, that it also ruins the economy, and that it will take Turkey to much worse days. I hope their voice is heard. I hope their mind prevails. Otherwise, what is being done today is facing taking Turkey to a disaster. That is why this square is valuable. That is why it is valuable that Yozgat, which warned Erdoğan in the March 31 elections, resists the March 19 coup. Our nation has repelled this coup in such squares. The conscience of the nation has not agreed to what is being done, and will not agree. Now, in front of us, there is a junta left behind by the failed coup attempt. We must all together give the harshest answer to this understanding that targets our unity and solidarity and tries to disturb our peace. They are shooting bullets at our economy and eyeing the nation's bread. They are leaving retirees, farmers, workers, and civil servants in a difficult situation and further increasing the anxiety of our youth about the future. And they are telling us: "We have established an order. The order is going. Do not put a stick in the wheel of this order." If there is injustice in your order, if there is unfairness in your order, if there is corruption in your order, if there is risking everything not to leave power in your order, we will by God and by Billah put a stick in the wheel of that order, we will put a stick, we will put a stick.

"THEY PUT YOZGAT BETWEEN ZIMBABWE"

And from here, and from here I am addressing. I am addressing the businessmen, the rich, the capitalists of this country. Never, ever think like this: "The Republican People's Party will come, the CHP is the friend of the worker, the CHP is the friend of the retiree, the CHP is the enemy of the rich, of capital." It is true that we are worker-friendly. It is true that we are retiree-friendly. It is true that we are on the side of the poor, the needy, and that we see the farmer as the master of the nation. However, because we will not trample on the law like this government but will crown it, because we will re-establish the separation of powers, because we will walk towards the European Union on the path shown by Atatürk and bring Turkey together with real democracy, the capital that is fleeing today will also come, the investments that are not coming will also come. Turkey's risk premium will not be in the 300s or 400s as it is today, but will fall below 50s as it should be. You will not have trouble when borrowing or finding a partner, and capital will earn more, production will be more, companies will earn more under the CHP government. But the difference from today is that the money earned will be shared with a fair tax system, poverty will end, and both the worker and the boss will smile at the same time. In Europe, in the countries of the world where the rule of law prevails, there is no poor worker. Forget being below the hunger line, today the hunger line is 25, the minimum wage is 22. On the contrary, there is no minimum wage below the poverty line. Today the poverty line is 70,000. That is why the tomorrows where both the businessman will earn, the minimum wage earner will smile, and the retiree will receive a pension of at least one minimum wage are in our government. Those days are very close. These coup plotters broke the back of our economy, which was already in trouble. They had to sell nearly 30 billion in reserves from the Central Bank in one day. The total reserve burned to date is 50 billion dollars, and they caused the stock market to lose 31.5 billion dollars in value. Foreign investors fled, Turkey's risk premium rose to 371, and yesterday, the day before yesterday, actually if things went normally, the interest rate, which should have fallen by 2.5 basis points, had to be increased by 3.5 points, let alone being lowered. So, such a thing happened that the equivalent of what they did to Ekrem İmamoğlu was a 6-point interest rate hike. Economies in the world are ranked from A to Z. We know the richest countries, the most prosperous countries. We know the Scandinavian countries, the European Union countries, America, Canada. When lined up from A to Z, at the very end are Zimbabwe and Venezuela. As of yesterday, the highest interest rate in the world, you know Erdoğan is against interest, you know interest is not a result but a cause, you know there is Nas, Erdoğan's Turkey brought Turkey to 48-46% interest, and the last three letters of the alphabet are V, Y, Z. Unfortunately, the highest interest is in Venezuela, Yozgat, and Zimbabwe. Shame on those who put Yozgat between Venezuela and Zimbabwe. The highest unemployment data of the last 10 years has arrived. Broad-based unemployment is 30% among adults and 40% among youth. The 50 billion dollars sold from the Central Bank, that is 1.9 trillion liras, is exactly 680 times the 2025 budget of Yozgat, of the Yozgat Municipality. Yozgat residents, add up all the services this municipality has done for you for 365 days, add up all the work it has done, they burned 680 times that amount because they put Chairman Ekrem inside. Another equivalent of the money they burned is this: We are burning electricity in 81 provinces, not just Yozgat. Not for one night, not for one week, not for one month, not for one year, they burned the money for all the electricity consumed by all of Turkey in 7 years in one day, they burned it in one day, they burned it with one wrong decision.

"THEY STOLE 24 THOUSAND LIRAS FROM OUR POCKETS"

Retirees, he gives you a pension of 14,500 liras, right? And we say increase this to the minimum wage, right? They said the cost of increasing the pension to the minimum wage is 100 billion liras and they said we cannot give this money. The total amount created by the work they did to Chairman Ekrem is exactly 19 times the money that would be given to the retiree, not the one given, but the one that would be given if the minimum wage was given. In other words, they found 19 times that money, 1.9 trillion liras, to put Chairman Ekrem inside and compensate for the damage this created, which they did not find 100 billion for the retiree. Finally, because of what kind of money this is, we are all 86 million people, right? If you divide this money by 86 million, if you go out and distribute it one by one, if you distribute it to everyone from this Ziraat Bank, Halk Bank, Vakıfbank, it makes 24,000 liras per person. 24,000 liras could have entered each of your pockets. In other words, with this operation, they took 24,000 liras from each of our pockets, they stole it. Shame on them.

"WE WILL NEVER SURRENDER"

What does 1.9 trillion mean? Isn't the biggest problem today the farmers? Isn't it those who deal with agriculture? Let the farmers in Turkey, in the square, raise one hand so I can see. Oh oh oh oh oh! If you went tomorrow morning and closed all the debt of the farmers, of all the farmers in Turkey, to the banks with interest, it is 1 trillion liras. And if you gave 1 trillion liras to the farmers today, it is not even half of the money burned. It is not even half of the money burned. So, if you closed all the debts of all the farmers with 1 trillion and divided the remaining money, you are giving 412,000 liras to each farmer. He spent enough money to finish all the debts of all the farmers and give 400,000 liras on top of it just to eliminate his rival, to smear his rival, to get rid of Ekrem İmamoğlu. This is what has happened so far. May God protect the country from what comes after this. I am calling out once again: Come to your senses. Release Chairman Ekrem, our friends. Do a trial without arrest. And broadcast the trial live on TRT. Why do I want this, why does Chairman Ekrem want this? For this: My Yozgat brother, my Yozgat mother, think like this. They slandered your spouse, they slandered your child, they slandered your own honor, and a rumor is circulating around. You make your voice heard to whoever you can, he tells that lie on TRT, he has that lie served by the Anadolu Agency, he makes that slander talked about on all his pro-government channels. For this, for this, Chairman Ekrem, all our mayors, all our imprisoned friends say: "These are lies, these are slanders. The answer is here, my honor is here. I want to clear my honor, repel the slander, and clear myself. Let them ask the lie on television, and let them get the answer on TRT. We trust ourselves. We vouch for Chairman Ekrem's honor as much as our own honor." Clear and net, clear and net. Every coup has a junta. This coup also has a junta. Every junta has a headquarters. The headquarters of this junta is the palace in Beştepe. Every junta has weapons. Its weapon is the judiciary it has made pro-government, and every weapon has ammunition. The weapon, the ammunition of this judiciary is lies, is slander. With all our respect for honest judges, honest prosecutors, we will not surrender to these slanderers, to these liars. We will never surrender.

He lost his plum, cherry, apricot, sugar beet. In this frost disaster, all products from walnut to grape, from apple to beet, from hazelnut to tea, from olive to citrus were damaged all over the country. Farmers waited. They waited for support, for a good voice. But unfortunately, instead of seeing the compassionate hand of the state, Erdoğan said, "Problems are seen in some fruits in a few regions. They are making manipulations to spread fear." They never, ever made a sound about declaring a disaster area or the demand for covering the damages. They targeted TARSİM. However, however, one out of five fields has TARSİM, four do not, and unfortunately, Tayyip Erdoğan does not hear them. Unfortunately, the frost is not only in the air, Tayyip Erdoğan's conscience is also frozen, his heart is also frozen. We will not leave our farmers to their fate. We advocate for the rapid, rapid, rapid determination of damages, for the damages of those with TARSİM to be covered by TARSİM, and those without to be covered by the treasury, for the state to take ownership of our farmers, and we express the same expectation for what comes after this. Before the rain comes, taking advantage of Chairman Ekrem being inside, those who said "We don't have anything like Kanal Istanbul" when asked before the election to keep the promise he made to the Qataris, that is, those who knew that the Istanbulite did not want a canal and lied, quickly entered the Kanal Istanbul Project. They removed Sazlıdere, from which Istanbul drinks water, from being a water source. They opened its surroundings to zoning. They invited dozens of contractor firms and hurriedly started the construction of 24,000 residences. What did Chairman Ekrem say while winning Istanbul? "Either canal or Istanbul." The Istanbulites had preferred Istanbul's future, Chairman Ekrem, not the canal. Even though the guardian of Istanbul is currently lying in Silivri, he continues to protect Istanbul, to take ownership of Istanbul. From here, we, together with our Chairman Ekrem, say: "We will not let that canal, which the Istanbulite does not want, be built. We will not let a dagger be struck into Istanbul."

"WHILE TRUMP IS COLLAPSING ON GAZA, ERDOĞAN IS SILENT"

On one hand, on one hand, there is a great destruction in Gaza. We have been on the side of Palestine and against Israel since the friendship of Bülent Ecevit and Yaser Arafat, and the solidarity of Deniz Gezmiş and his friends with Palestine. Erdoğan, who exploited the Palestinian cause throughout his life, is now silent in front of Trump. That Trump is planning to empty Gaza, build hotels there, build casinos, settle there, and collapse on the hydrocarbon natural gas deposits in front of it in the sea, and he is talking to Erdoğan while looking into his eyes about sending Palestinians to other Arab countries, sending them to Turkey, implementing deportation there, and collapsing on Gaza. Erdoğan, who is supposed to protect Palestine, stands silent. Let us say this from here: I congratulate the line of the New Welfare, the line of the Felicity Party, and the line of other opposition parties, and I curse Erdoğan's line, I curse it.

"ERDOĞAN, WITH WHAT KIND OF BARGAINING ARE YOU GIVING UP OUR RIGHTS IN THE AEGEAN"

Another issue, this government's foreign policy has collapsed. Unfortunately, we have our dear Azerbaijan and Turkic republics, with whom we are like flesh and nail. But this government has not been able to maintain healthy relations there either. On April 4, EU countries met with Turkic republics in Samarkand, recognized Southern Cyprus, and rejected the existence of Northern Cyprus. The opening of embassies in Southern Cyprus by Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan is the bankruptcy of the Republic of Turkey's foreign policy. I say clearly and net, the foreign policy that the government conducts with heroism has gone bankrupt in the period we are in. I ask, how did you bring things to this point? You established this Organization of Turkic States, and how is it that those we have been waiting for years to recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus are recognizing Southern Cyprus? We will never remain silent about this great disaster. I ask Erdoğan, with what kind of bargaining are you giving up our rights in the Aegean? You are giving up on Cyprus, you are giving up on Palestine. What are you doing with Trump that you are unfairly selling the interests of this country? Shame on you, shame on you.

FARMER SPOKE | 14:26

The Yozgat farmer, who was fined administratively for participating in the protest for İmamoğlu, addressed the citizens: We will not allow injustice

I am addressing you as a farmer who sets an example for you, who seeks his rights, and who does not let his rights be eaten. We want justice in democracy. As farmers, we will not allow corruption, lawlessness, and injustice. Look, I am calling out from here. I thank the Republic of Turkey, the Chairman of the People's Party Özgür Özel, and our Presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu from here. We will not let him stay inside, we will not let him, we will be saved.

We will come to power. I made this interview as a farmer. They wrote me a 1 million lira fine. If you don't write 100 million more, you are not a man.

I am addressing the farmers who do not seek their rights. I am addressing the farmers who do not follow the value of their goods. As long as this order goes on like this, we will not be able to get rid of hunger, misery, and incompetence. We will destroy this order, we will destroy it, we will destroy it. I recommend this, this. A person, a person who manages the state, the state is not managed with radish and turnip.

It is managed with your justice, it is managed with your law, and when their time comes, we will ask them for the account. I am a farmer, a farmer. I am a farmer who works for justice, who works for the nation. I promise you it will be very beautiful, it will be very beautiful, it will be very beautiful. I greet you all with respect and love.

İMAMOĞLU'S MESSAGE WAS READ | 14:13

The message of IMM Mayor and Presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu to the Yozgat residents was read in the rally area:

For a month, we have been in a great struggle together. Millions of our citizens all over Anatolia are warning the government. They are inviting it to the right path. The rich and the poor, the rightist, the leftist, the middle-of-the-roader, all want the same thing from the government. Listen to the nation, show respect to the nation, do not go outside of democracy, do not damage trust in the state and the law.

This is the demand of the nation and it has no patience left. The nation did not come to this point in one day. Because of the government's wrong and malicious economic policies, the state of the low-income people has been miserable for years. But the government did not care at all.

Yozgat's tractors have been planting trouble and harvesting debt for years. But the government never heard. Despite all the troubles our nation has experienced, it was patiently waiting for the ballot box to come in front of it.

But the government destroyed trust in the state and the law in a few hours on March 19. The government dealt a great blow to democracy and the nation's will in a few hours.

In the evening, they had my 30-year diploma canceled by an unauthorized board. In the morning, they took me and my friends into custody and arrested us. They thought they would throw me into the dungeon and quarantine the upcoming election with a completely politically motivated case prepared with the false statements of secret witnesses, without proof, without evidence. Those who could not dare to face me bravely in front of the nation tried to hide behind the judiciary and play the fake wrestler.

At the end of their quarter-century of power, they calculated that no one would make a sound because they had become unable to value or respect the nation. But the nation stood up and ruined all their calculations. Our nation showed that taking ownership of democracy and justice is a national issue above parties. Let those who still cannot see this, who do not understand, look well at Yozgat.

Let no one see Yozgat as their own stronghold. Yozgat is not the stronghold of this or that party, this or that person, it is the stronghold of the republic. It is the stronghold of democracy. It is the stronghold of national sovereignty.

I thank all the Yozgat residents who take a stand for democracy and justice very much. I thank the valuable farmers of our Yozgat, who have become one of the symbols of the struggle for democracy and justice with their actions, very much. They are now planting trouble with their tractors

Let them no longer plant trouble and harvest debt with their tractors. They set out so that they can plant democracy and harvest justice. May they be well, may they exist. The life of this government, which cannot enter the hearts of the nation with its actions and services and cannot give hope for the future, has expired. This government, which ignores democracy and the law, has no legitimacy left. Turkey cannot continue on its way in this state. The economy cannot be managed with this government that tries to protect its seat by resorting to force and pressure and by eliminating its rival through illegal means. The peace and prosperity of the nation cannot be ensured.

With such a government, Turkey cannot be a strong and effective country in the world. It cannot defend its rights. If it continues like this, we will wake up to greater troubles and greater disasters every day from now on. The conditions our country is in are very difficult.

It is very critical, but its solution is just as simple. The nation's arbitration is the cure for every trouble. The ballot box comes, what the nation says happens, everyone gets their measure, and we open a brand new, clean page as a nation. If the government takes an early election decision today, the deterioration in the economy will start to stop tomorrow. Social unrest will decrease. Every government that comes to power with the will of the nation as a result of a free and fair election is a great gain for Turkey. Every government that runs away from the nation's arbitration is a great loss and destruction for Turkey. That is why I invite all our citizens who voted for the AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party to support the early election demand. The nation is great and it makes the final decision.

We will continue our struggle for democracy and justice to the end with the strength we receive from the nation. We will never give up walking in the footsteps of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who said sovereignty belongs unconditionally to the nation.

Just as we united and succeeded in the most difficult conditions throughout history, we will succeed again. We will succeed together. We will succeed with the power of 86 million, with the brotherhood of 86 million. We will establish the government of justice together. We will ensure justice in production and consumption. We will ensure justice in income and taxes. We will ensure justice in education and health. We will ensure justice in the street and in the court. Because justice is the greatest blessing. It is the greatest virtue. Justice is the greatest, the most powerful, the greatest wealth. Justice will come. Everything will be very beautiful. May our path be open. Stay healthy. Ekrem İmamoğlu, Silivri Prison.

ÖZEL ENTERED THE RALLY AREA BY TRACTOR | 14:05

CHP Leader Özgür Özel entered the rally area by tractor.

ÖZEL IS GOING TO THE RALLY AREA BY GREETING THE CITIZENS | 13:50

Özel, who got behind the wheel of the tractor, is going to the rally area with a huge convoy.

ÖZEL GOT ON THE TRACTOR | 13:45

Özgür Özel will enter the rally area by tractor. Özel got on the tractor at the very front of the convoy consisting of hundreds of tractors. Özel started to go to the rally area 6 kilometers away by tractor.

After catching and putting on the cap thrown at him in the air, Özel made a short statement. Özel spoke as follows:

They were surprised. However, Yozgat is not a place like everyone knows. In Yozgat, the knife is at the bone. In Yozgat, the nation is fed up with life. And the Yozgat farmers took their tractors. 100 tractors, 200 tractors poured onto the roads. It made a big sound in Turkey, but of course, the bad mind that manages Turkey, instead of saying "What is your problem, let's solve it" to these people, went and fined them. I and Chairman Ekrem symbolically covered those fines, but the real support is not by paying the fine, but by coming here and being with them. I talked to a friend on the phone. "Come here," he said. "Let's hold a rally," he said. We responded to that call. Of course, the symbol of Yozgat's reaction is the tractor. We had used it in Hayrabolu in the past. My childhood was already spent on a tractor. Now we are going to the rally area all together with a tractor convoy. To make Yozgat's voice heard in Turkey, to make Yozgat's support for Chairman Ekrem heard.

WHOEVER GRABBED THEIR TRACTOR CAME | 13:10

Participation in the CHP's rally has also begun. Farmers who grabbed their tractors have started to come to the rally area.

The farmers formed a convoy with their tractors. The end of the convoy could not be seen.

News Source: 12punto