İYİ Party's 'Flag Rally' in Ankara: 'The trustee is over all of us, the trustee is over the state'

The İYİ Party held a "Flag Rally" in Ankara. Thousands of citizens were present with flags at Ankara's Tandoğan Square.

İYİ Party Chairman Müsavat Dervişoğlu made significant remarks at the Flag Rally.

In his statement, Dervişoğlu said, "The nation wants its flag. The nation wants its Republic. The nation wants its rights, its freedom, it wants justice. It wants back its trampled dignity and its usurped sovereignty.

'THERE ARE TERRORISTS THEY WANT TO DRESS IN SUITS AND TIE TIES AROUND THEIR NECKS'

My dear fellow countrymen; there is no one left in this country who sees the nation, no one who cares about what happens to it, no one who hears its cries, no one who solves our problems! As if Turkey's only concern were the internal calculations of politics, the same artificial agendas are etched onto the same screens for days and weeks. On television, there is no security, only our fears; in newspapers, there is no news, only rumors; on phones, there is no politics, only gossip; there are disenfranchised votes; there are terrorists they want to dress in suits and tie ties around their necks!

'THEY WANT US TO FORGET EVEN SEEING EACH OTHER'

Politics has loaded the crises it created, its own personal problems, and its own seat-related concerns onto the shoulders of the nation; it fuels despair instead of trust, weariness instead of expectation, and division instead of unity. They want us to forget even looking at each other, seeing each other. We argue in traffic, we fight with our neighbors. Where are our shared joys? Where is our brotherhood? Where are those thousands-of-years-old values that make us who we are? Don't we see this even when we watch our national team? Where and how did we forget to share a common pride? The issue is not failing to score a goal or not getting points; how did we become so divided even in sorrow and grief?

DERVİŞOĞLU REMEMBERED Kadir İnanır

As you know, unfortunately, we lost Kadir İnanır yesterday. For Turkey, he was Kadir İnanır; he was the towering mountain of Yeşilçam! He was Tatar Ramazan, he was Driver İlyas; he gave soul to many characters. How happy I am that for me, he was always 'Kadir Abi' (Brother Kadir); my fellow townsman from Fatsa, a 'delikanlı' (upstanding) and leftist brother of mine. And I was his Turkish nationalist brother. He was someone who made very important contributions to my life; he was a brother with whom I debated at the same table and laughed and cried at the same table. They told me: 'There is a rally tomorrow. Kadir İnanır was a leftist, he was one of the 'wise men'; let's not commemorate him, it might be misunderstood.' If I, Müsavat Dervişoğlu, cannot wish God's mercy upon my brother of 50 years, if I am to drown in the hypocrisy of this, then let this politics drown instead! It is not I who should be ashamed, but those who refrain from wishing God's mercy! May God rest his soul and grant him paradise, Kadir Abi. Do not worry at all, 'We will break this game too.' Rest in peace!

'THERE ARE 25 MILLION ENFORCEMENT FILES'

While no one except a handful of people with positions and resources is smiling, how are we still able to tear each other apart every day? While each of us is losing, why can't we support each other? The real problems of that 'other' Turkey behind the screens, the news, and the internet; fathers whose heads are bowed with debt, mothers worried about their children's future, the life struggle of the unemployed, the farmer's harvest trouble, the tradesman's credit trouble, the salary trouble of the retiree, the civil servant, and the worker—are these not the common problems of each of us? There are 25 million enforcement files, 25 million! 25 million enforcement files at the end of 25 years of government! 25 years that mortgaged our future, foreclosed on the hopes of generations, but where those responsible paid no price...

'THE TRUSTEE IS OVER ALL OF US, THE TRUSTEE IS OVER THE STATE'

Therefore, the issue today is not the appointment of trustees to municipalities, parties, or companies; I wish our problem were only this. I wish it were possible for everyone to save what they have lost, and that the emotions that gathered us in this square on this beautiful summer day were not our anxieties, our anger, and our suffering.

My brothers; the trustee is over all of us, the trustee is over the state, the trustee is over the nation! These powers, this political impasse, this moral collapse have created a great destruction! And the issue has long since ceased to be a matter of one person.

'THE GREAT SPIRITUALITY THAT MAKES US A NATION IS UNDER ATTACK'

For the same reason, our losses are not just material. It is not just jobs, houses, cars, shops, deeds, diplomas, or the 3-5 gold bracelets we put aside that are in danger; nothing we possess is safe. Unfortunately, we can sacrifice even our most beloved, our children, to the gears of this system in one way or another. There is no point in looking for the cause in isolated incidents anymore; the focus of the attack is clear: The great spirituality that makes us a nation, that keeps us together, is under attack!

'THE FLAG IS THE SIGN OF OUR SOVEREIGNTY, THAT IS WHY I UNFURLED IT!'

That is why I unfurled the flag! That is why I planted this flag! Because there is no other shade under which we can catch our breath! This flag is the sign of our sovereignty; this is the nation's right to do what it sees as right, and they do not respect it! This is the nation wanting what it knows to be its right, and they do not understand, they do not allow it! This is the nation's freedom, its independence, its honor, and they are trampling on it, stepping over it! It is its land, its factory, the place where it sheds its sweat, its breadwinner, and they are withholding it from us, destroying it, stealing it!

That is why I unfurled the flag! If we are to be a nation, if we are to remain a nation, there is no other path than this, no other badge than this, no other cause than this! It is honor, it is tradition, it is law, and all of it is in this banner!

'OUR STATE DOES NOT NEED THE CONSULTANCY OF A BLOODTHIRSTY KILLER'

My brothers! Whenever they attempt to do something contrary to the nation's expectations, they say, "It's a state project"; they say, "The state is doing it, the state wants it, it's a state tradition." Our state does not darken the future of its citizens! Our state does not play with the honor and dignity of the Turk! Our state does not need the consultancy of a bloodthirsty killer! We have no such state tradition!

They say, "State wisdom," they say, "Deep state!" The state does not have a 'deep' side, it has law; there is no state without law! And that law belongs only and exclusively to the Turkish nation! Law means bread, it means morality, it means justice. If there is no justice, there is no freedom; if there is no freedom, there is no security, no trust; if there is no trust, there is nothing! If none of these exist today, then who are those shouting "We are the state!" my brother? These are the subcontractors of the traps set for Turkey! And we are the ones who do not fall into this trap, we are the ones who break this trap; we are the ones who say, "If everyone has a plan, God also has a plan!"

'STATE WISDOM IS NOT AN IMMUNITY GRANTED TO EVERYTHING THE GOVERNMENT DOES'

State wisdom is not an armor of immunity granted to everything the government does. State wisdom is not presenting the interests of a party as the interests of the state. What they market to us as state wisdom is government cunning. State wisdom is the ability to protect the nation's unity, the rule of law, independence, and a common future. This government has no such ability, no such intention, and no such wisdom! We recognize no rank other than the dignity and reputation of the Turkish nation!

'INSTEAD OF BEING YAZID IN PALACES, WE ARE HONORED TO BE HUSSEIN IN KARBALA'

Whoever it may be, no matter what seat they sit in, we have known right as right and wrong as wrong. In defiance of those who flutter around power, we have risked burning in the fire of truth. In this blessed month of Muharram, I say: Instead of being Yazid in palaces, we are honored to be Hussein in Karbala. That is why we are those who consider it an honor to die with dignity if necessary, rather than live in humiliation; because we are those who carry the sacred legacy of the Republic on our heads. That sacred legacy commands us not to worship individuals, but to remain loyal to principles until death! And how time and history justify this unshakeable stance of ours?

'A FREEDOM RALLY IS BEING HELD FOR THE ENEMY OF THE STATE AND NATION, FOR A BABY KILLER'

My dear citizens, my brothers; rallies are being held in Van and Mersin today, and they will be held in Istanbul and Diyarbakır tomorrow. Well, what kind of rallies are these? They are "Freedom for the enemy of the state, the enemy of the nation, the baby killer" rallies! They want freedom for that murderer who is responsible for the pain of millions of people, who has the blood of fifty thousand of our children on his hands, who has been the cause of our martyrs! Under whose protection is this being done? It is being done with the connivance and facilitation of this government! They think Turkey is ownerless.

WHO ARE THEY TRYING TO APPEASE?

As Müsavat Dervişoğlu, I ask on your behalf: Who are they trying to appease, and with what? They want to make one segment of this nation pledge allegiance to them, and make the other segment subjects to that convicted terrorist. We, however, see every one of our citizens as a free, honorable, and equal individual of the Republic before the law. We do not equate freedom with a murderer, we do not define law as a privilege, we do not understand democracy as an excuse for division!

'THEY WERE INTERESTED IN THE CALCULATION OF USING THE KURD AS A TOOL FOR THEIR POLITICS'

For years, they were not interested in the Kurd's problems, but in the calculation of using the Kurd as a tool for their politics. They did not ask him, "Are you full, is your child going to school, do you have a job?" because they did not want the Kurd to see himself as a citizen of this country. Because their concern is neither the Kurd nor the Turk; their concern is their own small zones of power, their bargains, what they take, and what they give. Know this: the will of the nation is not in İmralı and its patrons; it is here today and always, in the capital Ankara, in Tandoğan Square!

'IF THE PALACES ARE YOURS, THE SQUARES ARE OURS'

I was in this square 48 years ago too; my heart beats today just as it did then... Just as this square shouted the voice of the Turkish nation to the world that day, it is shouting today: "If the palaces are yours, the squares are ours!" Because the Republic is the work of the squares, not the palaces... Not all fortresses can be captured, not all souls can be taken prisoner! That soul is the soul that founded the Republic, that body is the body of national resistance, and that soul, that body is right here in Tandoğan today; it has taken form, its forehead is clear, its head is held high! 48 years ago, it marched on behalf of 45 million, today it marches with 85 million, and it knows very well where it is marching!

'I AM UNFURLING A FLAG AGAINST THOSE WHO PROTECT TERROR AND TERRORISTS, AGAINST THOSE WHO WANT TO DIVIDE TURKEY'

That is exactly why; I, Müsavat Dervişoğlu, as a member of this honorable march, as one of you, as a child of this homeland, am unfurling a flag here today, from this square, on behalf of the Turkish nation. This flag is the honor, the dignity, the light of a nation whose throat is being gripped, whose breath is being cut off! I am unfurling a flag against those who protect terror and terrorists, against those who want to divide Turkey with the lie of a "Turkey without terror"! Oh you who eat the bread of this homeland and betray it, oh you who put dynamite at the foundation of the state for your political future, I am unfurling a flag against you! I am unfurling a flag against those who open the door to amnesty for that murderer who fired bullets at infants in their cradles and is the killer of tens of thousands of our souls!

'I AM UNFURLING A FLAG AGAINST THOSE WHO PUT THE JUDICIARY AT THE SERVICE OF POLITICS'

I am unfurling a flag against those who act as brokers of treason under the sacred roof of the Grand National Assembly, against the dirty schemes behind closed doors, against the insidious separatism wearing a mask of "freedom," against the rotten mentality that equates the terrorist with the state and sits at the table with them! I am unfurling a flag for the undrying tears of martyr mothers who, while burying their children, have hearts bleeding but always say, "May the homeland be safe," and for the sighs of tens of thousands of children of the homeland who have fallen to this soil and are rising to the heavens!

I am unfurling this flag for the Republic; I am unfurling a flag for our unitary structure, for the unshakeable dignity of the Turkish state, for freedom and independence! I am unfurling a flag against those who leave the nation hungry in this blessed and fertile homeland, against those who usurp by the ladle and grant by the spoon, against plunder, rent, and rent-seekers! I am unfurling a flag against those who put the judiciary at the service of politics! I am unfurling a flag for those who are tried for tweeting, those who are arrested for reporting news, those who are thrown into prison for being called dissidents, those whose political rights and freedoms are mortgaged! I am unfurling a flag against those who established this order where gambling, drugs, and prostitution are encouraged, and the mafia is emboldened; I am unfurling a flag for our safety of life, our safety of property, and our safety of honor!

'I AM UNFURLING A FLAG AGAINST THOSE WHO DO NOT FEAR GOD BUT FEAR THE SERVANT'

For our youth... I am unfurling a flag for our brilliant youth who leave their dreams in interview rooms and are forced to seek their hope abroad! I am unfurling a flag for the teachers on hunger strike, for our police officers who committed suicide, for our young lieutenants who were expelled from the army for saying, "We are the soldiers of Mustafa Kemal!" For the incessant femicides, for the disgusting abuse our apple-of-the-eye children are subjected to...

'WE WOULD ERASE FROM HISTORY THOSE WHO PROPOSE CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION'

And now I come to the very beginning of a new era, a great rise. Know that this square is the declaration of a sacred beginning! Our Assembly is the Assembly that founded the state. The 'Müdafaa-i Hukuk' (Defense of Rights) is not a memory, it is a supreme spirit that brought the Republic into existence. And this is what we are doing in Tandoğan today: It is the Defense of Rights, it is the Defense of the Nation, it is the Defense of the Republic! This is our constitution. No one will be able to change it. We, let alone changing it, would erase from history those who propose changing it.

'WE WILL TAKE OUR RIGHTS BY FORCE'

Let them know that we will take back our usurped rights by force, we will get the reward for our labor. We will re-establish that honest order where justice does not work differently for the rich and the poor, differently for the government and the opposition. We will build that blessed future where our children look not abroad, but to the bright horizon of our homeland; we will take back our Republic.

Let them know that we will take back our usurped rights by force, we will get the reward for our labor. We will re-establish that honest order where justice does not work differently for the rich and the poor, differently for the government and the opposition. We will build that blessed future where our children look not abroad, but to the bright horizon of our homeland; we will take back our Republic.

'WE ARE DEFENDING THE TRUST THAT GHAZI MUSTAFA KEMAL FOUNDED WITH HIS LIFE AND BLOOD AND LEFT TO US'

Oppression has cannons, shells, and fortresses, but Right has an unbending arm and an unturning face. Do not close your eyes to the sun, no matter how much its light dims, it never sets eternally, every night has a day!"

We are defending the trust that Ghazi Mustafa Kemal founded with his life and blood and left to us! We are defending the unitary state, the indivisible integrity of the nation! We are defending the homeland, we are doing our primary duty!

'IT IS NO LONGER THE TIME FOR PERSONAL CONFLICTS'

That is exactly why we are setting aside fake fights and artificial crises and saying "Integrated Opposition." Because it is no longer the time for small calculations, personal conflicts, or the debate of "Should it be me or you?"; the issue is the issue of getting rid of this order. It is the issue of abandoning one-man rule and regaining our Republic. It is the issue of protecting our democracy and making the nation's sovereignty prevail once again.

'THE TIME IS THE TIME OF THE GOOD'

The time is the time of the goodness within us, the time is the time of the good, the time is the time of the homeland! If you are asking, "Well, when is that time?" I am telling you: It is now or never!

'WE WILL STAMP OUR SEAL FIRST ON HEARTS AND MINDS, AND THEN ON HISTORY'

We will not separate, we will not divide; we will not be weary, we will not be destroyed! We will be one heart and say "stop" to treason, injustice, and lawlessness. We will do it together, united, all of us. Not in secret rooms; not in circles, tables, or lodges; but by meeting in squares as we are here, by embracing unshakeable principles, we will unite the nation's will at the ballot box! We will stamp our seal first on hearts, first on minds, and then on history. In every corner of Turkey, in every street, in every household, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with the same determination and shout.