CHP Chairman Özel speaks in Hacıbektaş: 'Your struggle is my struggle'
In his speech at the "61st National, 35th International Hacı Bektaş Veli Commemoration, Culture and Art Events" held at the Cumhuriyet City Square in the Hacıbektaş district of Nevşehir, Özel stated that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's visit to Hacıbektaş before Ankara during the War of Independence to receive the material and spiritual support of the Khorasan saints provided a great contribution and self-confidence to the National Struggle.
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Expressing his promise as the chairman of the CHP to shed light on the darkness of thought, to be a companion to the seed sown by Hacı Bektaş Veli, and not to refrain from the common struggle, Özel stated the following:
"Painful periods have been experienced in these lands. For centuries, blood, tears, and oppression have persisted. The blood shed in Karbala continued to flow in Çorum, Maraş, and Sivas.
The resistance of Karbala was present in the funeral ceremonies of journalists, trade unionists, scientists, and Berkin Elvan, who were murdered in the middle of the street. The mourning of Karbala sometimes settled like a fog over the graves of Berkin, Ali İsmail, and Abdullah Cömert. Those who followed the path of the Hünkar continued to illuminate the darkness of the ego with the light of wisdom and the darkness of the heart with the work of love. They continued their struggle without ever taking up a weapon, without ever resorting to violence, and without resorting to the tools of the age of ignorance. The oppressed neither bowed to the evil of the oppressor nor became a partner to it."
Stating that they will continue the struggle until Madımak becomes a museum of shame, Özel expressed that they represent the journey toward peace, justice, science, and hope.
Criticizing the "753rd Anniversary Commemoration Events of Hacı Bektaş Veli's Walking to the Truth" organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Özel said:
"I see it as a disrespect to the legacy of Hacı Bektaş Veli and condemn the fact that they organized an alternative ceremony in a rush on the evening of August 15, ignoring the tradition that has continued here for years and trying to exclude the legitimate political representatives of the people. Alevis have problems waiting for solutions. Turkey has not granted equal citizenship rights to Alevis due to a discrimination that wounds consciences and is never openly expressed.
Despite all the expressions in the current Constitution, Alevi citizens are not granted equal citizenship rights and are marginalized while laws are being made and implemented. Their rightful demands are ignored. Cemevis are places of worship for Alevis, and they will be places of worship for us as well. Until this constitutional right is accepted, your struggle is my struggle.
In a country where mosques are seen as places of worship while cemevis are not, where secular education is eroded and slaughtered under the name of the ÇEDES program, where an institution and operation that Alevis do not accept has been created under the name of the Alevi-Bektashi Culture and Cemevi Presidency affiliated with the Ministry of Culture, and where, unfortunately, an understanding that once called a 'cemevi a place of revelry' governs, we object to the understanding that institutionalizes this insult and contempt by tying a faith to a ministry with the admission that the place of revelry is the Ministry of Culture and Tourism."