CHP Chairman Özgür Özel calls for a major rally on Saturday: 'We will be in Maltepe at 12:00'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel spoke on the 7th day of the Saraçhane Democracy Meeting, held for Presidential candidate, Union of Municipalities of Türkiye President, and Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who was arrested following the failed coup attempt on March 19.

CHP Leader Özgür Özel said, "Brave and courageous people of Istanbul, those who do not recognize bans, those who do not surrender to Tayyip Erdoğan's bans, those who stand up for their will, their right to vote, and the Mayor they elected against the March 19 coup attempt, I greet you all with respect. Welcome, everyone."

Özel stated the following:

"15 MILLION HAVE STOOD BEHIND MAYOR EKREM"

"There are hundreds of thousands here, and millions in Türkiye. There are 15 million 500 thousand hearts that were at the ballot box last Sunday. There is a Türkiye that has dedicated itself to democracy and the struggle, one that does not surrender and will not surrender. We are many, we are a crowd, we are shoulder to shoulder. But there is a handful of people against us. Behind them, there is no longer the public, the nation, or the state. We are here shoulder to shoulder against a handful of interest groups that disregard their people, do not love their nation, and humiliate their state. We did not ask for much. We did not ask for property or assets. We did not want to get rich or enrich our cronies. We wanted dormitories for university students, daycare for newborns, a dignified life for retirees, a salary for minimum wage earners that would support them and their families, a humane life, equality, happiness, and peace. But we were faced with those who begrudged us this, those who wanted things only for themselves and for a circle of interests. Against that one man, against that 'I know everything' person who is so arrogant that one cannot approach him, who is so angry that one cannot stand before him, and who attacks even those who call his wrong 'wrong,' we said, 'Let us find someone. Let us bring him forward.' But we did not just pick that person out of thin air. First, we said, 'Let us ask all our members.' Then we saw that they were afraid of that, they attacked. They filed lawsuits so that he would not be a candidate. They are even trying to take away the diploma he received years ago through various games. Then we said, 'This candidate is not just the candidate of one party, the Republican People's Party. This candidate is the candidate of us all. Let us bring him forward. Let us put out ballot boxes on a Sunday. Let us vote.' And that Sunday, last Sunday, March 23, while some were putting Mayor Ekrem in Silivri, you put him before you, and 15 million people stood behind him like a wall."

"ERDOĞAN, IF YOU HAVE THE COURAGE, BROADCAST IT ON TRT"

"From now on, Ekrem İmamoğlu is not only a mayor who has defeated Tayyip Erdoğan's appointees three times in two elections in Istanbul, a politician who has never lost to Tayyip Erdoğan in the four elections he has entered, and a successful, hardworking, and honest administrator, but he is also the next Presidential candidate of the Republic of Türkiye. I am calling out clearly from here. Hey Erdoğan, if you have even this much courage, broadcast the prosecutor's questions and Mayor Ekrem's answers on TRT while the sham trials you set up against Ekrem İmamoğlu are being heard. We have the courage. Do you? Trials are held for justice. The prosecutor asks questions for the nation, for the public interest. And seeks the truth in the answers. A real trial is based on concrete evidence, a real trial is based on proof. However, in the questions asked to Mayor Ekrem, there is neither proof, nor a witness, nor any concrete evidence presented. There is nothing but the statements of slanderous wretches whom the prosecutor knows by name, whom no one has seen or knows, and whom they call 'secret witnesses.' They have given these secret witnesses code names. One is named Ladin, one is named Meşe, one is named Çınar. Who gave you these names, anyway? What kind of blockhead gave them, what kind of blockhead? He is slandering Mayor Ekrem. Who says this? 'I cannot say, code name Çınar.' He lists the slanders against Mayor Ekrem, go ahead and prove it. 'I don't know.' Who knows? 'Ladin.' Well, who brought this Ladin and Çınar here? 'I brought them.' May God damn you. Blockhead, blockhead. Is this how a trial is conducted? I entrust that Ladin, that Çınar, the blockhead who brought them there, and the blockhead who brought that blockhead there to God."

"WE HAVE BEEN FIGHTING THE VIOLENCE OF THE PALACE REGIME FOR YEARS"

"Today, when we fill this square together, we are part of a reality. On one side are the liars, the slanderers, those who insult, and those who eat the rights of others. On the other side are the defenders of truth, brotherhood, peace, and equality. On one side are those who feed on conflict and hope for polarization. On the other side are those who want peace and want to embrace. In this square, there are social democrats, nationalist democrats, conservative democrats, Kurdish democrats, Alevis - Sunnis, right-wingers - left-wingers; but there are people with clean hearts, people like lions. For years, we have been fighting the violence of Tayyip Erdoğan's palace regime, which is increasing in intensity every day.

On one hand, we are seeking our rights, taking action, and struggling. On the other hand, we are fighting against the unlawful orders given to the children of the homeland, our police brothers, whom he has pitted against us, trying not to hurt them while not letting ourselves be crushed either. Those who make my police brothers work 15 hours a day, without sleeping, without sitting, sometimes without eating, and who do not pay their overtime, also give them instructions, give them unlawful orders, and have them spray gas and use batons on our youth. The police are not happy with the salary they receive, nor the orders they receive, nor the work they do. We are in such a place that the same evil that victimizes both sides fuels this conflict more and more. Last night, despite all your warnings, while 80 of our deputies were on duty—25 of them with walkie-talkies in their hands and earpieces in their ears—to prevent gas from being sprayed or batons from being used on the crowd that was going to disperse from here, while we were waiting here, they once again unleashed the police on our youth with the same unjust actions and then made a world of detentions.

I warned yesterday. I warned this Police Chief yesterday, I warned the Governor, I sent my Provincial Chairman, I held a meeting, I got a promise. But in the end, we faced a disgrace again. Now I am telling the Istanbul Governor from here: while my deputies are there and I am on top of this car before this square is emptied and everyone reaches their home, go ahead and spray that gas, let me see. Spray it, let me see. I am on top of this bus, spray that gas, fire that plastic bullet, let's see. If you hit one of our youth with a baton, spray gas, or fire a single plastic bullet tonight, may anyone who does not stand up to you be a coward. You have had enough. You have had enough. You have had enough. Neither your word is trusted, nor the oath you took. What kind of public official are you? Look at this square, look at the faces of these children. Is there a terrorist here, is there a marginal here? How much have you lost your humanity, hey Governor, you are the marginal, you are the marginal."

"I WILL MAKE A CALL FOR 500 THOUSAND PEOPLE TO THE PLACE THAT WILL DISTURB YOU THE MOST"

"Tell this to the Governor, to the Minister of Interior. Let them not try to condemn or embarrass us with old methods, provocations, lies, or by making things up here and there. There is no one left in front of you who you can feed those old tricks to. I am saying this clearly. Look, I have not lost my shame like you, nor have I lost the respect for myself and the other side to the point of not keeping my word. But truly, I and everyone here have lost something. We forgot it at home. We forgot fear at home, Mr. Governor, we forgot fear at home. I am announcing it from here, I am announcing it. If you provoke this square tonight, if you prevent this square from emptying in peace and health, if you spray gas and attack, I will change the planning for the coming days. Tomorrow, I will make a call for 500 thousand people to the place that will disturb you the most. Do not forget this."

"THIS SQUARE IS OPEN TO THE DECEIVED AND THE MISLED UNTIL THE END"

"I would like to share a memory of a student friend from the past with you. So that it may be a lesson, so that they may learn. You know there were the Boğaziçi protests. A trustee was appointed to Boğaziçi. The Boğaziçi protests against the trustee began. Students are supporting. The first detention, the first arrest was Doğu Demirtaş. Do you remember Doğu? I went to Silivri Prison. He was chubby, bearded, long-haired, handsome, studying physics at Boğaziçi, a brilliant mind. I said, 'Doğu, what did you do?' He says 'Teacher' to everyone he sees, 'Teacher, we are seeking our rights, we do not deserve a trustee.' He explained his problem to me beautifully. I said, 'Doğu, what does your father do, what does your mother do?' He hesitated a bit. I said, 'Oh my God.' He said, 'My father is Sertaç Demirtaş, my mother is Gamze Demirtaş.' He is explaining to me, 'The palace order is like this, Tayyip's trustee is like this, Boğaziçi is an autonomous university. Science cannot be done under a trustee, this oppression cannot be accepted.' Mother Gamze Demirtaş is the Sarıyer AK Party Women's Branch District President. Father is Tayyip Erdoğan's closest friend. Do you know what we saw? That Sertaç Demirtaş, after the treatment his son received, that dear Gamze Hanım, after the treatment her son received, resigned—the one Boğaziçi knew, the one the youth knew—and is now among us in every protest here. Doğu was released and went abroad, he is studying there. Boğaziçi lost one student but gained two protesters. Two protesters, one of them is the former Sarıyer AK Party Women's Branch President. That is why this square is not closed to anyone; this square is open until the end to those who were deceived, misled, whose labor was exploited, and who served a gang because they believed in a cause. We will fight against evil together, all together."

"WE DO NOT DIMINISH WITH DETENTIONS AND ARRESTS, WE MULTIPLY"

"Those chased by that Governor whose word cannot be trusted, the Governor who gave his word and sprayed gas, the Governor who gave his word and had people beaten with batons, whom I mentioned earlier. In the chaos they created, they rounded up a lot of people. Look, they detained exactly 11 journalists, and arrested 8 of them. Now TV reporter Ali Onur Tosun, Agence France-Presse reporter Yasin Akgül, IMM Photojournalist Kurtuluş Arı, Bakırköy Municipality Photojournalist Gökhan Kam, Independent Journalists Zeynep Kuray, Hayri Tunç, Bülent Kılınç. Our friend from the live broadcast team, who worked in this corner last night. The cables go to the live broadcast vehicle. While he was going, they rounded him up, Fatih Çalbıyık, they caught him, detained him, and arrested him along with everyone else. Look at the work of the man dealing with the cameraman. The young brother Selinay Uzunteli, who spoke before me on the bus the other day, and Berkay Gezgin, who ran and ran and ran after Mayor Ekrem's bus and stopped it at the corner saying 'Brother Ekrem, Brother Ekrem,' you know, Berkay who said 'Everything will be very beautiful, Brother Ekrem.' Today, they shamelessly arrested Berkay too. Berkay is a very symbolic name for us. Everyone is important. There are nearly 1,400 detentions, and over 200 arrests. There are serial arrests. All our deputies fought in Çağlayan today. Tomorrow, we will follow both the arrests and the detentions with a great struggle. But there is one thing Mr. Tayyip should know: we do not diminish with detentions and arrests, we multiply."

"THERE IS NO ROOM LEFT IN ISTANBUL, TRANSFERS TO NEIGHBORING PROVINCES ARE PLANNED"

"I have two pieces of news. One is this, a shameful piece of news. They did not take our detained journalist friends from the courthouse to the prison, they took them back to Vatan. Because there was no room left to place them in Istanbul prisons. Transfers to neighboring provinces are planned for tomorrow. Imagine a government that, in 2025, in the world's most well-known metropolis, has left no room in prisons by throwing students in, throwing journalists in, and throwing those who want democracy in. Shame on such a regime. I promise. Sooner or later; a few months, a year, or at the latest next year, we will change this order. Today, while young friends were coming from iftar, I had iftar at the 'earth table' with my visually impaired brothers, and while coming from iftar with my namesake, a young friend took my arm. He said, 'Brother Özgür, did you hear? There is no room left to put our friends in prisons. Will you play a song for them on behalf of the youth?' I said, 'We play one, maybe two songs a night.' He said, 'If you say this, the whole square will be pleased.' I took it and gave it, and he says, 'Shame on those who fill the prisons with youth.' He says, 'Shame, shame.'"

"WE ARE SENDING THIS TO THE OWNERS OF THIS COWARDLY REGIME"

"We are sending this (song) to the owners of this merciless, this cowardly regime that detains and arrests our young friends, leaves no room in prisons, and tries to break the wrist of Istanbul's elected mayor because it knows it cannot bend it, and sends him to Silivri. We talked about it all together yesterday, the day before yesterday I said there are those who see us on television and those who don't. We will see those who see us, and we will bury those who don't see us in the ground. After we said this, they started to come to their senses, split the screen, show images from this square, and write KJs. Those who started broadcasting today's broadcast live have increased much more than before. There are those who have come to their senses, and those who have not. But first, let's say who we are boycotting. Shame on TRT, which survives on all our taxes, fawns over the government, and is hostile to us. We count and love its laborers. Because of what its managers have done, we are turning off the TRT switch completely. Kanal D and CNN Türk have stopped everything; they are not doing journalism or television broadcasting to stand up to these youth, to the Ekrem Brothers these youth love, to the beautiful people of Istanbul, and to their will, just to support one man alone. Their business is slander and lying. Kanal D and CNN Türk should stay away from us. By the way, those who see, read, watch TGRT, A Haber, the Sabah Group, Turkuvaz, İhlâs, or buy anything from them are not one of us, friends. İhlas News Agency, Demirören News Agency. I warn my mayors who subscribe to them. I warn all companies that receive services from them but want a democratic Türkiye. Stay away from them, do not put them in a close place. We talked with friends here last night, let those who like to drink coffee raise their hands. Let's drink coffee, but let's not pass in front of Espressolab. Never. When you see D&R to buy books, stationery, toys, etc., cross to the opposite sidewalk, friends. To the opposite sidewalk. After we said this yesterday, their site crashed. Sales stopped, let's see how much longer they will mess with us, we'll see. idefix.com, which sends the money from the books it sells to Tayyip Erdoğan, has been closed on our page, never to be opened again. Sink the ETS Tur of the Minister who caused the hotel fire in Bolu with the inspections he did not perform, and then shamelessly came out on top, took no responsibility, and did not resign, sink it into the ground, sink it into the ground. Friends, I have a piece of advice. I have never seen anyone who does the opposite have a happy face anyway. Never, ever buy Milli Piyango and both don't be sad yourself and don't make this Demirören happy. Stay away from Milli Piyango. Never, ever go near these sites: misli.com, iddaa.com."

"WE WILL MAKE TÜRKİYE NARROW FOR YOU WITH THE POWER COMING FROM CONSUMPTION"

"By the way, the youth are doing the same thing again. They say to me, 'What does this country have to do with which broadcasting organization?' The youth are obsessed, they are shouting 'Ülker boycott.' It has a lot of sins in the past. It has a lot of sins in the past. Now, friends, after the warning last night, Habertürk and CNN are walking on a tightrope. If they go this way, it will be a boycott, if they go that way, it will save them. It has been written in front of me for two nights, today they gave the group, more than half. Last night, quite a lot of images from here, good news, we are keeping them under observation due to good behavior. They were left for the make-up exam. We are giving a chance. We will look at tonight. We will look at tomorrow, but there is someone who passed the class. There is someone who passed the class. Do you remember? There is a Demirören Mall on Istiklal. This Demirören is a nasty thing. Why? CNN is his, Kanal D is his, Milli Piyango is his, every kind of evil, every kind of wrong is in him. But others bought the Demirören Mall on Istiklal. They called me and said, 'Lift the boycott, we are not Demirören.' I said, 'Then you remove the sign too.' This evening, they put the screws in. They took down Demirören, they changed their name to Istiklal Mall. Whose power is this? This is your power, the power of the boycott. They are a handful, a handful. They have taken over the country, taken over the authority, taken over the ministries, taken over the RTÜK. They have taken over the BTK. They threaten televisions with RTÜK. They threaten the internet with BTK. They give handouts to televisions, they give tenders. In return, they get everything. But you are watching, they make you watch the advertisement. They earn money from you. They sell you the product, they serve the palace. There is no such looting anymore. We are saying it clearly. From now on, those in this square, that is, those against this government, those who are targeted, those they appointed trustees to, those they arrested, those they detained, those whose schools they turned into dungeons for them, those they made lose hope for the future, those they condemned to poverty, those they left hungry, from now on we are on one side. We are one, we are strong. With the power coming from consumption, we will make Türkiye narrow for you."

"WE HAVE DONE THINGS THAT WILL GO DOWN IN HISTORY"

"Look, recently we have done very beautiful things that will go down in history and leave a mark. In February, we opened the party's registrations. We intended a very important primary election with 250 thousand new members, it wasn't enough, we called all of Türkiye to solidarity. We stood behind our Mayor Ekrem with 15.5 million people. Now we are in a much more important process. For seven nights, in world political history, hundreds of thousands of people, sometimes 1.5 million, sometimes 550 thousand, sometimes 250 thousand, but hundreds of thousands of people gathered in the same square for seven nights in a row. We believed in the same thing. We stood shoulder to shoulder. We drew strength from our differences. We added strength to each other. We were colorful. We were like a rainbow. Everyone was respectful to each other. Those who love each other, those who respect each other became a single fist against those who do not love Türkiye. They were all together, they went down in history. Tomorrow, thanks to you, an election will be held in this building. That is, those who put Mayor Ekrem in prison wanted to bring not someone you elected here, but a trustee they appointed themselves, and through him, cut scholarships, close dormitories, close city restaurants, end social aid that takes care of the poor and needy, and take care of their cronies. They were going to send the laborers here and replace them with their cronies. If this didn't happen, if there is no trustee here, if a municipal council member, someone elected, is to be elected here tomorrow to act as a proxy for Mayor Ekrem, it is thanks to you. You repelled the coup at the end of seven days. I came seven days ago. There is a small room behind the Secretary General's office in this building. There is a sofa. They gave me a pillow for that sofa. And they laid a pike on it. I have been sleeping there for seven days, keeping watch like you. Because Istanbul's trust was with Mayor Ekrem. Mayor Ekrem's was with me, with us, with you. Greetings to those who protect the trust, blessings to them."

"WE ARE MEETING AT THE RALLY IN MALTEPE ON SATURDAY"

"From tomorrow on, although let the Governor hear, we will move the evening meetings in Saraçhane to another format starting tomorrow. But if you spray gas today, if you hurt a young person; I will turn these hundreds of thousands into millions and stand them against you tomorrow evening, know this too. Tomorrow evening is the Night of Power (Kadir Gecesi). Iftars will be set up here, tarawih prayers will be performed. We will be in Beylikdüzü with our Mayor Ekrem's mother, father, and our Mayor Murat Çalık's mother and father. We will kiss their hands. So, will we stop protesting, gathering, and struggling? Now, this time, we will carry out the largest open-air public vote in history. Drone, go up over the square to do the counting. Are you ready for a major rally on Saturday in a large square in Istanbul to protect Ekrem İmamoğlu, to object to the imprisonment of Ekrem İmamoğlu and the imprisonment of each of our mayors, to demand transparent, open, live-broadcast trials, and to say 'We have had enough, we want early elections'? Are you ready to hold this rally in Maltepe in Istanbul together with all Istanbulites and all friends from Kocaeli, Bursa, Balıkesir, Manisa, Bolu, Ankara, Zonguldak, and Anatolia to show solidarity with Istanbul? Let those who say 'Maltepe' raise their hands. Let those who say 'Maltepe won't do, somewhere else' raise their hands. Maltepe was chosen with 80 percent of the votes, the Yenikapı supporters lost. Friends, Maltepe has been good, it has been good for Anatolia, it has been good for bridge traffic. These places were too much for a rally, the Anatolian Side remained neglected, we are going to the Anatolian Side, we are protecting Mayor Ekrem. Saturday Maltepe, is 12:00 suitable? Is 12:00 good? Dear citizens, according to the open voting and open election results we held with approximately 300 thousand people in Saraçhane, we are meeting in Maltepe on Saturday at 12:00 to become millions and protect Mayor Ekrem and our will, regardless of the holiday. Do not come alone. Take your neighbors, take your friends. Link arms, flock to Maltepe. We will write history together in Maltepe on Saturday. Are you ready? I believe in you, I trust you. Now I warn the Governor and the police once again. I am here until this square is empty. Goodbye my friends, may your path be clear. Goodbye my friends, goodbye."