CHP's Sarıyer rally: Özel makes statement on pensions: 'Would it be so bad if they received 70 thousand liras?'

The new venue for the 'The Nation Protects Its Will' rallies, which began after the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 23 following a dawn raid on his home on March 19, is Istanbul's Sarıyer district.

CHP'S 62ND ACTION IN SARIYER

The 62nd of the 'The Nation Protects Its Will' rallies, for which CHP Chairman Özgür Özel called on citizens by saying, "We have leaned our backs on the nation!", is being held at Sarıyer Central Republic Square.

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL IS AT THE SQUARE

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel began his speech at the rally in Sarıyer Central Republic Square by drawing attention to the roads closed by the Istanbul Governorship on the days of the rallies.

Stating, "We did not come to Sarıyer to hold a rally, but to take action," Özel continued his speech by saying, "I have a dream":

"When election night comes; you know, when young people wanted to go to Taksim from Saraçhane, they gave legal orders to the police to stop them and pitted them against the youth. Election night will come, we will watch the ballot boxes, we will get the result, and the next day at 20:30, we will dance the halay shoulder to shoulder with the police and the youth in front of the Valens Aqueduct."

HE EXPLAINED WHY THE AKP OPPOSES NURSERIES AND DORMITORIES

Stating that since İmamoğlu took office, the number of nurseries in Istanbul has increased to 160 and the number of student dormitories to 18, Özel explained why the AKP opposes nurseries and dormitories.

Özel said, "A nursery means a woman's participation in social life; a nursery means a poor child's manual skills developing at the same level as a rich child's. A nursery means something indispensable for modern education. A dormitory means ensuring students have no housing problems. Why don't they build dormitories! Because they wait for religious communities close to them to catch the student at the bus terminal. They want them to take them, register them in their own dormitories, and recruit militants from the problems of the poor family's child."

"CITIZENS ARE TRYING TO PAY OFF DEBT WITH DEBT"

Reminding that the poverty line has risen to 91 thousand liras, Özel spoke to the citizens in the square about economic difficulties, saying, "Do you know why Erdoğan doesn't love you? Because you are poor."

Özel stated that the AKP government collects the taxes it should take from the rich from the poor, saying, "Citizens are trying to pay off debt with debt."

"WE WILL TURN THIS AKP'S BLACK ORDER UPSIDE DOWN"

"90% of the square, and according to official figures, 86% of the country, earns an income below this figure. When that happens, Erdoğan collects the highest taxes and interest from the poor. Look, he charges 95% interest from people who are finished, exhausted, and whose last resort has been to pay off their credit card with another credit card, or who have become what they call cash advance users, meaning they have a negative balance. The official interest rate is 40%. They distribute loans to businesses and factories slightly above this, but Uncle Ibrahim's pension wasn't enough, he withdrew from his credit card and could only pay the minimum amount, and the interest on top of that is 95%. Or he went to the bank, took a cash advance from the bank, fell into a negative balance, 95% annually," said Özel, adding:

"Look, one, imagine a rich man, he puts his money in this branch across the street. He goes to the branch manager, says, 'I have this much money, how much interest will you give me?' They calculate it, he pays 17.5% withholding tax on the interest he earns. But Uncle Ibrahim has fallen into follow-up due to credit debt, he pays 30% tax on his credit card debt. And he pays the interest, which should be 40%, as 95% with the addition of that 30% tax and others."

"So, do you know what kind of person this AK Party, this Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is? He loves the rich, he doesn't love the poor. He doesn't even pity those who fall. The order that kicks those who fall to the ground is Tayyip Erdoğan's palace order, friends. The AK Party government is always a government that kicks those who fall. The Republican People's Party's understanding is to take the arm of those who stumble. It lifts up those who fall. It heals the wounds of those who are wounded."

"It never hits those who fall. Because the Republican People's Party is the party of the fallen, the oppressed, the broken, and those who expect something from the state. Because the Republic is especially the protector of the unprotected. Citizens who turn debt with debt have now seen the bottom. The number of accounts that have fallen into a negative balance has broken a record in history. It has increased by 89% this year and reached 31 million. In Turkey, 31 million people have a negative account balance, and the interest applied to them is 95%."

"In this black order, citizens pay 89 liras of every 100 liras of tax, while they only take 11 liras of every 100 liras of tax from those who really earn. I am tirelessly explaining the tax collection method of the AKP's black order. Look, in a country, tax is taken from those who earn. The right way is to take a lot from those who earn a lot, a little from those who earn a little, and no tax at all from those who don't earn. But 66% of the tax in this country is indirect tax."

"That is, the most immoral, most heartless tax collected. Imagine a factory, its business and roads are running smoothly, the factory owner himself and the guard at the door pay the same tax. On what? On electricity, water, mobile phone bills, or the formula or diapers they buy for their child. They take the same tax from the factory owner and the same tax from the guard. Regardless of their earnings, 66% is indirect tax, 23% is tax deducted from salaries. For example, there is a Mahmut Hoca under this tree."

"Mahmut Hoca will receive his salary. When he inserts his card, tax has already been deducted from his salary before he even withdraws the money, that tax is 23% in total. Tax deducted from salaries. Does that make 89%? The remaining 11% is the tax paid by those who earn money, trade, and make a profit, whether in the service sector, production, or exports in Turkey, only 11%. 89% from the poor citizens, 11% only from those who earn. I swear, I swear, we promise that we will turn this AKP's black order upside down, we will turn it upside down."

"ERDOĞAN, YOU AND THE PROSECUTORS ARE SLANDERERS"

Referring to the statements made by AKP President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in January 2025, "They will have no state left to go out into the streets," Özel pointed to the crowd in Sarıyer Square and said, "Erdoğan, you and the prosecutors are slanderers."

Reacting to the fact that the IMM investigation indictment has still not been prepared, despite rumors that it would be prepared in October, Özel said, "Write and bring those indictments, we are waiting for them to judge this black order of yours."

Özel also said, "They are planning to prepare separate indictments."

SUPPORT FOR ŞÜKRÜ GENÇ

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel expressed his support for the imprisoned former Sarıyer Mayor Şükrü Genç, who resigned from his party after not being re-nominated by the CHP in the 2024 Local Elections.

Stating that the arguments between them are in the past, Özel also noted that Şükrü Genç's health condition is not good.

"RETIREMENT PENSION WILL BE 8 QUARTER GOLD COINS"

Özel promised that when they come to power, the pension will be 8 quarter gold coins, saying, "Would it be so bad if a retiree received a 70 thousand lira salary? A Belgian retiree receives it, why can't they receive it here?"

"WE UPDATED THE BOYCOTT LIST"

Özel also spoke about the 'boycott list'. Reiterating that they have ended the boycott against Espresso Lab, Özgür Özel said that they will continue the boycott they have imposed on NTV, which does not broadcast CHP rallies.

Stating that they initially thought about holding the rally in Sarıyer Republic Square in front of the NTV building, Özel stated that they did not carry out this plan because they respect the workers working there.

He called for not shopping from companies affiliated with the Doğuş Group, which owns NTV.

"WE WILL ANNOUNCE A BIG SCANDAL NEXT WEDNESDAY"

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel announced that they will hold a rally in Arnavutköy, one of the AKP's strongholds, on Wednesday, October 22.

Özel said that they will reveal the scandals regarding Kanal İstanbul one by one in Arnavutköy.

HE ADDRESSED SARIYER SQUARE FROM SILIVRI

Ekrem İmamoğlu, who has been imprisoned for 206 days, sent a letter to the rally held in Silivri Central Square.

The letter written by İmamoğlu from the Marmara Prison in Silivri was read by CHP İstanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik.

In the letter, which Çelik read accompanied by chants of 'President İmamoğlu', İmamoğlu included the following:

"My dear fellow citizens, dear residents of Sarıyer, esteemed ladies and gentlemen, our hope, our youth, our beautiful children, the brave, honest citizens of this city and this country, I greet you with respect and love."

"Like every corner of Istanbul, Sarıyer is the apple of our eye, our precious one. Since 2019, we have been trying to be worthy of you with works worthy of Sarıyer's history, natural beauty, and people. I also thank our Sarıyer Mayor Mustafa Oktay Aksu for the services he has implemented in our Sarıyer district."

"It happened thanks to the understanding of giving the nation's money directly to the nation. As Istanbulites rewarded this understanding of ours, the government punished us. The investigations, lawsuits, unlawful attempts, and bullying are endless. When they realized they could never defeat us at the ballot box, they became completely lawless and aggressive."

"These investigations, which are shown as the reason for the arrest of me and my friends, officially started exactly one year ago in October 2024. They have all the authority and all the means in their hands; if there were a crime, they would have found every piece of evidence and reached every document in this one year. But when there is no crime, there is no evidence."

Upon this, they started to produce slander with pressure and blackmail. They are trying to make the nation believe in a fiction by writing imaginary scenarios. That's why they haven't been able to present an indictment for a year. We have been saying for months, 'Prepare the indictment immediately. Do what the law requires and try us without arrest.' We want, 'Let the trial be broadcast live, let our nation see the facts with their own eyes and hear them with their own ears.'"

"We only and only demand justice. But they are not in search of justice. Their only concern is to get rid of their political rivals with perception operations and so-called judicial decisions. They are usurping the power that the nation did not give them through the judiciary. They are trying to win the upcoming election not with the will of the nation that will come out of the ballot box, but with guided decisions they will get from the court. We cannot allow this."

"We cannot allow our Republic and our democracy to be ignored and the national will to be usurped. We are obliged to repel this attack we are facing and to keep the government within the limits of law and democracy. This is not the issue of one person or one party. This is a matter of the country. The issue is the issue of justice, freedom, and dignity of 86 million. The issue is the issue of the country's future. The issue is the issue of being able to reach prosperity, peace, abundance, and blessings as a nation."

"IN 6 YEARS, I WAS EXAMINED 1300 TIMES AND WAS ACQUITTED OF ALL"

"My dear fellow citizens; know that I have no regrets, no hopelessness inside me. As the Mayor of 16 million Istanbulites, I am proud of what I have done. I have been examined 1300 times in 6 years by many institutions of the state and have been acquitted of all of them. I came out of 48 administrative and 51 personal investigations with my head held high."

"In this political case, I am not the one who has to clear himself. Those who make the judiciary work with instructions and those who try to sideline me by hiding behind secret witnesses have to clear themselves. Those who had my 30-plus-year-old diploma canceled through pressure have to prove that what they did was not a dirty operation and clear themselves. But they will not be able to clear themselves."

"The coup plotters, the tutelage seekers, and the usurpers of the national will will not be able to get rid of the black stain on their foreheads. Our nation will not forgive them and will impose the punishment they deserve at the ballot box. The nation is greater and stronger than all governments. Have no doubt. Our nation will take hold of the country's destiny, everything will be very beautiful. Everything will be very beautiful. I love you all very much. Stay healthy."