Özgür Özel's reaction to the 'nullity' group: They have a handful of people, we have tens of thousands

Özgür Özel was accompanied by Çağatay Güç, the CHP İzmir Provincial Chairman who was dismissed by the absolute nullity administration.

Addressing the public there, Özgür Özel said, "After the midnight raid they carried out by gathering people who wouldn't even pass by the party, the people of İzmir said, 'Come, they raided that building with 50 thugs. Come, let's take that building back.' I told them this: it doesn't matter what they do. We left the buildings behind. We left the resources behind. To those who are trying to rush into those buildings and settle in places where they were not elected, I say let's see them take to the streets, let's see... aside from the photos taken with 3 or 5 people..."

Özgür Özel's speech was interrupted by chants of "Traitor Kemal". Upon this, Özel said, "I understand your anger, I understand your resentment, I understand your frustration, and even your regrets. But as long as we are here, they remain a handful while you are tens of thousands like this... Everywhere we go, we have been welcomed by thousands, by tens of thousands," he said.

ÖZEL: “THEY HAVE A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE, WE HAVE TENS OF THOUSANDS”

In his speech, Özel noted the following:

"My dear İzmir, beautiful İzmir… Welcome, all of you beautiful people of İzmir, you have honored us. Do you know what this crowd is? This crowd is this... Last Sunday evening, while not a single true child of this party accepted the assignment made by the nullity administration in İzmir, some did accept it, and after the midnight raid they carried out by gathering people who wouldn't even pass by the party to our İzmir provincial building, the people of İzmir said, 'They came and raided that building with 50 thugs. Come, let's take that building back.'

I told them, my friends, this: 'It doesn't matter at all what they do. We left the buildings behind. We left the resources behind. Let those who are trying to rush into those buildings and settle in places where they were not elected know this: come on, let them take to the streets, let them go out, let me see.' We said. They went, aside from the photos taken with three or five people... Listen to me. Look, I understand your anger, your resentment, your frustration, and even your regrets. But as long as you are here, they remain a handful while you are tens of thousands like this... Today, in my normal schedule, I came to İzmir for breakfast with greenhouse workers and laborers in Bayındır in the morning. I went to Ödemiş, I visited tradesmen. I went to Kiraz and congratulated my Mayor. We went to Beydağ, we made keşkek. We went to Tire, we walked around the tradesmen. But everywhere we went, we were welcomed by thousands, by tens of thousands. It's the middle of summer, the temperature is 42 degrees. I said, 'Before going to the airport, at 19:30 in the evening...' And after the building occupied by these nullity-seekers, our elected Provincial Chairman rented the elected Provincial Chairmanship building here. I said, 'I will go to that building to have tea.' That is why I am calling out from here, from İzmir, to all of Turkey. While the nullity-seekers travel and visit with a handful of people, we come to have tea with tens of thousands."

“SOMETHING IS HAPPENING IN THE SQUARES AND STREETS”

"We had come to İzmir after that unjust, unlawful decision. They had barricaded this place. We walked together, we flowed from the Kordon and met at Gündoğdu Square. I had said my first words to you there that day. Now, today, you welcomed me with such enthusiasm 50 meters away from the Provincial Chairmanship building where the elected Provincial Chairman will serve. From here, I say this, I am calling out to the nullity-seekers for the last time: Do you see that something is happening in the squares and streets of Turkey? In the middle of summer, at the crack of dawn, the squares are filling up in Bayındır, Ödemiş, and Kiraz. Do you see that the nation is excited, my Aunt Ayşe's red headscarf is around our necks. This nation, the children of Atatürk, the children of the Republic, is taking its destiny into its own hands once again, marching to power. I say it clearly, no one can stand before the nation. The nation has set out to change the government, no one can stand before the nation. Get out of our way. Get out of the way of the march to power. Whoever stands before this nation will be crushed by this nation. If you do not get out of our way and cooperate with the AK Party's dark order, we will not surrender to the AK Party, nor to its dark order, nor to its judicial arms, nor to the nullity arms that have jumped into the party. We will not surrender."

“THE RIGHT SLOGAN: ‘WE WANT A CONVENTION, A CONVENTION’”

"Let everyone know that we have left behind both the losers and those who are used to losing. We are the winning CHP. We are the ones who made their party the first party after 47 years. We are the ones who defeated the Justice and Development Party for the first time after 23 years. I say it from here, I swear that we will not get used to defeat again. We will win. We will win. We will win. You are right. Let me say this, we have a government in front of us that has been in power for years, that is tired, that has surrendered not to politicians but to bureaucrats, that manages both the country and the party with decisions made by bureaucrats, that has aged and grown tired. You see, they have reached the end of the road. We are still at the beginning of the road. Just as we said at the beginning when everyone's face was down, 'If the CHP changes, Turkey will change,' just as we kept our promise and won the first election we entered, just as we said, 'If we can't win, we will leave, because we are candidates to win, not to lose,' just as we kept our promises, I challenge you once again. We are candidates to win, not to lose, we are candidates for power. I am making a call from here, 1,004 of our delegates, whom you tried to smear in the past and assassinated their dignity on TGRT, have signed. That is, with a very simple calculation, 500 of those who voted for Mr. Kemal in that congress we competed in, let alone voting, have signed of their own free will, they want a convention, a convention. This is the most correct slogan, 'We want a convention. A convention.' Holding this convention is to pave the way for the party to power. All polls show that if a convention is held quickly and the party gets rid of this problem, it will move forward by a wide margin. But the opposite situation indicates a disaster. I express it from here, if in the opposite situation, there is insistence on trying to block the party's march to power, if it is calculated that the party will close in on itself, struggle with each other, and the AK Party will win on the other hand, we just laid dear Kadir İnanır to rest yesterday. Quoting him, referring to him, I say: 'My name is Tatar Ramazan, I will break this game.' See this square, this square is the square of Tatar Ramazans, we will break this game."

“WE ARE ALL TOGETHER IN THE NEW MARCH”

"Look at the work, look at the calculation... The party will rise after 103 years, become the first party after 47 years, defeat the AK Party, take over municipalities that will serve 65 percent, and then this calculation will not suit Tayyip Erdoğan, he will set up a game for himself, and we will surrender to this game. Let no one think of this, for power we will either find a way or open a new one. I say this in the presence of those who spontaneously turned this place into a historic meeting once again when we came for the Provincial Chairmanship visit. I say it clearly and decisively. We have left the old behind. We are in a new politics. We are on a new path. This path, this struggle is the new struggle of the youth. It is the new struggle, the new movement of the retirees. It is a new march where the laborers will get the sweat of their brows. This march is Turkey's new march to power, from its workers to its farmers, from its laborers to its retirees, from its retirees to its youth, from its women to its men. We are all together in the new march. Of course, I trust our young and female cadres, our experienced youth of all ages, and of course our organization. But most of all, I trust you, our valuable nation, our people, who possess wisdom. From now on, will you continue to come to where you are called, to stand where you should be, to continue to stand on the right side of history?"

“GREETINGS TO YOU…”

"I send my greetings to İzmir's valuable elected mayors, my district chairmen, my Provincial Chairman, my administration, and all of İzmir's elected officials who stand on the right side of history. I am glad they exist. Greetings to those who understand and explain the importance of İzmir's democracy, to those who do not leave after electing, to those who do not say 'let them fend for themselves,' to those who stand behind whom they elected, to those who understand the importance of the Republic's greatest achievement, the ballot box, the right to vote, in this struggle, to those who stand side by side on the path of democracy even if there are different ideas. Greetings to the Turkey Alliance, to the Turkey Alliance whose colors are taken from the crescent-and-star red flag, to the social democrats, to the lion social democrats, to the conservative democrats, to the nationalist democrats, to the liberal democrats, to the socialist democrats, to the Kurdish democrats. Greetings to all the companions who stand on the right side of history against those who try to neutralize the conspiracies and those who try to put sectarianism between us. Greetings to those who unite together today with Alevis and Sunnis, Kurds and Turks, Laz and Circassians, with the Black Sea, the Aegean, the East, Thrace, and Central Anatolia, to those who raise the hope of power in waves. Greetings to our Presidential candidate Ekrem President, whom Tayyip Erdoğan has targeted because he is our Presidential candidate, and to all our imprisoned mayors. Greetings to Mansur Yavaş President, who stands on the right side of history by breaking all calculations against those who make all the calculations, those who are assigned by nullity, and those who want to attack Turkey's hope for the future like hyenas."

“I HAVE NOT SOLD MY TEAM SINCE I WAS 10 YEARS OLD”

"Let everyone know this, I say it clearly from here, and I say it with the state of your child who came to Bornova Anatolian High School with a state boarding scholarship at the age of 10. I have not sold a friend since I was 10 years old, and I will not. I have not sold my team since I was 10 years old, and I will not. I have not surrendered to hardship, violence, or beating since I was 10 years old, and I will not. Since I was 10 years old, whatever I set my mind to, whatever I targeted, I worked for it. In the end, I achieved it. Now I am saying it. I say it with the determination of a teacher's child who was left at a boarding school at the age of 10. I set my mind to it. We set our minds to it. We will change this government. For that, if it's courage, then courage; if it's sacrifice, then sacrifice; if it's responsibility, then responsibility. We will not hold back from anything. We will definitely change this government. From the first day, when I first set out saying 'Change', the people of İzmir were behind me. First, the streets of İzmir were behind me, then in this last period, I came for the first time, you were behind me. Today, I came to visit the districts, to give a greeting to the province, to give morale. You are behind me. Will we continue to walk together from now on? Will we walk together? From now on, let them think. The roads are ours, the squares are ours, the victory is ours. I trust you, I believe in you, I believe that we will succeed together. You are the ones who stand on the right side of history, but not today, just as Hasan Tahsin stood on the right side of history 107 years ago, you are the ones who fired the first shot. Will we continue to walk together? Come on then, let's walk, friends."