New statement from AKP official who called citizens 'ungrateful': 'These are entirely my personal thoughts'

Citizens in Ordu welcomed the new year with a natural gas outage. As many households suffered due to the interruption, the lack of any apology from those responsible further fueled the backlash. The silence of figures representing the ruling party also became a focal point of criticism.

"UNGRATEFUL" REMARKS DRAW BACKLASH

Amidst the rising criticism, a social media post by former AKP Ordu Provincial Deputy Chair and Election Coordination Center (SKM) President Özcan Gürsoy changed the course of the debate. Targeting the citizens who reacted to the outage, Gürsoy stated:

"Ungrateful people! Just because the gas was cut off for a little while, there is a segment that is crying and wailing. The man asks why it was cut and says whatever comes to his mouth. Moreover, this gas has been coming to our homes for a long time without any malfunctions. We have become so accustomed to comfort that people won't accept a three-to-five-hour outage... What a nation addicted to comfort this state has made us, my brother. No prayers, only rebellion."

GAZA COMPARISON AND EMPHASIS ON "GRATITUDE"

Gürsoy argued that citizens should be "grateful" by comparing the infrastructure problem in Ordu to Gaza, which is under Israeli attacks. He included the following words in his post:

"Moreover, this state covers as much as the bill you pay from the treasury just so you pay less. Go ask that Europe you admire so much how much they are paying for gas."

Following the intense backlash, Gürsoy removed the post in question from his social media account.

SHARP REACTION FROM CHP: "GASMAN" JIBE

CHP Ordu MP Mustafa Adıgüzel reacted sharply to Gürsoy in a statement he made on his social media account. Using the term "Gasman" for Gürsoy in his post, Adıgüzel made the following assessment:

"The only commonality between gas and Gaza is the similarity of the words. When they get into a tight spot, they become mujahideen; when it suits them, they become contractors. Everyone must do their job correctly. You are holding up Europe as an example, but take a look at what the cost of such a malfunction is in Europe."

"I WILL HOLD ACCOUNTABLE FOR WHAT I PAY FOR"

Emphasizing that the outage on New Year's Eve was unacceptable, Adıgüzel continued his criticism with these words:

"I will hold accountable for everything I pay for. Especially on New Year's Eve. He says the government pays half of the gas bill and tells us to be grateful. Are you aware that the people of this country are the most taxed people in the world? When I see someone with this perspective, one has to wonder if the malfunction was intentional. Especially when warnings not to celebrate New Year's Eve come from so many institutions, from the Ministry of National Education to the Diyanet. This brazen statement should also be considered in this light."

FIRST STATEMENT AFTER THE BACKLASH

Following the backlash, Gürsoy made a new statement. Arguing that his words were 'distorted,' Gürsoy noted that his views were not on behalf of any political party.

Gürsoy's statement is as follows:

"STATEMENT 

1. My statement on social media regarding the natural gas outage is being persistently distorted from its original context by a certain small segment.  

2. The segment I referred to in my writing are those who attack the state and the relevant authorities with insults that cannot be uttered due to the natural gas outage. My target is never the citizens who express their complaints within the limits of normal criticism. Moreover, the points in my writing have received messages of support from a large segment.

3. Furthermore, the views in my statement are entirely my personal thoughts and were not made on behalf of any political party, nor am I an executive or spokesperson for any political party. Additionally, the phrase 'ungrateful goats' as claimed in my writing was not used.

4. While this is stated in my writing, I leave the delusions and baseless attacks of some local segments and politicians to the discretion and judgment of my common-sense citizens."