Grim 'trustee' outlook from former CHP leader Karayalçın: We must be prepared for bad days

Murat Karayalçın stated that the removal of CHP Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik and the current administration from office by a court order is just the beginning, saying, "We will stand in solidarity, we will prevail, and we will overcome this. It is not easy; we have overcome many difficulties, and we will overcome this too. Now, if the rulings proceed in this direction and a change in administration is brought to the agenda through a state coup, what must be done is for whoever is brought in to immediately call for a party congress within 45 days."

Former CHP leader Murat Karayalçın evaluated the court-ordered suspension of the CHP Istanbul provincial administration during a live broadcast on SCZ TV.

Expressing that the statements made by Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç regarding the court decision were "very striking," Karayalçın said, "It is news that requires us to be prepared for bad days. The Minister says, 'The case in Ankara and the case in Istanbul are related to each other,' meaning we could experience something similar to what we are experiencing in Istanbul for our headquarters in Ankara. We are living through events in Istanbul that we would never have imagined, cannot accept, and cannot reconcile with our conscience," he said. 

"WE MUST BE PREPARED FOR BAD DAYS"

Reminding that Gürsel Tekin, who was appointed by the court for the Istanbul Provincial Administration, also said, "I am on duty with my colleagues," Murat Karayalçın continued as follows:

"So it turns out such a team had been formed. A situation that Mr. Gürsel Tekin would express as 'with my colleagues' happened two days ago. It clearly shows that decisions were being made even before looking at the file and that preparations were being made regarding them. Because his membership in the party he had resigned from was suspended, Gürsel Tekin paid all his membership dues one day before the decision, just in case. A Republican People's Party member who has served as Provincial Chair, Member of Parliament, Deputy Chair, and Secretary General had not paid his membership dues at that time, but now he pays them one day before the decision and says, 'I am on duty with my colleagues.' He adds that entering the building is not very important either. First of all, let me say this: that case is not over yet; we are taking it to the appellate court. This case will be heard in the appellate court, and a final decision has not been made yet, but if these preparations can be made and these statements can be made despite this, and when we relate this to the statement just made by the Minister of Justice, we, as members of the Republican People's Party, must be prepared for bad days."

"WE WILL OVERCOME THIS TOO"

Emphasizing that these days will be overcome with solidarity and the power of resistance, Karayalçın stated, "We showed our solidarity and power of resistance in past years. Now, under the leadership of party veterans and in the light of their experience, we need to demonstrate this again. We will stand in solidarity, we will prevail, and we will overcome this. It is not easy; we have overcome many difficulties, and we will overcome this too. Now, if the rulings proceed in this direction and a change in administration is brought to the agenda through a state coup, what must be done is for whoever is brought in to immediately call for a party congress within 45 days."

Murat Karayalçın stated that delegate elections in the party have been completed in some places and noted the following:

"An election should be held with the existing delegates within 45 days, and a new congress should be held. Times like 1-2 years are out of the question, but whoever says this will be forgotten is using the logic of the AKP, the language of the AKP. Our leader repeats this from time to time. The AKP members said, 'We will take Ekrem İmamoğlu, we will take others too, and this will be forgotten.' He was imprisoned on March 19, and our other friends followed; was it forgotten? When we look at our rallies across Turkey, has the public forgotten this? We are in a different era. We have high sensitivities; this will not be forgotten. If there are those making calculations based on this, they should change their calculations. I never believe that Mr. Kılıçdaroğlu holds such a thought, and I do not want to believe it."