Ekrem İmamoğlu: 'I find Bahçeli's call important'

CHP presidential candidate and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, who is currently detained at Silivri Prison, evaluated the statements made by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli regarding him.

İmamoğlu noted that he finds Bahçeli's statements important.

In his statement, İmamoğlu said, "My dear nation, the detention and arrest of myself and my colleagues, who set out with the effort to serve our country and nation, during dawn operations conducted at our homes at the time of suhoor in the holy month of Ramadan, has not been accepted by the public conscience. Our dear nation has once again shown, thank God, how committed it is to democracy and its will through the clear, genuine, strong, and popular reactions it has given."

İmamoğlu expressed the following:

"-The strong reaction our nation has given against this intervention in democracy is, beyond protecting its own will, a justified cry against the increasingly anti-democratic practices in our country, our worn-out justice system, and the economic collapse that darkens the future of our nation and the hopes of our youth.

The protests carried out by our nation against our arrest, which were far from violence, where Turkish flags waved everywhere, and which had the love of the homeland at their core, are by no means the cause of the crisis, chaos, and turmoil our country is experiencing. The real cause of the crisis, chaos, and turmoil being inflicted upon Turkey today is the attempted coup being carried out through the judiciary. It is President Erdoğan who chooses crisis, chaos, and turmoil.

This political operation carried out through the judiciary has further shaken our nation's faith in justice, whose trust in the legal system was already weak, and has led to the further decay of our ancient values and institutions. The practices carried out at dawn against elected politicians, which disregard the family order that we all consider sacred, and the clear illegalities that even reached the point of canceling a 35-year-old diploma, have caused severe damage to the public conscience. It is essential for the future of our country and the conscience of our nation that this crisis inflicted upon our country be repaired, that our nation's will not be subjected to further disrespect, and that judicial processes proceed in a truly fair manner, far from politics.

In these days when our justice system is being intensely debated and distrust in the judiciary has reached its peak, I find the assessments and the call of MHP Chairman Mr. Devlet Bahçeli regarding the judicial process that my colleagues and I have been subjected to quite important.

In the new century of our Republic, it is not a choice but a clear necessity that we enter this period not with this scene that divides our nation and disrupts our unity, but with the hope of a Turkey without terrorism inside, and with the determination and effort to struggle against the centers that threaten our country's unity outside. While our region has turned into a ring of fire, while a paradigm shift unseen for decades is taking place in world politics, and while the rules of the global economic system are being rewritten, Turkey has no issue more important than being fortified in unity, solidarity, and brotherhood.

On the occasion of Mr. Bahçeli's statement, I would like to emphasize this: Turkey has serious issues of survival such as the economy, security, and justice. The way to reach a Turkey that does not have a survival issue is to make the state strong and effective, the nation prosperous, and the judiciary fair. In a place where society is anxious even about its fundamental rights and has almost completely lost its trust in the system, it is impossible to even speak of power, prosperity, and justice.

To reach a strong, prosperous, and fair Turkey, we are building a path and walking on it by observing the rights of our nation with the principle of 'I will not take what is not mine, and I will not let my rights be taken.' No one should have the slightest doubt that even if we pay a price or suffer on this path, we will struggle and win in the end.

Unless Turkey becomes a truly democratic and fair country for everyone, stability, progress, and prosperity will not be achieved.

Our greatest wish, hope, and effort are for all citizens of the Republic of Turkey to attain the prosperity and justice they deserve. I present this with my deepest respect and love.

Ekrem İmamoğlu"