Tens of thousands gather in Tekirdağ for İmamoğlu! Özel's 'early election' call: 'You cannot crush the nation like an ant'

Tekirdağ became the 11th stop for the "Standing Up for the National Will" rallies organized by the CHP to protest the imprisonment of the CHP's Presidential Candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and to demand an early election.

Tens of thousands gathered at the Süleymanpaşa Republic Square for the rally and listened to Ekrem İmamoğlu's letter.

Starting his remarks by greeting and thanking the people of Tekirdağ, Ekrem İmamoğlu said, "In this personalized, so-called legal order, no one who is not directly connected to the government feels safe."

İmamoğlu stated, "They are trying to take not only me and my colleagues hostage through the so-called judiciary. We will not bow down to their fears or their games."

“THEY HAVE BEEN PLOTTING VARIOUS CONSPIRACIES SINCE THE MARCH 19 COUP”

İmamoğlu's letter is as follows:

“Hello Tekirdağ. Greetings to the women, the youth, the workers, the retirees, the farmers, the tradespeople, the fertile lands of Tekirdağ, the industry growing with sweat, and everyone who believes in the future of this beautiful country. Today, Turkey is at a turning point. Either we will turn our direction toward democracy, law, and equal opportunity and look to the future with hope, or we will continue to drift into the insecurity created by this mindset that increases its oppression with every passing day. Today, the thing most trampled upon in Turkey is the sense of justice. Seeking rights is portrayed as a crime, and defending one's rights as a threat. People see that courts do not act according to the written rules and principles before them, but according to the individual. In this personalized, so-called legal order, no one who is not directly connected to the government can feel safe.

Yet, a country can only survive through law, trust, and conscience. And justice is necessary not only in courts; but in the factory, the port, the school, the organized industrial zones, the village, the neighborhood; that is, right in the middle of life. We embarked on this march so that our nation could attain the honorable life, prosperity, and justice it deserves. We embarked on it by taking our nation with us. However, they have been plotting various conspiracies since the March 19 coup to block this march. Through the so-called judiciary, they are trying to take not only me and my esteemed colleagues hostage, but all of Turkey. Know that they can neither intimidate us nor our nation. We will not bow down to their fears or their games.

In this struggle, like every corner of our country, Tekirdağ has great importance. Because Tekirdağ is not just a city; with its industry, agriculture, ports, and railways, it is our gateway to Europe; it is the city of production, labor, and diligence. But despite all this potential, this wealth does not return to the people of Tekirdağ as prosperity. Thousands of people in Çorlu and Çerkezköy are struggling to make ends meet while working three shifts. Retirees in Süleymanpaşa cannot make it to the end of the month. In Hayrabolu and Malkara, villages are aging, and the youth are migrating. Women are highly educated but unemployed. The number of young people going to university is below the Turkey average.

This picture is not destiny; it is the result of the wrong policies and unjust management followed for years by a handful of ambitious people who think of their own survival, not Turkey's. We are determined to reverse this trend. We look at Tekirdağ and all the districts of Thrace with a holistic development vision. We aim for a transformation that covers every point from organized industrial zones to rural neighborhoods, from universities to ports. We will build a Tekirdağ where young people can find jobs, women are equally present in every area of life, and neither the villager nor the city dweller feels excluded.

For this, we need a new management approach, a politics that walks hand in hand with our nation, and a strong spirit of solidarity. Just as we have been resisting this conspiracy together since the March 19 coup, when we emerge from this trap tomorrow and rebuild democracy, we will make every decision together and lift every stone together. And this togetherness will take us running toward hopeful tomorrows. In this race, we will reach out to those who fall behind or stumble; we will leave no one behind. We will not let them take our stubbornness, our courage, and our hope from us. Until everything is very beautiful; until that day, the struggle continues.”

ÖZEL'S EARLY ELECTION OUTBURST! 'THOSE WHO DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE NATION'S TROUBLES...'

Republican People's Party Chairman Özgür Özel attended the Standing Up for the National Will Rally held in Tekirdağ. Speaking there, Republican People's Party Leader Özel said, “We; the members of the Republican People's Party, are proud of you; of Tekirdağ, of these beautiful people who have the love of country, nation, flag, and Atatürk in their hearts, and of this beautiful city. I thank each and every one of you for the effort you put into this beautiful rally, in the person of our District Chairman Ali Engin, to our entire district organization; in the person of our Provincial Chairman Levent Gündoğdu, to our entire provincial organization; to the hardworking Mayor of this beautiful district, Volkan Nallar; to my only sister, my colleague from Parliament, our Metropolitan Mayor Candan Yüceer; to Tekirdağ's three precious and hardworking deputies, Nurten Yontar and Faik Öztrak; and to my only brother, my dear friend whom I love very much, who provides the labor for our struggle and work today, İlhami Özcan. Beautiful Tekirdağ, growing in the embrace of blue and green, the first stop for those coming from outside, the last point of farewell for those going to the Balkans. Greetings to the beautiful city of my only grandmother's relatives from Thessaloniki, to the beautiful people of the Balkans, and to my dear relatives. Welcome, you have honored us.”

Özel said the following:

“THEY ARE BLINDED BY ARROGANCE AND ARE ATTEMPTING TO CRUSH THE NATION”

“I listened from inside a moment ago. They emphasized three Kemals; Yahya Kemal, Namık Kemal, and Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. After the March 19 coup, we first resisted together for seven days and seven nights in Saraçhane. Then we crossed the bridge and said goodbye to Istanbul in Maltepe, and said 'hello' to Anatolia. Since that day, we have met with such crowds in different, important cities in Anatolia; sometimes in Yozgat and Konya, which they call the 'strongholds of the AK Party,' sometimes in geographies where the Republican People's Party is weakest, and sometimes in cities known as the stronghold of the Republican People's Party, like Tekirdağ. Today is the 28th major rally since then; we are in these squares where we raise our voices, object, and hold rallies, but actually come to take action—11 in provinces, seven in Saraçhane, one in Maltepe, and every Wednesday evening in a district of Istanbul. In every square; in Yozgat, Van, Mersin, and Konya, I say one thing: The politics of strongholds is over. The politics of 'his stronghold, her stronghold' has ended. Yozgat, Van, İzmir, Mersin, Konya, and Tekirdağ are no longer anyone's; they are the nation's stronghold. Dear people of Tekirdağ, we are now facing a government that does not care about the nation's troubles. Their only concern is not to leave the seats they occupy, to ensure the continuation of their government, and never to fall from power. Yet, democracy is not a regime shaped and determined by what one does when they come to power. In democracies, they don't look at what you do when you arrive. They don't look at what you do when you win; that's easy. What matters is what you do when you lose. We are facing a government that has come out first in the elections it has entered for 23 years, that cannot do what the country's founding party did when it first lost elections back in the 1950s, that has lost an election once after 23 years, that cannot digest this, that has left no evil undone for this, that runs from the ballot box, and that is afraid of the nation. Because it only thinks of itself, it no longer thinks of Tekirdağ. It does not think of the farmer. They are blinded by arrogance. They look at the nation from above from glass towers, ornate mansions, and ivory towers. They see you as ants from those ivory towers they are in, and they are attempting to crush you. I am calling out to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from here: You cannot crush the nation like an ant. The ant has a brother. And that is the Republican People's Party.

They are ignoring Tekirdağ. 10 cities pay 87 percent of the total tax in Turkey. Tekirdağ is one of them. Tekirdağ paid exactly 75 billion liras in taxes last year. But in the same year, this government allocated only 17 billion liras in appropriations to Tekirdağ; it provided 17 billion liras in services. In other words, we are facing a government that takes with a shovel while taking from Tekirdağ, which gives five and receives one, and sees even a teaspoon as too much when giving to Tekirdağ. Tekirdağ is in need of a drop of water. Only 5 percent of agricultural lands can be irrigated. Dams and ponds are insufficient. We have all seen that those who put only a thousand liras, that is, a thousand liras as a trace appropriation, for the Ahmedikli Pond, which requires 112 million liras, and a thousand liras for the Emiryakup Pond, which requires 117 million liras, and who left only 2 thousand liras in trace appropriations for Tekirdağ's water problem in these lands where water used to come out from 10 meters and now comes out from 500 meters, no longer have any trace in Tekirdağ, and that they have no face to come to Tekirdağ and look at you. Turkey has seen it now. Erdoğan came to these squares in 2011. He came to Tekirdağ, he came to Ergene. He said, 'Just as we cleaned the Golden Horn, we will clean the Ergene in the same way.' Look, here is the promise of a crystal-clear Ergene that Erdoğan gave you since that day. Here is the respect Erdoğan showed to Ergene, this is the response to the promise he gave. This is the face of those in Ergene who deceived them 14 years ago by saying 'We will swim, we will do water sports.' This is the point those who deceived Ergene have brought Ergene to. I entrust this to your deputies. They never forget, they never let it be forgotten. But the one who will clean the Ergene and the one who will clean Turkish politics is none other than the Republican People's Party. There has been a pit and a sign in place of the Ergene State Hospital for five years. The only investment Tekirdağ wants, but the only thing it sees is ingratitude. The 60 billion dollars sold by the Central Bank on March 19 is more than 30 times all the investments Tekirdağ needs. For this reason, we will all hold those who could not find money for Tekirdağ but spent 30 times that amount for the coup against Mayor Ekrem to account together.”

“THE FARMER IS IN A MISERABLE STATE; CANNOT BUY BREAD WITH A KILO OF WHEAT”

“If there is no farmer in this country, there is no bread. The farmer of Tekirdağ is in a miserable state. In 23 years, our number of farmers has decreased by 500 thousand. When this government came to power, we had 2.8 million farmers. Our population has increased by 20 million to date. However, instead of increasing by 500 thousand, the number of farmers has decreased by 500 thousand. During this government's term, 1 million farmers who should have been there are missing. Unfortunately, when this government came to power, the average age of farmers was in their 30s, now the average farmer age is 58. When young farmers are asked next year, three out of four young farmers say, 'If I find a job with minimum wage, I will never enter the field again. I won't plant, I won't sow.' While Turkey was one of the countries that could sustain itself, today agriculture and animal husbandry have turned into a state where there is no one left who wants to do this profession, those who stay regret it, they are drowning in debt, and their children are settling for minimum wage and fleeing from here. Let me summarize the situation regarding farmers by telling you the last thing I will say from the beginning. Of course, that ballot box will come. Along with that ballot box, we will have a new President. That President will not be one who says to the farmer and the villager, 'Take your mother and go,' like the last one; he will be someone who says, 'The villager is the master of the nation,' like the first one. Today, Turkey is the European country with the highest food inflation. The average food inflation in all of Europe is 3 percent per year. However, it is 33 percent in Turkey. Such a country. A country that should have plenty of abundance and fertility is struggling with 33 percent food inflation. Last year, on a rainy, fertile day, we held a rally together in our Hayrabolu regarding wheat prices. Last year, the wheat price was announced as 9 liras and 25 kuruş. Very great difficulties were experienced along with the 1.5 lira supplement. For this year, a wheat price of at least 16.5 liras was needed. But unfortunately, they gave a price of 13.5 liras for wheat. Despite the costs increasing so much—diesel costs, fertilizer costs, labor costs—they left the price they gave as 9 liras and 25 kuruş last year at 13.5 liras and left the wheat producer in misery. Look, I have wheat here that is 13.5 liras per kilo. You sell this wheat, which is 13.5 liras per kilo. By selling one kilo of wheat, you cannot even buy a 250-gram loaf of bread as a result. Shame on this government that does not allow one to buy a loaf of bread with a kilo of wheat. From time to time, they criticize Faik Bey unfairly, and I say, 'You put this country into a crisis, Faik Bey will get it out.' We have entrusted the bread, your bread, to Faik Bey. We are entrusting the seeds of our government to Ms. Nurten. Faik Bey, if this bread is to grow, you will grow it.”

“TURKEY BECAME THE WORLD CHAMPION IN CATTLE IMPORTS”

“Drought and frost disaster hit the producer in Tekirdağ. The losses experienced in wheat, grapes, and sugar beets have pushed the farmers in this country to the limit. Unfortunately, this government is extremely reluctant to cover the losses. We are calling out to the government from here. One does not become a government like this. One does not govern like this. When there is so much damage, farmers and villagers are not left alone like this. Step aside; let the friends of farmers, villagers, and those engaged in animal husbandry come. Let the people's party, the Republican People's Party, come. Let the nation take a breath of relief. Tekirdağ has many troubles. The producers of Tekirdağ work very hard, they break many records. They break records in yield, they break records in harvest. But unfortunately, the days when those records were broken, when a lot of money was earned, when the livelihood was good, when tractors were renewed, fields were bought, and weddings were held for three nights and four days are unfortunately far behind. But we promise you all from here that; we will bring those days back, I swear we will bring them back. I swear we will bring them back. Unfortunately, Turkey became the world champion in cattle imports from abroad this year. A total of 8 billion dollars was paid for live animal imports in 10 years. If a breeder buys a calf from Uruguay and sells it, they earn 6 thousand liras. 6 thousand liras. But when they feed and raise it themselves, they lost 36 thousand liras this year. Those who call themselves local and national gave the world's money to what the Uruguayan farmer produced and caused our own local, national producer who sheds their sweat to lose money. Whether they are engaged in animal husbandry, livestock breeding, dairy farming, wheat production, cotton, tea, or citrus. I am calling out to farmers all over Turkey: This government is your enemy, your friend is the Republican People's Party. We are coming to make you smile.”

“THE SOLE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS CRISIS IS ERDOĞAN”

“Today, the farmer produces but cannot earn. The minimum wage earner and the retiree cannot buy what the farmer produces. On one side, there are those who add wealth to their wealth, and on the other, there are those who become poorer every day. We are experiencing the greatest income inequality in Turkey's history. For years, there were crises always remembered by those years. Remember the '94 crisis, the 2001 crisis, the 2008 crisis. These crises would be overcome and pass in that year, or at most the following year. However, Turkey has entered a crisis since 2018 and cannot get out. Because the crisis has nothing to do with the year. The crisis has to do with the system that was brought in. This crisis has one person responsible. The one who says 'I know everything,' the one who says 'I am an economist,' the one who says 'I know foreign policy,' the one who lectures the farmer and the producer, the one who picks fights with everyone, the one who looks down from above, the single man, the single man Erdoğan. He is the sole responsible for this crisis. That is why, in order to get rid of the lost years Turkey is in, to be able to look to the future with hope, to be able to pay off your debt when you produce and sell your wheat, not to remain in debt, not to be crushed under interest, to earn money from the milk you produce, to earn money from livestock breeding, to earn money when you produce sunflower, this government must change, it is a must to change. For this, we are calling out with one voice from here: Hey Erdoğan, Hey Erdoğan. I am the people. I am the national will. Leave my candidate, bring the ballot box. I want to see my candidate by my side and the ballot box in front of me. The ballot box will come, this government will go. And the President will be Ekrem İmamoğlu.”

“HE TALKED ABOUT DIESEL, A LOSS OF 55 LITERS WAS EXPERIENCED IN FIVE DAYS”

“Look at who benefits the most from this government leaving? In 2002, a minimum wage earner was buying 7 quarter gold coins with the minimum wage they received. Today, a minimum wage earner can only buy 3 quarter gold coins with the minimum wage they receive. Every minimum wage earner is at a loss of 4 quarter gold coins every month. Again, when this government came to power, every retiree, the retiree receiving the lowest pension, was buying 8 quarter gold coins. Today, the lowest pension buys 2 quarter gold coins. 8 before this government, 2 quarter gold coins during this government's term. No soul can endure this loss. When I calculate the gold, Erdoğan sometimes says, 'Leave the gold calculation.' Let's leave it. We are here. We are in Tekirdağ. We are in the homeland of sunflower and sunflower oil. I only looked at one year. One year. A five-liter tin of sunflower oil was 295 liras last year, it has become 450 liras this year. It received a 52 percent raise. Last year, a minimum wage earner could buy 58 liters of sunflower oil with their minimum wage, while this year they can buy 49 liters. Again, with the same calculation, last year a retiree could buy 42 liters of sunflower oil with their pension, while this year they can buy 32 liters. There is a loss of 9 liters for the minimum wage earner and 10 liters for the retiree. Hey minimum wage earners, hey retirees, a thief has infested your home, your kitchen. They are stealing your quarter gold coins, the oil from your table, your bread, your milk, your labor. Do not let these thieves pass from now on. Send this government away, save both the bread and your labor. Last week, diesel reached 50 liras for the first time. When diesel reached 50 liras, I said at the group meeting, 'Look, there used to be a situation like this. There was a raise in diesel, we were complaining about it. Someone would defend the AK Party and say, 'It doesn't matter, I already buy 50 liras worth of diesel.'' Look, since that day, Tayyip Erdoğan had hit the minimum wage to diesel and said, 'It buys 445 liters of diesel.' Since that day, the diesel that can be bought has fallen to 390 liters. A loss of 55 liters of diesel in five days, here is your 50 liras worth of diesel. We can show those who say 'I buy 50 liras worth of diesel' their loss in one week once again. Shame on those who brought the country to this state, those who brought the farmers to this state. We will hold them accountable for this all together.”

“YOU ARE DOING THE MATH, BUT IS THERE ANYONE WHO CAN BUY A CAR ANYMORE?”

“Today in Tekirdağ, we got on a combine harvester and harvested wheat. They said, 'What math are you going to do in Tekirdağ?' I said, 'We will talk about gold, we will talk about diesel, we will talk about sunflower oil.' A relative of mine said, 'Do a car calculation, come on,' he said. I said, 'How are we going to do a car calculation?' He said, 'Tayyip Bey says the car's tank fills for this much, it fills for that much. Is there anyone who can buy a car anymore? Do a car calculation.' He did it himself, he said it. I looked, I was surprised. He did such a calculation that he did a calculation from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania. 'The most suitable car is Renault Clio,' he says. 'Don't go too far,' he says, 'This is Greece,' he says. He says, 'In Greece, a minimum wage earner buys a brand-new Renault Clio after working for 20 months. In Bulgaria, after working for 35 months, 35 minimum wages buy a new Renault Clio. In Romania, further away, you buy a Renault Clio after working for 21 months. In Germany, Hans buys a Renault Clio when he gives his eight-month salary. Hans buys it in 8 months, our Hasan brother from Tekirdağ buys a Renault Clio after working for 67 months. 67 months. Tayyip Bey, in Germany eight minimum wages buy a car, in Turkey 67 minimum wages buy a car. You are still doing the math on how much a minimum wage earner fills the car's tank. A government that cheapens labor so much in Turkey, that exploits labor so much, that exploits the sweat of the minimum wage earner and the laborer so much has not come, and will not come after this. We will send them away, we will bring those who know the value of sweat.”

“WE ARE FIGHTING FOR AN INTERIM RAISE”

“Finally, I would like to say this regarding the economy. We started from Bursa. We are making the same call from all over Turkey. Before the last elections, Tayyip Erdoğan, who said 'Let's raise the minimum wage four times a year' to get votes, did not make any interim raises last year. The pension, on the other hand, remained at 14,500 liras, almost half of the hunger threshold. In July, we are waging a great struggle both for a flat raise for retirees and for an interim raise for the minimum wage. For this, laborers are raising their voices with us from square to square, starting from Bursa, saying 'An interim raise is our right, we will take it by force.' Is Tekirdağ ready now? An interim raise is our right, we will take it by force. It happened, but it didn't suit our Tekirdağ. I believed that a voice would come out of Tekirdağ that would break the Turkey record. This is not that voice. That's why we are calling out once again for the laborers. An interim raise is our right, we will take it by force. Good for all of us, applaud yourselves heartily now. This is what the Republican People's Party, the People's Party, means. It means caring about the troubles of the farmer, the person engaged in animal husbandry, the minimum wage earner, the retiree. It means thinking about the state of the tradesman. On one side, the children of ministers whose rights they defend, and here in this Süleyman Paşa Square, the children of the country who defend the rights of the citizens. We are proud of all of you. All of you.”

“THEY ARE MAKING A PLAN THAT WILL MAKE TURKEY LOSE BIG”

“One must read what is happening in the world very carefully, follow it very carefully. The region is insecure and fragile. We are in an age of anxiety and it is getting worse every day. The Russia-Ukraine War is right above us. Right below, there is a Syria that is said to 'go very well' but is dragged into instability. The massacres in Palestine do not end. Let alone condemning the genocide Israel is committing against Palestine; there is an American administration that encourages and appreciates it. Trump has come, pretending to be crazy and saying, 'This Gaza is beautiful. Let's build casinos here, let's build beautiful hotels here. Let the Palestinians go to other countries.' On one side genocide, on the other side deportation. But the main calculation is the hydrocarbon deposits in front of Gaza that will suffice Europe for 100 years and on which we and our Cyprus should also have a say. Various countries of the world are planning this big game together with Israel, and they are making a plan here that is very small for Turkey, which might be useful in terms of domestic politics, but which will make Turkey lose big in the medium and long term. The Republic of Turkey is against nuclear weapons and against a new war in the region. Stability did not come to any country that this America came and intervened in, democracy did not come. May God have mercy on them; if Deniz Baykal and our 22nd term deputies had not prevented it, American soldiers would have come from Mersin to go to Iraq with the March 1 memorandum and would never have left. American boots would have polluted Anatolia, occupied Iraq, and we would have been responsible for the deaths of 1.5 million Iraqis, Muslims. Since that day, there is certainly no democracy in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, or Iran, where they are now involved. It should be. Elections should be held, and the administrations to be elected by the democratic elections of these countries should govern these countries. However, those who came to these countries supposedly saying 'We will bring stability' did nothing but plunder these places, drag them into instability, shed Muslim blood, and leave instability behind. We are against this chaos. However, we have been seeing it since yesterday. Israel's attacks on Iran, B2 planes taking off from America at Israel's invitation are hitting nuclear facilities in Iran.”

“HE IS PLAYING DEAF AS IF WHAT IS HAPPENING IS HAPPENING WITHOUT TRUMP”

“While it is a fact we defend that these nuclear facilities should be inspected through negotiation, kept under control through diplomacy, and that enriched uranium should only be used in energy and not turn into an atomic bomb or nuclear weapon; while it is necessary to stand against the irresponsibility that could start both a regional war and a world war, and against a nuclear leak that could emerge right next to us, by coming from across continents in violation of international law, without allowing for diplomacy, and by following Israel's madness, the government governing the country today is having a so-called boatman's quarrel with Netanyahu, but is not opening its mouth to Trump, who spoils and backs him and who carried out the attack last night that disregarded international law, and is playing deaf as if what is happening is happening without Trump. We condemn Erdoğan and the AK Party administration, who cannot condemn Trump from here. We stand against unlawful operations right next to Turkey, nuclear leak dangers that will threaten our health, wars that will start and not end, and new economic crises that will make us all lose. We clearly state what the AK Party government does not do and cannot do; we condemn this attack carried out by the United States of America.”

“THE INTERNAL FRONT IS NOT STRENGTHENED BY FILLING PRISONS WITH JOURNALISTS”

“Of course, the internal front must be strong. But the way to strengthen the internal front is not to distance the country from democracy or to demonize the main opposition party. The internal front is not strengthened by slanders, insults, character assassination, dealing with families, applying enemy law to a political party, and seeing the opposition as an obstacle, as those who must be destroyed. The internal front is not strengthened by filling the inner courtyards of prisons with journalists, students, and dissidents. Most recently, they arrested journalist Fatih Altaylı for a sentence he said yesterday and put him in prison. They did wrong. We condemn those who arrest journalists, those who arrest students, those who arrest our mayors, our friends. We say this: You cannot strengthen the internal front by filling the inner courtyards of prisons. The strength of the internal front passes through democracy, passes through democracy, passes through democracy. The front side says 'Right, law, justice.'”

“WE ARE THE GUARANTOR OF BOTH A STRONG ECONOMY AND NATIONAL SECURITY”

“On one hand, we are calling out to those who say 'we are local, we are national,' those who show the Altay Tank when elections are coming, those who fly and land the Kaan that we are all proud of, those who buy S400s at the expense of leaving the F35 project and put Turkey in great trouble in defense: Not a single plane has joined our fleet for 20 years. You were kicked out of the F35 project because you did not manage the S400 issue well. You cannot even ensure that the necessary revisions and improvements are made to our F16s. There is a problem with the Altay Tank's engine. The Kaan must now be rapidly added to the fleet. We are calling out from here to those who speak on this subject, those who sail the cheese ship with words. The Republican People's Party is the guarantor of a strong economy, strong national security policies, and a strong defense industry. The Republican People's Party is the founder of a strong Turkey and the sole guarantor of a strong Turkey in the coming century. We are all proud of you, we are all proud of each other. Because there is no one in this square who does not love each other, who does not love their country, who does not love their flag, who does not love Atatürk. I am proud of this square.”

“HE SURRENDERED WITH DRUMS AND ZURNA”

“As you know, we were subjected to a coup attempt on March 19. I had said before; 'There is a coup attempt against the future government of this country, the future government, the future President.' On the day we were going to determine our Presidential candidate against this, they also attempted a coup against our Presidential candidate. They took our Presidential candidate, kept him in detention centers for four days, and then put him in Silivri dungeons. Today's President Erdoğan was tried in the past for all the accusations directed at Mayor Ekrem today. But police cars did not come to his door one morning. He was not taken at 06:00 in the morning and taken to a detention center. He was not kept in custody for a day. He was tried but was not arrested for a day. He received a sentence, he continued his duty. When the Supreme Court of Appeals approved his sentence, he was called by phone. He was seen off with a rally in Saraçhane. He surrendered with drums and zurna. He served his imprisonment that way. I am calling out to all AK Party members from here: The one who was not taken by the police for a day in the past, who was not in custody for a day, who was not arrested for a day, is doing to the future President, to our Presidential candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, what was not done to him today. The oppressed of yesterday has become the oppressor of today. But fear is of no use to the appointed time of death. The ballot box will come, and with the appreciation of this nation, Ekrem İmamoğlu will be the President.”

“DIPLOMA IS NOT QUESTIONED LIKE THAT, ERDOĞAN”

“There are two very precious ideas in the square again. I hope these are not the people of Tekirdağ and Ergene. There are two very precious ideas. One says, 'Oh, they were so afraid of our mayor, our Presidential candidate, that they ignored the diploma that the state gave and sealed 31 years ago.' 'Yet we have our diploma. He doesn't,' they say, and they call out like this: Diploma-less Erdoğan. Mr. Erdoğan, you removed the diploma from the search engine, and it can't be found when questioned anymore at Istanbul University. A diploma is not questioned like that. Look, how are the people of Tekirdağ questioning your diploma, your diploma? Mr. Erdoğan, Ekrem İmamoğlu has iftar with his university friends, they meet and eat from time to time. They play matches of 11. Do you have a university friend to play backgammon with? Call one, let's see, call one, let's see. We are calling out to Erdoğan from here in Tekirdağ, sorry, we are calling out to Turkey. Mr. President Erdoğan is looking for a friend from university because he wants to play backgammon. A person who has a photo with Tayyip Erdoğan from his university years in the Republic of Turkey is being sought. Apply urgently. Is there? Is there? The man doesn't have a single university friend to play backgammon with. He is trying to get Ekrem İmamoğlu's lawful diploma canceled. Shame on you.”

“ALL OF HIS SECRET WITNESSES TURNED OUT TO BE EMPTY”

“Dear people of Tekirdağ, we are going through such days that they made a slander, they cannot get out of the slander. It has been exactly 94 days, they cannot find a single piece of evidence. They couldn't find 1 lira, 1 lira. They didn't prove the bribery. Whatever slander they made turned exactly the opposite, they were embarrassed. According to the latest polls in the country, the rate of those who believe these lies of theirs, which was around 26 percent at one time, has fallen to 22 percent. They have fallen from the eyes of the nation, and from their hearts. Now they have clung to something. Remember the first days, they were making three pieces of wood with various tree names, Spruce, Oak, Plane, give false testimony, slander. They were calling them secret witnesses. All of them turned out to be empty, they attempted other things. They directed people to slander, to slander each other and get out of it. They offered freedom to Mayor Ekrem's closest friends in exchange for slandering Mayor Ekrem. They threatened women with their little children. 'If you sign here, you go home. If you don't sign, you return to Silivri, rot there for 15 years,' they said. They distributed those who did not say yes to this to prisons all over Turkey. They filled 55 people into a ward where 40 people should stay, and they sent our friend as the 56th. There is a queue for sleeping on the floor. There is a queue for the toilet. They are trying to wear people down, to convince them to slander in a place where the most basic human rights, the most basic rights are violated. Most recently, they called a friend of ours whom they held in Kandıra to Istanbul without a lawyer, and in front of not a prosecutor but a chief prosecutor, three prosecutors, they said, 'Let's chat, tell the truth, sign and be saved. Otherwise, we will take your family too.' Because he was not a slanderer, they took his 26-year-old child and put him in another prison, took his nephew and put him in another prison. When the torture they did to people was not enough, they started to threaten with the health of his family, his child, his child who has health problems. I am saying to that chief prosecutor from here, to the one who gave him this instruction; you are condemning both the AK Party, the MHP, and Turkish politics to yourselves. You are causing a shame that the AK Party member in Tekirdağ, the other party members in Tekirdağ cannot look in the face. You cannot defend what you have done in Tekirdağ, in Ordu, in Antalya, in Konya, or in Şanlıurfa. One does not prosper with so much oppression. Those who touch the child, those who touch the father, those who touch the spouse, those who do not fight bravely will have no place in the heart of this nation from now on. This nation will hold those who attack cowardly accountable at the first ballot box that comes before it. Our Mayor Ekrem's son Selim is a 26-year-old brother of ours. They made up such a lie in the MASAK Report. They lied that Selim had smuggled his father's bribe money abroad and founded a company. They threw our lawyer Mehmet Pehlivan, who revealed this lie, inside in a hurry so that he wouldn't tell these things. Today, it is my debt of honor that, contrary to what some sold pens are trampling on, which is written in the MASAK Report and distorted on television with currency games, our brother Selim is 27 years old. All of the money they say 'he sent abroad, smuggled' for an investment company is the price of an apartment here. It is 12 million liras. Half of this money is from what his mother cashed in, half is from the savings account his grandfather has had in the bank for years. Both of their money is as lawful as their mother's milk, the proof of their money is in the bank, its trace has been there for years. People who call a thing that is not even the price of half an apartment for Istanbul today, which he is trying to establish a business abroad with money he studied with, money taken from his grandfather, money taken from his mother, a billion-lira corruption are attacking the family with a completely big perception operation. I am showing it by looking into their eyes from here. Erdoğan had shown a ring like this. 'My only asset is this wedding ring,' he had said. 'Look at this wedding ring. If I get rich in the future, it means I have stolen,' he had said. Now, while Erdoğan, who does not explain his wealth, stands there, saying 'There is a ship and there is a little ship' when asked about his young children buying a ship, and calling his son's trade a 'little ship'; I am saying to the pro-government journalists who invent corruption from the half-apartment price of Selim, whose grandfather is a businessman, whose father is a 30-year-old businessman, whose wealth is on record. What you are doing is not right, it is not the truth, this is not conscience, this is not being a Muslim. This nation will hold them accountable for this, and Allahu Teala will hold them accountable for this slander in the Great Court. Looking into the eyes of my relatives in Tekirdağ, looking into their eyes, I am saying as Özgür Özel, the grandson of Sadriye Hanım from Thessaloniki, the grandson of Abdullah Uncle from Skopje. Neither Selim nor Ekrem nor any other friend of ours has any account that cannot be given. If you have the courage, prepare the indictment, broadcast the court on TRT. Challenge accepted, challenge accepted, challenge accepted.”

“IN NOVEMBER OR EARLIER, BUT AS FAR AS THEY RUN”

“Let me tell you a truth from here. Shall we speak openly, openly? People of Tekirdağ, for the sake of Allah, let's speak openly. If Ekrem İmamoğlu were a thief, if he committed corruption, they wouldn't put him in jail, on the contrary, they would crown him, they would try to transfer him. If İmamoğlu were not such an honest person, if he were a thief, corrupt, they would call him to the palace. They would say, 'Your place is here.' They would say, 'Bring the shoeboxes too.' They would say, 'We have more than you.' But since that day, two safes came out from us, one with the municipality's seal inside, one with 48 bullets of the bodyguard's licensed weapon inside. We don't have dollars coming out of the safe. We don't have shoeboxes, chocolate boxes, clothes hangers. We don't have the money collected in them. There are no four ministers whom the Prime Minister of the period said, 'Even if my brother commits theft, I will cut off his arm,' and no children of those ministers who committed corruption. We don't have anyone saying 'I zeroed the money, father,' and no one sending him to buy apartments from contractors. That's why our intake is clear, our heads are held high. We didn't steal, we didn't plunder. However, there are slanders of a chief prosecutor whom he unleashed on us, who knows the job like himself. But we will get out of this. Why will we get out? Because the moral superiority is with us, because the psychological superiority is with us, the majority energy is with us. The majority energy is in Tekirdağ, in Süleymanpaşa, in this square. They ask me: 'How come the squares are so crowded?' They ask me: 'Tayyip Bey speaks at length, there is applause twice. The square is lively, it doesn't stop, it doesn't stay silent, the rally ends, it doesn't go home.' I say because we are strong. Because we are right. Because we are clean people, good people. Tekirdağ, are you here? Are we ready to walk to power shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, all together? Are you ready for the strongest, most dynamic, most faithful election campaign in history? Of course, we want an early election. If it's in November, it's in November, if it's earlier, it's earlier, but if he runs, as far as they run, without stopping, without getting tired, without getting exhausted, are we ready for the longest, most determined, strongest campaign in world political history if necessary? Are we ready to walk together with faith, determination, strength, without fear, risking death if necessary, but without surrendering, just like 100 years ago? Then let's walk, friends. Come on, let's walk to power.”

News Source: 12punto