Özgür Özel takes a jab at Erdoğan at CHP's Adana rally

The Republican People's Party (CHP) is continuing its "The Nation Protects Its Will" rallies, which it launched following the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. The new venue for these rallies was Adana, where Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar was arrested. This evening, Adana spoke with one voice for Zeydan Karalar and İmamoğlu.

The CHP, which became the leading party in the March 31 local elections, is on the agenda due to operations conducted against its municipalities across the country.

The CHP, which has seen 16 of its mayors arrested in the wave of operations that began in Esenyurt, started its "The Nation Protects Its Will" rallies across Turkey following the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor and presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 23.

At the rally held in Adana, while messages sent from Silivri by both Zeydan Karalar and İmamoğlu were to be read, there was great anticipation regarding what message CHP Chairman Özgür Özel would deliver to the government and the people of Adana.

ZEYDAN KARALAR'S MESSAGE TO THE PEOPLE OF ADANA

Adana Metropolitan Mayor Zeydan Karalar addressed the hundreds of thousands filling the rally square via his social media account.

Zeydan stated the following in his post:

"Today, in the Silivri dungeon, I will listen to the voice raised against injustice by the proud, honorable children of Adana. I will say once again; I would sacrifice my life for my Adana!

As of 8:00 PM, I will see my dear brothers and sisters from Adana, whom I miss so much, even if it is through the television, and I will long for you. This meeting, which will be held with the participation of our Chairman, is quite important. I thank you for your crowded participation. With love and respect..."

MESSAGE FROM OYA TEKİN: 'I WILL CONTINUE TO SAY SEYHAN'

Seyhan Deputy Mayor Hasibe Akkan took the stage and read the message of the arrested Mayor Oya Tekin to the people of Adana.

Oya Tekin's message was as follows:

"I am Oya Tekin, I became the Mayor of Seyhan last year with the choice of our people. They brought me and my husband here based on the words of a slanderer. Since the first day I took office, I have had only one goal: a cleaner, happier Seyhan. I cut expenses and ended processes I found wrong. Naturally, I earned the enmity of interest groups and was threatened, but I did not bow to anyone. I swear to you that I will continue to work day and night for your future and the future of your children, and I will continue to say Seyhan at every moment. I am not with you in body right now, but my heart is with you..."

Hasibe Akkan concluded her speech with the message, "We will continue the struggle until justice is served. There is no salvation alone, either all together or none of us."

MESSAGE FROM KADİR AYDAR: 'DO NOT BE SILENT, DO NOT GIVE UP, DO NOT BOW YOUR HEADS'

Arrested Ceyhan Mayor Kadir Aydar also spoke from Silivri. Aydar's letter emphasized 'struggle' to the people of Adana:

“Dear people of Ceyhan, dear people of Adana, I would have loved to stand shoulder to shoulder with you in that square today. But even though I am behind iron doors, my heart beats with you. I am writing these lines with the longing of being torn away from the lands where I was born and raised, from Adana, from Ceyhan, which I call my greatest love. Most of all, I miss the children laughing in the neighborhood streets, the tradesmen I greet in the morning, and the big-hearted people who look into my eyes and say, 'You are not alone, Mayor.' But believe me, I am not heartbroken. Because I know I am not alone. The thousands of people gathered there today are not just there for the valuable mayors being held captive, not just for my Mayor Zeydan, my Mayor Oya, or for me; they are there for the will of the people, for justice, and for democracy. This is the voice of all of us, the struggle of all of us. Every flag you hold there today, every slogan you shout, every sentence you form makes me even stronger. And I promise you, I will return. More determined, more faithful, and happier than before... Because it does not suit us to leave this story unfinished. Do not be silent, do not give up, do not bow your heads."

ZEYDAN KARALAR: "WE WILL NOT BREAK OUR UPRIGHT STANCE"

CHP Adana Provincial Chairman Anıl Tamburoğlu read the messages of CHP's presidential candidate, the arrested Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, and the arrested Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar.

Zeydan Karalar's message was as follows: "My dear brothers and sisters of Adana. I know how much you love and trust me. We know that this case is not just against me; it is a coup against our party and our struggle for democracy. We may make mistakes, but there is no money-related wrongdoing. All of Turkey knows this. It is very sad for Turkish justice to grant freedom to one person in the same two cases while arresting another. This shows that these arrests are political. I know why I am here. Your brother will never break his upright stance and will never compromise, as always. Continue the struggle..."

KARALAR'S WIFE ADDRESSED THE PEOPLE OF ADANA

Nuray Karalar also took the floor at the rally. Stating, "If Mayor Zeydan were here, he would be proud of us right now. He is watching us from Silivri with pride," Nuray Karalar said, "He is very happy that his efforts have not gone to waste. You all know him very well, but I am also filled with intense emotions. I wasn't thinking of speaking, but they said, 'Mayor Zeydan wants to see you'." Karalar continued her speech as follows:

"Mayor Zeydan never bows. His forehead is clear, his head is held high. He is always a lover of Adana. His love for Adana comes before everything else. He loves me very much too, but Adana is number one. We sometimes talk about this between us. He always said, 'I will spare more time for you,' but he didn't keep that promise. We grew up together. He is a person who wakes up at 6 in the morning and flows into the streets of Adana with the same excitement. You can see him everywhere.

A straight wall does not collapse. And the sun cannot be plastered with mud. He is the sun of Adana."

ÖZEL: 250 THOUSAND PEOPLE ARE STANDING BY KARALAR

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel addressed the people of Adana as follows:

"They said that square wouldn't fill up in one day. That square was filled during Ferdi Tayfur's historic concert. Do you see, Mayor Zeydan? 250 thousand of your brothers and sisters are standing by you.

On the morning of March 19, those who canceled his diploma tried to stage a coup by showing up at Ekrem İmamoğlu's door. A coup is staged against those in power. They attempted a coup against the next President, who has the appreciation of our nation. We went to Saraçhane first with hundreds of thousands, then with millions. They blocked the ferries, they closed the subways. We became 1 million 200 thousand people, and we repelled the coup. 118 days after that coup, they were not satisfied with Istanbul. Now they have set their eyes on the will of Adıyaman, Antalya, Adana, and İzmir. Are the coup plotters superior, or is the nation superior? Here is the will of Adana. Those who say 'We are from Adana, we are God's people' are here!

Someone has deceived the President. They said, 'We have 3 prosecutors, and we have 3 false witnesses.' They said, 'We will broadcast the publications and slanders on television.' Hey Erdoğan, do you see Adana? We will not surrender to this coup.

He is a brother of yours who gets up when the sun rises and arrives home at midnight. Karalar has been the Adana Metropolitan Mayor for two terms. I asked, how did 250 thousand people come here? All cooperatives have made a decision. It is written on the buses. 'You were there during the pandemic, you were there during the earthquake, whoever comes to you is free!' A city has risen. Adana has risen. NGOs and professional organizations came without being forced or called, as soon as they heard about the rally. We thank them all.

People of Adana, all of Turkey is looking at this square. It says, 'I wonder what is happening? What is going on there?' Look, first of all, why is Mayor Zeydan in Silivri? Why did they take Mayor Zeydan a thousand kilometers away? Not this term, not the last term, but 11 years ago, Mayor Zeydan became the Mayor of Seyhan. The municipality that Mayor Zeydan came to had been taken from the AK Party. The AK Party municipality had given the garbage tender to a company. During his term, Mayor Zeydan made the payments for those who collected garbage and those who were issued invoices from the tender made in the previous period. Neither less nor more. On the day they deserved it, as much as they deserved, and when the contract ended, it was never renewed.

However, this prosecutor is going to attack, so he looks at the person. He worked in Seyhan 11 years ago. They come and make the mayor slander. He is paying the money for the tender given by the AK Party from 11 years ago. What was given to the AK Party member who made that tender? We don't know. Why did they bring them here as a trouble? We don't know. He paid their money and sent them away when the time came. Anyway, Mayor Zeydan never worked with them again.

He was audited and cleared during that period. Then he came to Adana Metropolitan. You elected him, he served. He was audited and cleared for 5 years. This time you elected him with a record number of votes. He has been doing this for 2 years. They are going back 11 years to make him slander and saying, 'We took you and put you in prison here.' The wife of Mayor Zeydan, whom they arrested with a slanderer after not finding any garbage for 11 years, is here, his wife. My sister Nuray. A teacher. Mrs. Nuray has been working for a salary in a public school in Adana for 32 years. She is still a civil servant, she goes to class every morning. Did this woman's husband commit corruption?"

Melih Gökçek is there. Do you know his son? Rotten seed. He went and made a baklava box and is distributing morality. The Deputy Prime Minister of your party said to your father, 'You sold Ankara parcel by parcel.' Every morsel that passes through your throat is forbidden. Rotten seed. Look at these children, one is a doctor, in mandatory service. The other is doing his own business. No one is being stacked in the municipality. Your son will have a 600 million villa built. You will call the husband of a civil servant a bribe-taker.

He has made a municipality where he established women's cooperatives and made village women smile, and where the municipality's receivables are now 4 times its debt, in a place where the debt was 4 times the receivables. He zeroed out the electricity bill with solar energy.

They arrested the first female mayor, Oya Tekin, with the testimony of a slanderer. There is a garbage tender. That slanderer says, 'You will give me the tender.' He goes to the district governor, he goes to the governor. He does not give up, but that slanderer goes to Istanbul and gives a statement. Yesterday she said to me, 'They took me and my husband. I have a 15-year-old son. At least let them give me house arrest so I can be with my son.' Let's send a strong applause to her, she is watching us.

On the other hand, there is Kadir, the fate of Ceyhan. Kadir Aydar was arrested because that slanderer gave a statement based on hearsay, even though he did not work directly with the municipality while Kadir Aydar was doing his job. We will stand by Ceyhan's Kadir.

We are facing an organized crime structure. They are attacking ruthlessly. They have been slandering and attacking since he was sent to Istanbul on October 9 last year. And we are traveling from square to square to explain our troubles. In the polls, 25 percent believe him, and 70 percent believe us. If things go wrong in a party, they blame the communicators. Fahrettin Altun is gone, he will change TRT, he will change AA. 'Because all the televisions are with us, we have the stick in our hands until 12 midnight, they have 2.5 channels. One is open, one is closed, but the nation still believes them.' We see that the nation is behind us. Behind Erdoğan are the slanderers, secret witnesses, US President Trump, Israel. Behind us are the nation, Adana, and Turkey.

I will tell the story of Uncle Ali. Uncle Ali said, 'I saw Zeydan on the asphalt at 45 degrees, I saw him in the field with his boots on when there was a flood, now they have slandered Zeydan. Tell Chairman Özgür, we can withstand the sun, we can withstand the heat, if they make the slander a shadow, we won't stand under it, we will stand behind Zeydan.' So don't trust Trump, don't trust Netanyahu. Uncle Ali will defeat you!

Now he is either watching from Halk TV or TELE1. He blacked out Sözcü out of anger. Now let him hear; diploma-less Erdoğan (slogans are being chanted) Adana is a different place. They brought a drum to question your diploma. Don't worry, we will get the legitimate diploma back. We will also send this diploma-less man home.

TÜİK is eating the rights of the people, but Tayyip Erdoğan, who gives orders to it, is eating the rights of all laborers and civil servants. The promise of a flat raise for retirees was not kept. We offered an 8+8 raise, we are waiting. We said at least minimum wage for every retiree. It seems the AKP members are also counting the days to go on vacation. The AKP, which puts salt on the nation's wound, is going to enter salty water. This Parliament must immediately protect the retirees before it closes.

We were complaining about long detention, detention without an indictment. Yesterday, Osmaniye's son Devlet Bahçeli said, 'Long detentions are harmful.' We trust our mayors. If you trust your slandering prosecutor, I challenge you, broadcast the trials on TRT. We demand that TRT broadcast the claim and the answer line by line before the Parliament closes. Because we are tired of slander."