CHP stages a show of strength in AKP's stronghold, Konya!

The fourth of the Republican People's Party's (CHP) 'Defending the National Will' rallies is being held in Konya, a stronghold of the AKP.

Citizens flocked to the rally at Kılıçarslan City Square. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) Mayor Mansur Yavaş spoke at the rally.

YAVAŞ'S RESPONSE TO ERDOĞAN'S 'PERISH' REMARK

Yavaş responded to the remarks made by AKP Chairman and President Tayyip Erdoğan, who had asked, "Let's see how many more CHP members will perish on the path to their presidential ambitions."

"Is this appropriate? I mean, is it a crime to be a candidate for any position in this country?" asked Yavaş, adding, "Political parties exist for this purpose. But we fear that they will also find a way to avoid holding elections."

Following Yavaş's speech, a letter written by IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu from Silivri Prison, where he is being held, was read. Then, CHP Chairman Özgür Özel took the stage.

Key highlights from Özel's speech are as follows:

I greet you all with love and respect. Konya, beautiful Konya, compassionate Konya, Konya that does not turn away those who seek refuge in it, that embraces, that grasps, Konya that does not push away but draws in, that does not drive away but calls, Konya that keeps close, not far, that takes to its bosom, we have come to you, Konya, hello, hello, hello! We have taken refuge in you from the arrogance of the tyrant. We have come to the side of the nation, against those who are tired of arrogance and conceit, against those who look down from above, against those who treat the nation as a crown during election time and then forget them, against those who see the nation as ants. We have come to be the brother of the ant, Konya. Hello, hello, hello!

"WE ARE IN THE FIELD ERDOĞAN AVOIDS"

Today we are in the home of a friend. It will not come to these lands with those who button their robes that have no buttons before justice, but with the conscience of Konya, with fairness. We believe in this. Today we are at Kılıçarslan City Square. When we said, "We will go to Konya," and when we asked for Kılıçarslan City Square, there were those who were surprised, those who were astonished, those who warned us. They said: "Kılıçarslan?" We said: "Yes." They said: "Even Tayyip Bey is now running away from there. Can there be a rally in Kılıçarslan while Tayyip Bey is running to the Station Square?" We said it can. We said it can. Because we believe in Konya. We are taking refuge in Konya from a great injustice. We are going to the conscience of Konya, to the presence of Konya, to the presence of Mevlana. We said, "Konya will take us to its bosom." We brought greetings to Konya from Istanbul, from Başakşehir, last week from Mersin, from Yozgat, from Samsun, from Maltepe, from Saraçhane.

"BOO THAT DISHONORABLE PERSON"

When we went to Yozgat, when we said we would gather in Başakşehir in Istanbul, and when we missed Konya, they said: "Those places are someone's stronghold. You cannot gather there. There won't be a crowd there." Let me tell you something. I do not have anyone booed in politics. It is clear, it is clear that you want to boo. Then we will boo one person. You know the Çatalca Mufti who cursed and swore at Volkan Konak after he passed away, boo that dishonorable person! Because Konya knows that one speaks well of the deceased. To curse or speak ill of the deceased is disrespectful not only to them but also to those left behind, and most of all, to the Creator. Therefore, my request to you is, other than the person who committed that disrespect in this square, let us not boo anyone created by the Creator, no politician, none of them. We did not come here for a fight, we came here to embrace, to reconcile! For years...

REACTION TO THE AKP MAYOR OF KONYA

In Konya, we received seven percent of the vote, we received nine, we said we received a lot, we received eleven, twelve percent. The nation appreciated it, we elected one deputy. The nation appreciated it, we never won a municipality, but we never blamed anyone else. We did not clash with the people of Konya. We knew that the trouble, the problem, the fault was within ourselves. We said we would work harder, struggle, understand, and explain ourselves correctly. While adding Akşehir, Seydişehir, Ereğli, and Cihanbeyli to the one and only Tuzlukçu Municipality in Konya in the March 31 elections, while taking one major district at each of the four gates of Konya, we did not give a shred of value to arrogance or fighting. Recently, some people said bad words to our vehicle touring for the rally and stepped in front of it, doing something unacceptable. A call came about this. Our provincial chairman called. We said: "Never blow this out of proportion." A lot of news came from there. I even said don't even file a complaint. But on the other hand, the mayor of this city, the mayor to whom the people of Konya entrusted this city on March 31, came out yesterday and said, "Sir, the news is a lie, it is a fabrication of the CHP, there is no such thing, there is no such thing." Then it turned out that two people had fired shots into the air with guns in their hands and used profanities, doing an unacceptable thing. If you ask me, if those people have no other faults, no other dangers, no criminal records, I would want them to be released after we leave here. I do not want anyone to be in a bad situation. Even to those who do evil, we are ready, we are willing to extend a hand of friendship, even to the worst of them. But it did not suit a mayor who hosts the tomb and family of Mevlana to call an incident that we ignored, did not announce, and said let's not complain about, a lie. I am stating this clearly here as well.

"HE HAD SAID WITH A SMIRK, 'THE ONE WHO TOOK THE HORSE HAS PASSED ÜSKÜDAR'"

Even if we did not achieve a great success in Konya in the March 31 elections, it was a day when we broke our shell, won a major, ancient municipality from each of its four corners and four gates, and took important steps. That day, when we looked at the screens in a way we hadn't been able to for 47 years, we saw that the Republican People's Party was Turkey's leading party. We were going to manage 65% of the population and 80% of the economy. While this great success, this great success that ended our 50-year, 47-year longing, the greatest success in the history of local elections in the Republic of Turkey, was granted to us, Tayyip Bey was tasting defeat, tasting second place for the first time with the party he founded. There, everyone turned their eyes to the Republican People's Party. In the first speech I made that election night, you are all witnesses that I said we would show humility, not arrogance, that we perceived this not as a victory but as a duty, that the nation perhaps gave the Republican People's Party an investment credit, and that they wanted to see how we would govern. I said, "Let's not honk horns. Let's not beat drums. Let's not do to them what was done to us. Let's not disturb anyone." I said: "This election has no winner, no loser. The winner is the nation, the Republic of Turkey, everyone." However, I even remembered that night, that night, that night: There were those who expected us to take revenge on Tayyip Bey. He had deserved it too. For example, on the day of the referendum, while the objections were still ongoing, he had said with a smirk: "The one who took the horse has passed Üsküdar." He had blocked the judges, both mocked them and given direction to the judiciary. Remember the last election, you won the election, they pulled the bus in front of your house. Instead of going out and saying, "Forgive us if we made a mistake," saying nice words, and embracing everyone, we had suffered a lot from this style of mocking the opponent, saying bye-bye to him, and mocking the opponent with the crowd there. We were determined not to make anyone suffer, not to do to anyone what was done to us. When we gathered our 412 elected mayors in Ankara the next day, we told them this: "You have a key in your hand, in your pocket, in your bag. This key is neither the golden key of the city nor the key to the municipality's door or safe. When you manage correctly, honestly, when you manage diligently, when you take care of the poor and the needy, when you see the needs of the city, when you do not discriminate against anyone, in short, when you practice populist municipalism, that key is the key to the Republican People's Party's power."

Since we became the leading party, we had to talk about service. Since we became the leading party, service was expected from us, not fighting or polemics. Since we were the leading party, we had to talk about the retiree's salary, the retiree's salary at half the hunger threshold, the minimum wage below the hunger threshold, the irrigation problem of the Konya farmer, the price problem, the cost problems. Since we were the leading party, we had to increase the hopes of the young people. An ambulance manager here, right here, right here, next to the camera. Then, then, then, then, then at the very end. Since we were the leading party, we had to think about the retiree, the laborer, the farmer, the tradesman, the young people. Thinking like this, we did what was not done. We were elected chairman, we didn't get a phone call. It was the new year, the president called everyone, he didn't call us to ask how we were. I won the election, he didn't congratulate me, but we were no longer the second party. We were now the ruling party. For this, as the chairman of the Republican People's Party, I called all the leaders and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the first holiday.

On the first day of the holiday, out of respect for the members of a party, the voters, and the office itself, I called Mr. Erdoğan, we talked, we made an appointment, I went to his office, I invited him, I hosted him in our party. To those who asked, "What are you doing?" I said: "This is normal." They said, "Normalization." I said, "Yes, we must normalize." There cannot be a government and opposition that do not shake hands at a martyr's funeral. There cannot be politics that do not face good days and bad days together. There cannot be chairmen who insult and curse at each other. It's not like that in Konya! In Konya, an AK Party member rushes to the funeral of a CHP member. A CHP member stands by their neighbor in their good and bad days. This approach of ours was talked about a lot in Turkey, but it found the most response in Konya and Kayseri. The continuation of this, the fact that services are not disrupted, and that the nation sees an government-opposition relationship that competes in service rather than fighting with each other, was winning the appreciation of the nation. Unfortunately, unfortunately, the time that passed, the time that passed, caused something like this: When the Republican People's Party's votes exceeded the local elections last July, when the so-called entrusted votes became permanent, when the AK Party rolled below 30%, they said: "The nation appreciates this normalization, this embrace, this opposition understanding that thinks of service rather than fighting, that produces service instead of polemics with each other, that makes suggestions when the time comes, that says how it can be done better." For example, he asks me yesterday: "Hey!" he says, "CHP Chairman, what did you do for the earthquake?" I am the leader of the main opposition. Of course, I instructed all my municipalities for urban transformation, for resilient cities. They are doing everything that falls upon them. But what did I mainly do? In our meeting with Erdoğan: "Turkey is an earthquake country. A disaster awaits Istanbul. Appoint the best in Turkey in their field as the earthquake minister, establish a ministry for earthquakes. Turn to us and ask for a deputy minister. Not just from us, but from the CHP, MHP, DEM, Saadet, from the parties with groups in Parliament, and let's discuss this issue not within politics, but above it. Let's join forces all together. Let's work. The municipalities are with me, the general administration is with you, let's join hands before the earthquake disaster comes," I said.

In the next meeting, I said: "What happened to the earthquake ministry?" They didn't even turn to look. But I am saying this: But this November, or next year, that ballot box will surely come, and our nation will surely appreciate it, they will elect our president, Ekrem president.

Young people say: "Take off your jacket, roll up your sleeves." My job is to bring out from within the one who will take off the jacket and roll up the sleeves, we will bring out Ekrem president!

Ekrem President, do you hear? Hundreds of thousands in Konya are shouting Ekrem President. Then, then the time for this has come. Then let's repeat this. Hey Erdoğan! Leave my candidate alone! Bring the ballot box! I want my candidate by my side, the ballot box in front of me! I want Ekrem President to be the President! Applause for Ekrem President! He is also applauding Konya from his cell. To the fullest, to the fullest... When Ekrem President becomes president, of course we will all expect service from him, we will ask for many things. The only thing I will ask for, there is a ministry I will ask from Ekrem President. That is the Ministry of Earthquake. And that the deputies of that ministry should be from all parties. Because there is no politics in an earthquake, there is no joking about it!

This is just an example. I said give the retiree a minimum wage, they said we can't. We said let's make the minimum wage 30,000, they said there is no money. Do not exhaust the hope of the young people. We said make the young people's loans enough to live on, they said we can't. We said solve the housing problem, they said there is no source. When, when the Republican People's Party's policy of suggesting, warning, and embracing the whole society opened the gap with the AK Party, they said this works for the CHP. From that day on, the first thing they did was to try to collect the SSK and tax debts of the municipalities, most of which we took from the AK Party, along with their interest, all at once, for 6 years, 8 years, 10 years with interest. They sent bailiffs to the municipalities. They did everything they could to block, to prevent the donations of the soup kitchen, city restaurants, nurseries, the mother card application, and Mansur President's social projects and support. It wasn't enough, it wasn't enough. Yes, I came to Konya to speak openly, I came to confide. I came to Konya to complain about those who ignore the national will that they crown when they vote for them, I came to complain.

And they made someone who had taken many controversial decisions in the past, then entered politics, and served as a deputy minister, the Chief Public Prosecutor of Istanbul. It is clearly against the constitution. If judges and prosecutors go into politics, they cannot return. But by trampling the constitution under their feet with the hand of the President, they made an AK Party politician the chief prosecutor in Istanbul. Since that day, municipalities have been under legal harassment and attack, just as they have been shaken materially and morally. No one has anything to say to an honest investigation. Remember, was Tayyip Bey also questioned with tons of accusations, bribery, extortion, corruption, Akbil, this and that? Yes. Was he tried? Yes. Was he found guilty? Yes. However, was the police sent to Tayyip Bey's door one day? Was he taken into custody and taken to the police station one day? Was he held there, questioned? Was he sent and arrested and put in prison? Only, only the first stage was finished, the Supreme Court was finished, even in that situation, Tayyip Bey left the IMM. He held his rally in Saraçhane. He was sent off to prison with drums and pipes. They even decided who would lie next to him. But, but the victim of that day's Saraçhane has become the tyrant of today's Saraçhane. We are facing someone who does to his opponent today what was not done to him that day. I ask Konya, beautiful Konya, fair Konya, clean-hearted Konya, high-conscience Konya, does this suit Ekrem President? Does it suit? Is this conscience, is this fairness? Now look, they have taken, things that didn't happen then are repeated every day today. There is coming home, taking with police, discrediting, trial while in custody, dealing with family, children, spouse, brother-in-law. There is lies and slander every day from TRT, from TRT, which is kept alive by all of our taxes. We talked to our Mansur President on the road a little while ago, a little while ago on the road.

DETAILS TO FOLLOW...

Yavaş's speech is as follows:

"Welcome, you have honored us. I offer my love and respect to you all. Today we came here to demand democracy, to complain about illegalities. Because the government does not want to give up the power it holds. However, no one can stand in front of the will of the people. In 2019, before we became mayors, they made slanders like, "If these people come to power, they will fire workers. If these people come to power, they will cut aid. If these people come to power, PKK members will read meters." Yes, why did they do it? To not give up power. But, but after 2019, with the work we did as 11 Metropolitan Mayors, we showed that these bad propaganda did not reflect the truth. The satisfaction percentage increased. We did a municipalism that was not done before. We did a municipalism understanding that is pro-people, human-prioritized, asks the people when making decisions, and accounts to the people for what it spends. Despite this, if you remember, they didn't want us to work by calling us "lame duck."

With the work we did, we reversed all of these. None of those obstructions were of any use. Our vote, which was 50% in Ankara, this time, we won by breaking the Turkey record with 60% of the vote. Our number of municipalities, which was 3, increased to 16. Therefore, while the citizen was hesitant before, waiting to see what would happen if the power changed in the municipality here, they saw the result. And while we were winning almost all of our metropolitan mayors, we also won more other municipalities and metropolitan municipalities at the same time. Currently, satisfaction is also increasing. It reached 58% in the polls conducted. In all Republican People's Party municipalities, including the newly elected ones. They saw that the seats were slipping from under them, this time they had to do something.

The support we provided in rural development, the support we provided in social aid, and the municipalism understanding we practiced became an example for all of Turkey. Therefore, they have to do something. What do they have to do? They have to slander, defame, and discredit these mayors. You see it on television. You see them showing luxury cars in a garage like a gallery on television and making smears saying, "These are Ekrem President's cars."

The next day it is seen that it belongs to a deputy from the People's Alliance. They don't even apologize without shame. For days they say, "He held secret meetings by using a jammer." Gentlemen, even any tradesman in this country carries the worry of "Am I being listened to?" while talking on the phone, right? You brought the country to this state. People have no trust. If the slightest thing happens, they say, "I wonder if someone will hear something and have me arrested?" You see someone tweets, they are rushed to be arrested. But there is a double standard in justice. Nothing happens to those who divide the people, who scatter hatred and revenge. And in Ekrem President's file, believe me friends, there is nothing.

They are trying to discredit him by constantly making smears on television. Yes, there is nothing concrete about Ekrem President saying he did this, there is nothing, it doesn't exist anyway. They can't even claim it. Then what do they have to do? Smear, smear, smear. Well, Ekrem President says something: "Try me in an open live broadcast, let the whole nation see." he says. "Let all of Turkey watch on television." he says. Why don't you have the courage? They are trying to eliminate every obstacle in front of them, everyone they see as an obstacle. They arrested Ümit Özdağ. While there was nothing against him as of the date of his arrest, they started asking for evidence from Kayseri after he was arrested. In law, first a crime is committed, evidence is sought, and then a suspect is found. They don't do that. They throw the man inside first, then try to fabricate evidence. Justice is needed for everyone. The amount Ümit Özdağ is currently lying in prison for does not require him to receive a sentence, but even if he were to receive a sentence, he has already passed the time he would have to serve. What will you judge people for by keeping them in prison? Whereas, in criminal proceedings, the essential is trial without detention. People are innocent, not guilty until a final conviction decision is made. However, you throw people inside first, then you say "We will judge," but the path you are taking is nothing but discrediting. These will backfire. Just as it backfires in Ankara, I hope they will get their lesson in the first election to be held. Yes, right, law, justice, justice will be served!

Yes, let's understand the issue from here. Look, if there was really a crime committed, we would be watching it on television every day. Unfortunately, and it is a fact that there is no crime or anything. "We will destroy the opponents one by one," and then he says, a confession, "I wonder," he says, "how many more will perish by that day?" he says. Is this appropriate? I mean, is it a crime to be a candidate for any position in this country, to come forward to manage this country better? Political parties exist for this purpose. But we fear that today, well, they will probably find a way to avoid holding elections. Now we see these injustices, dear people of Konya. I won't prolong it. These injustices are being done. Well, if you watch because these injustices are being done to Ekrem President, to Ümit Özdağ, to elected mayors, saying "At least he is not one of mine," tomorrow someone will come and knock on your door. And I say, whoever commits injustice, one must oppose it. It is like that in our belief. He who remains silent in the face of injustice is a silent devil.

We are in the squares to explain this injustice to all of Turkey. We have only one concern. We will not let go until Ekrem President is released. We will do whatever is necessary. After that, I hope in the first general election to be held, we have no doubt that this government will change. Well, what will happen when it changes? As in Ankara, as in Istanbul, as in our other municipalities, in the metropolitan cities, you hear our rural development supports in favor of agriculture in Ankara. You see how we support farmers. Konya is also an agricultural country. The seedling is from us, the seed is from us, the diesel is from us, the fertilizer is from us, we provide all kinds of support. We know that, we know that if the farmer does not produce, we will go hungry. We know that they do not support agriculture. If there is a weakness in agriculture, they are used to importing from abroad. How far will you import? Will you make us dependent on the outside for that too, like natural gas? Will you make us dependent on the outside there, like fuel? Everything is in Turkey. There is flour, there is halva. But there is flour, there is sugar, there is no one to make halva out of it. Here we promise the country bright tomorrows, a government where there is no corruption, where there is freedom of expression, open, transparent, and accountable. And I hope, together with our elected mayors, when Ekrem President is released, you will see what we promise to Turkey in a much better way. Exemplary metropolitan municipalities, satisfaction is increasing. No matter how much they obstruct, the 58% satisfaction will hopefully approach 100%. Yes, thank you all very much for coming here today, for supporting Ekrem President, for coming here to oppose injustices and unfairness. I offer my love and respect to you all. With the hope of meeting in beautiful days, in bright days, in a free country, I offer my love and respect to you all."

İMAMOĞLU'S MESSAGE WAS READ

Following Yavaş's speech, CHP Konya Provincial Chairman Bekir Yaman took the stage and read the letter of CHP's presidential candidate and IMM Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is imprisoned in Silivri Prison.

İmamoğlu's letter is as follows:

"Children of Central Anatolia with rich hearts, I greet you by fitting my voice, my heart, my hope, and my belief into these lines. Greetings to the sweat, prayer, and patience of this fertile plain, this dignified city. I am not among you today, but count our few as many. Count every friend of mine who greets you in this square as Ekrem İmamoğlu. Since March 19, this nation, which has been meeting in every square of our country, is raising its voice for fair, free, and prosperous days. The voice of the common conscience is rising from Konya today. In the very middle of my homeland, in this ancient city whose history dates back thousands of years, the prudent, respectful, profound Anatolian culture is taking us to its bosom. This meeting is as much an honorable expression of our common history as it is a search for justice. These days, fruit trees have blossomed in our Konya. Wheat stalks have appeared. The Gedavet wind has begun to blow in the Meram vineyards. These days are the most beautiful time of the Konya Plain. But unfortunately, while welcoming spring this year, our soil is sad, frost hit our fruit trees. On the other hand, we are talking about the sinkholes that are opening up in our fertile Konya plain every day. It would be wrong to see sinkholes only as a natural disaster. Dear brothers and sisters, these giant pits that have formed are the wounds opened by years of wrong agricultural policies, the reckless use of water, and lack of planning.

Every sinkhole in Konya actually reminds us of the collapse of the system, that not only the soil but also our most ancient values and institutions are being pulled out from under us. That is why not only the soil but also justice needs water. Not only the soil but also the judicial system needs maintenance. Because when the scales of justice are tilted, when the judiciary is used like a stick, when the farmer cannot get the return for their labor, when young people are forced to look for their future in other countries, sinkholes open in our hearts too. Our future is practically hit by frost. Dear people of Konya, that is why we are here, that is why you are here. We are together to protect our soil, our present, and our future. As Mevlana said: "When you become one with people, you are a mine. A great sea, if you remain in yourself, you are a drop, a grain." We are no longer a drop. Like a river that has lent its shoulder to each other, from square to square, from heart to heart, we are leaving behind the tyranny, oppression, all kinds of polarization, and fear of this government and lending our shoulders to each other. Because this country is all of ours, this land is all of ours, this future is all of ours. My request to you is this. Grow the courage that keeps hope alive in your hearts for each other. Until the day we bring these lands together with right, law, and justice again, we will continue the march together by meeting in the squares and consciences all over the country. We will overcome the sinkholes, poverty, and injustice of this country together. May our solidarity, our unity, our courage be eternal. May God not separate us from each other. May He add strength to our strength. May He make our desire good."