CHP Leader Özel's 'we will not cower, we will not be silenced' reaction: CHP's Plan A and Plan Z is İmamoğlu

The second of the rallies to be organized under the slogan "The Nation Protects Its Will" was held this evening in Beylikdüzü, following the one in Şişli.

The time and location of the meeting had been announced as 20:30 at the Beylikdüzü Valley of Life. Özel invited citizens to the rally with the following words: "We are in Beylikdüzü this evening to protect our presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu and the will of the nation. We will not stop until we save the Republic of Turkey from the hands of this criminal organization and make it a strong state of law!"

The imprisoned elected Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), Ekrem İmamoğlu, had stated in a call made from his social media account: "The Valley of Life has become one of the symbolic places of our struggle for justice; we held our most enthusiastic meetings here, and the most beautiful festivals were celebrated here. Now everyone is meeting here to protect the national will. I invite all my neighbors in Beylikdüzü and all Istanbulites to the meeting that our Chairman, Mr. Özgür Özel, will attend tomorrow."

ÖZGÜR ÇELİK READ İMAMOĞLU'S MESSAGE

CHP Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik was the first to take the stage. Özgür Çelik read the message from İBB Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on stage:

"Beylikdüzü, my home, my family with whom I share pain, joy, struggle, excitement, and anger; my school that trained me, taught me, and raised me with its projects, plans, and squares; you are so beautiful. You are so conscientious. You are so loyal. You are my companion. There is no street in Beylikdüzü where I have not set foot. My brothers and sisters who hosted me in their homes and welcomed me to their tables, Beylikdüzü, which made us a team and a crew with the friends and companions you brought into my life. You educated us, you taught us, you raised us.

You set a path, a goal before us. You taught us to serve. We proved here together that politics can be a tool for service, not partisanship. Without discriminating against anyone, we proved that solidarity in scarcity, fair sharing in abundance, and developing a city together by joining hands is possible. We achieved this together here. In Beylikdüzü, we pushed aside discrimination and showed together that solidarity, prosperity, and development are possible by joining hands.

"OUR PATH IS LONG, OUR EXCITEMENT IS HIGH..."

You did not abandon the path we set out on; you embraced my friend, my companion, my brother, Mehmet Murat Çalık. You said this path is long. You said my excitement is high. You said we have our youth with me. We shouted here all together. Now, my brother Mehmet Murat Çalık and I are shouting together again from the Silivri dungeons: 'Our path is long, our excitement is high, we have our youth, we are the Turkish youth who are thirsty for justice and have full faith in democracy.'

We are growing and multiplying on the path we started with you, Beylikdüzü. We are walking with determination. We are together again in a historic place, on a historic evening. The walls and iron bars between us have no validity. I am breathing that clean air of the Valley of Life with you. I feel its sweet breeze. The Beylikdüzü Valley of Life is the symbol of the great change we have realized in Istanbul. Years ago, we took the first step against a waste-based order built on rent and concrete by not sacrificing such a large area to concrete and opening it to public use. You protected this valley and our populist approach and stood by me. Thank you all very much.

We said the Beylikdüzü Valley of Life is the symbol of the great change we have realized in Istanbul. You stood by not only me but also our dear Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık, with whom I have been a companion and a partner in destiny since the first day. First, all of Istanbul joined us; all of Istanbul joined our journey so that solidarity, development, and prosperity could become the norm. What didn't we overcome together? We went through the Covid days. All of Istanbul became the pioneer of solidarity together.

We stood shoulder to shoulder during economic crises. From suspended bills to nurseries, from regional employment offices to scholarships, dormitories, the 'Mother Card' providing free transportation to mothers, libraries for youth, and market support for retirees, we ended the division and stood shoulder to shoulder, growing as we stood in solidarity, in defiance of those who equalize this country in poverty and transfer all the country's wealth to a handful of the rich. We multiplied together.

We made Istanbul a modern city with its infrastructure; we ended lies, plunder, and waste. We brought service to Istanbul. We changed Istanbul from top to bottom with its squares, parks, and buildings entrusted to us by our ancestors. We set out on a journey to bring comfort with its subways and ferries. We brought pride and solidarity to Istanbul, whose betrayals they did not hide. The hope that started in Beylikdüzü first enveloped Istanbul, then the energy of Istanbul spread to the whole country. They were afraid of Beylikdüzü, they were very afraid of us. They were very afraid of a nation that is hopeful, a nation that is excited for its future. They engaged in conspiracies to end the nation's hope and break its dreams.

They planned games to keep me, my friends, and my brother Mehmet Murat Çalık from our path. They set up reckless and baseless conspiracies. They resorted to every means to take me off my path, to frighten, intimidate, and force this nation to its knees, and to protect their corrupt order—a savage order that makes the rich richer and the poor poorer."

"I AM STANDING TALL, I AM AT MY POST"

And I, in my cell in Silivri, am standing tall, at my post with the strength and energy I receive from you. I am strong because this nation, which does not cower, does not fear, and does not kneel, gives me strength. I am hopeful, I am excited. Because my young children are taking their destiny into their own hands. I am brave because the whole nation—young and old, women and men, Turks, Kurds, Laz, Circassians, and Arabs—is uniting.

Our people of every belief and every view are uniting. The nation is uniting in justice. The nation is uniting in conscience. The nation is uniting in a common future and a common destiny. The nation is rising with the birth pangs of a new life, not of fear. The nation is rising for a revolution of justice and democracy. The nation is shouting that it will not surrender its destiny to the ambition for power of a handful of ambitious people. The nation is revealing its will to take its destiny into its own hands and draw its own direction. No one can stand before a nation that rises with hope, excitement, and determination. The nation wants the ballot box. No one can stand before this decision. Either justice or captivity. There is no other way before us. Either justice or misery; we have no other option. We are a great and powerful nation that is thirsty for justice and has full faith in democracy.

We will establish the rule of justice all together. Against a handful of people, we will succeed with the power of 86 million and the brotherhood of 86 million. I trust you. I am proud of you. Everything will be very beautiful."

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL ON STAGE

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel took the stage after Ekrem İmamoğlu's message was read.

Highlights from Özel's speech are as follows:

"Brave people who protect the children of this district, the will of Istanbul, and the future of Turkey, welcome everyone. I greet you all with respect. With those who resisted the March 19 coup, we protected the will of Istanbul and the future of Turkey in Saraçhane for 7 days and 7 nights, starting on the evening of Wednesday, March 19, until March 26. That day, we addressed the elected Mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem İmamoğlu, and the millions who gathered to support him, saying: 'The nation is great, the will of the nation is above everything.'

Now, from here, where that great march began, I call out once again: 'The nation is great, the nation is great, the nation is great!'

We came here to hold a rally, but there are tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands where the eye can and cannot see. They told us not to gather, but we became more numerous every day. They said it's over, but we said, 'It won't be over until we say it's over.' It won't be over until Mayor Ekrem and Mayor Murat are released. We will not stop. We will not cower. We will not be silenced."

Özel referred to the claim that there were 550 terrorists in the İBB 3 years ago, stating, "They couldn't even identify one." He continued his speech as follows:

"Now they said 560 billion liras of corruption were committed in the İBB in the last 6 years. First of all, the 6-year budget is 497 billion liras. So, even if you didn't pay any salaries, didn't collect any trash, didn't move any municipal vehicles, and didn't spend a single penny of the 497 billion budget... They are talking about 560 billion liras of corruption. While Mayor Ekrem was in office, they conducted inspections with 1,500 inspectors and found nothing. What are they accusing İmamoğlu of? Shrinking a balcony and enlarging a room. They have lost their minds."

Comparing Esenyurt Municipality with Beylikdüzü Municipality, Özel said, "On one side, there are adjacent buildings; on the other, a 7-kilometer valley of life. On one side, an approach that builds on every green space; on the other, an approach that buys residential land and turns it into a park. One side is the fortress of good municipalism; you look at Esenyurt, it's a museum of urban crimes. That's why we came to challenge those who arrest our friends with lies."

Explaining the projects Murat Çalık carried out during his Beylikdüzü Mayoralty, Özel reminded that the nutrition hour practice for poor children has spread across Turkey. Özel said, "Mayor Murat opened 7 nurseries; 800 children are receiving education in the nurseries. He built exactly 85 parks. During the earthquake, he was the first to draw and set up a tent city in Hatay, even before AFAD."

"CHP'S PLAN A AND PLAN Z IS İMAMOĞLU"

Özel renewed his get-well wishes to Sırrı Süreyya Önder from Beylikdüzü.

Özel said, "Turkish politics necessitates not polarization, but uniting against a single man. We all know the injustice done to the elected İBB Mayor today, and we are supporting Ekrem İmamoğlu, whose strongest side is his honesty. We will win together by resisting this great injustice."

The CHP Chairman said, "There is a junta before us. We will stand tall against it. We will not stop until we disperse that junta, get Mayor Ekrem out, and bring the ballot box. They ask us, 'Do you have a Plan A, a Plan B?' CHP's Plan A and Plan Z is Ekrem İmamoğlu."

Describing Ekrem İmamoğlu's local election victory in 2019, Özgür Özel said, "He dealt with 17 ministers, who are called ministers but are actually Tayyip Erdoğan's secretaries. Süleyman Soylu didn't remain..." After his words, Soylu was booed. Özel said, "Friends, I won't have anyone booed; if you must boo someone, boo the Mufti of Çatalca. Boo that dishonorable person. Erdoğan, who still keeps him in office, I am telling you, the sin of Volkan Konak is upon you."

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel took the stage to great applause. Özel began his speech by saying, "We are calling out from the place where that great march began. The nation is great."

"We came here to hold a rally, but there are tens of thousands where the eye can and cannot see. They said be quiet, we spoke more every day. They said it's over, we said, 'It won't be over until we say it's over, it won't be over until Mayor Ekrem and Mayor Murat are released.' We will not subside, we will not stop, we will not be silenced. Blessings and greetings to the magnificent crowd of 2.2 million in Maltepe, to the 15 million democracy heroes who showed solidarity, came, voted, and made history on Sunday, March 23. We wrote history all together."

Özel renewed his call for district rallies, saying, "Look at this magnificent unity. Let us tell those who think we are holding a rally here: We are not holding a rally after the March 19 coup; we are taking action. We will continue until we get results. When the early election ballot box comes before us, we will have achieved results."

Attacking the Minister of National Education with harsh words, Özel said:

"I haven't seen a young person carrying an axe in their hand. But at the head of this country, as the Minister of National Education, I see someone incompetent, incapable, and ill-intentioned. A person should have a little bit of shame. You will put Turkey's most successful children inside and then say they have axes in their hands. They don't have axes in their hands, but there is a 'kazma' (pickaxe/fool) at the head of the Ministry of National Education!

They are trying to attack Turkey's most deep-rooted high schools. They are taking away the most qualified teachers, where precious graduates are, and where a golden generation is raised, and bringing in teachers who are loyal to the government. We are behind the students resisting in high school. We are behind the teachers and the graduates. These young people opened their eyes under the AKP government. You didn't offer them anything other than livelihood difficulties, pressure, and now you are threatening their teachers, their freedoms, and their future."

3T CALL FROM ÖZGÜR ÖZEL TO BAHÇELİ

"I am making a historic call to Devlet Bahçeli. Are you in for the 3 Ts, Mr. Bahçeli? Yes to a Turkey without terror, yes to trial without detention, yes to a live broadcast on TRT...

I say yes to a Turkey without terror. You also say yes to trial without detention and a live broadcast on TRT, and let a different Turkey begin tomorrow."