Striking claims from Özgür Özel about Mehmet Şimşek: He even gave a date

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel participated in the Rota program on Halktv. There, Özel responded to the questions directed at him.

Here are the answers given by Özgür Özel:

Why is there a lawsuit regarding the November 4-5 CHP Congress? Why is the CHP's congress still being questioned? Who is causing this lawsuit?

Özel: This is a process-oriented lawsuit, not a result-oriented one. Keeping the CHP under discussion and creating an agenda is what matters. This lawsuit is very clear. The appeal channels are known, the deadlines are known, but they are following a path in this manner. Today, one of our friends went by mistake. Mahmut Tanal went with his own activism, but we have a decision, we said it too, we are not following that lawsuit.

If there are those who demand an intra-party discussion, I recommend the AK Party; they should follow it from Yeni Şafak. We all saw Yeni Şafak today. They wanted to create a perception that there is no unity and integrity in the CHP; we made a call for a congress, and all those delegates came. I received all the valid votes. For the first time in Republican history, the chairman's key list passed without being breached. This discussion is over; no one will get any bread out of it. Why did it happen, why did it occur? I will no longer go into these details. It held its elections perfectly and is continuing on its way. Our concern and worry is our Mayor Ekrem, our mayors, our council members, and the arrival of the ballot box.

Former Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Lütfü Savaş is also among those who filed a lawsuit. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is also among those expected to make a statement on the matter. Do you have any resentment towards Savaş, who filed this lawsuit, and Kılıçdaroğlu, who is not speaking?

-The former Hatay Metropolitan Municipality Mayor is someone who has been expelled from the party. Saying something to him is a waste of breath. It is not worth it. I will not say anything bad about Mr. Kemal either. It is not my freedom as the current chairman to criticize previous chairmen, but they have that freedom.

What can be done if the congress is canceled on June 30?

-We turned the trustee away from the party's door. They waited to appoint a trustee to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB), and we repelled that. Now, if they want to do something like this, it is clear that it will wear them out, not us. While the CHP is progressing in such unity and solidarity, and while it is widening the gap with the AKP, the CHP members themselves will give the best answer anyway. I needed to organize the resistance and lead it. I did. If there is an attack against me, those who need to protect it will do what is necessary. Let no one confuse the CHP with the MHP. Until yesterday, it will be the main supporter of the AKP, about which it said the harshest words; there will be no situation where the struggle for the party benefits the AKP. We come from a tradition that comes from the honesty of its founder İsmet Paşa and the courage of Bülent Ecevit. We hadn't been able to pull ourselves together for 47 years; we are recovering after Ecevit.

What answer would you like to give to the statements made about you by the Mufti of Çatalca?

-We are a nation with an Anatolian wisdom that does not speak ill of our enemy even after they die. But we said he deserved it. A demotion was also carried out. We also made our warnings regarding him. There are CHP members in every mosque. I am not going to address him directly. But Cemal Enginyurt has made it his duty. Still, let's not inflate his role.

What was discussed at the Socialist International?

-We were with President Pedro Sanchez. There is no problem with the stance of leftists and socialists. Only Starmer remained silent, even though the British Labour Party was in turmoil because he is the prime minister. They have set up a game with the US in Syria. I told that everywhere as well. We created a discussion in his own country. The problem does not stem from the stances of democratic countries, but from the leaders of antidemocratic countries. Trump wants to seize carbon deposits in Gaza, and he is also giving orders to our people. Senators are coming from France. I start at 8 in the morning, and I explain to whoever I need to explain to until 12 at night. 70 percent of people do not believe the İmamoğlu allegations. We are explaining this to the world as well. These authoritarian populist leaders have comfort zones. They have walls of fear that they have built. They draw a frame for us. They impose the game and the rules. If the arm that will be broken and remain inside is mine, I will cut it and throw it in front of you. With what they did, 65 billion dollars of reserves are gone. They could have paid 1 million teachers their 3-year salary in advance. That is why my path is the path of the people and the right path. It is my duty to explain this to the whole world.

Did the DEM Party act distant towards İmamoğlu?

-Free İmamoğlu files were given to the delegates at the Socialist International. The DEM Party has a special situation. It had 3 delegates and two co-chairs. That is why it was not in front of the co-chairs. There are those who want to stir this up. They want to say, "The opposition did not support Ekrem İmamoğlu." The goal is to fragment the opposition and isolate and destroy the pieces.

Is there a goal to bring DEM closer to the government and isolate the CHP?

-This is an insult to both parties. You will keep Demirtaş and Yüksekdağ inside for 9 years. You will say, "Such a game came to my mind," and call DEM. And they will come. It is a party with its own base. Do you have the key to politics? The CHP is a party that does not follow anyone, but acts together when it needs to. It was only a month after the congress. News of martyrs came from Northern Iraq. A paper came before us. To condemn terrorism. We said, why was this base area there in the snow and winter when it had no benefit, in a shack-like tent? They attacked me at the martyr's funeral. We won the district of that mosque with 60 percent.

Operations are continuing in waves. Will all this break the stubbornness of the opposition or the government?

When they first set out, on the morning of March 19, there was the issue of terrorism. They wanted a trustee, but they had a hard time convincing Erdoğan. It is no longer a secret thing. We went and gave the municipality to an elected council member and returned. They are not proceeding with the same enthusiasm in that job they started. This has phases. Phase 1 is the phase of pure, absolute slander where the first operation was carried out. After this, they designed TRT and their own channels. There is no 560 million corruption, 1,200 phones. They expected us to cower and even doubt each other. If there wasn't someone in this seat who believed in Mayor Ekrem's honor as much as his own honor, we would all be gone.

They tell Ekrem İmamoğlu you bought land worth 5 percent, that money turns out to be a down payment. They could not prove any of these lies. They returned to the next phase, the phase of pressure to turn those inside into informants. They say they took a female detainee to the doctor as if she were in custody. One goes, and the prosecutor is there and says, "Give this statement of yours and go home from here." In SEGBİS, he says, "You have 5 minutes, either give a statement or you won't be able to see anyone for 20 years."

So many people have exposed the pressure of "Come and be an informant" that they cannot do it. They are exiling the detainees; why? They are waging psychological warfare. If they were ahead in law, would they enter into psychological warfare? The moral superiority is with us, the psychological superiority is with us.

Erdoğan mentioned his love for Istanbul. Why does Erdoğan want to take Istanbul back? He called you a carrier pigeon; what do you say?

You know, if there is an uneasiness, it comes to your mind when you first wake up in the morning; his own voice comes to his mind too. "Whoever loses Istanbul loses Turkey." Because Mayor Ekrem won Istanbul, he will also win Turkey. I have my weekly regular meeting with my presidential candidate. This exists in state tradition. The president and the prime minister have weekly meetings. I will continue my weekly meetings until he is free. His only hope is for us to fall out with each other.

I have a goal of bringing democracy to the country by getting Ekrem İmamoğlu out of jail, making him a candidate, and having him win. I have no calculations for myself. I say there is an alternative, and that is us.

If Mr. Mansur also becomes a candidate, could he be the target this time?

Mr. Mansur is someone worthy of every task in my eyes. He also does his job in the best way possible. There is no substitute. Take him, there is Zeydan Karalar in Adana. There is Muğla, there is Aydın, there is Eskişehir. I am just not in this process. I promised myself on the day I became chairman that I would not be involved in these calculations.

What is the meaning of President Erdoğan's words "I have no candidacy concern" upon his return from Hungary?

This is a topic that journalists can talk about comfortably. It is not my job. He did what he did until this November. Let him make his calculations accordingly. Everyone is talking about what comes after him. Take the headline of today's Yeni Şafak newspaper and make it the headline of Sözcü; it would work for that too. That is why Erdoğan might be doing this because he cannot generate consent when he goes with a demand for himself regarding the constitutional amendment.

Why would I be against a Turkey without terrorism? I want trial without detention. I want broadcasting from TRT. 3T. These do not find the criminal from the crime. They are trying to dig under a person and extract a crime. Our constitution says if a judge enters politics, they cannot return to being a judge. But Akın Gürlek was brought to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office because he didn't say deputy minister. The investigations that person conducted are political.

He vouched for that Zekeriya Öz. I vouched for Mustafa Balbay, for İlker Başbuğ. Now he is vouching for someone else. Do not make a mistake one more time, but history consists of repetitions, but learn a lesson. The false witnesses of that day are rotting in jail. I am calling out to those who were forced to be slanderers. Erdoğan says "I was deceived," the other one runs away and saves himself. Everyone should come to their senses.

I am not the one blocking the process; if the money going to terrorism and weapons is going to go to the retiree, what would I be against? But don't go this far and keep the İBB Mayor, Demirtaş, and Özdağ inside.

The constitutional table is a table of social consensus. Manage the state in such a way that they say this should be done with this. My sitting at that table under these conditions means denying myself. I will not leave anyone behind me and make a constitution with Erdoğan.

I am calling out to the Ak Youth. We played this match for 23 years; he always won. We didn't find fault in anyone. It was good when he won. He lost once, took the ball, and left. They have an exam before history. Let them go to Erdoğan and say, "Why don't you give the ball? We will win," and return to the match. If they say democracy is a tram and get off, they will go to the trash heap of history. If Erdoğan loses, he will go down in history as a leader who attempted a coup and was liquidated, but they will disappear. Let them say, "Reis, why now?" There is winning and there is losing. My call is to Ak Party politics. Both winning and losing are legitimate. Is there anyone who comes out and says I defended the coup? The day will come when those who support March 19 will be like that too.

What path will you follow for the minimum wage?

- In one of the capitals of labor, we said, "We will take our right to an interim raise by force." If you commit to something and don't do it, the voter will hold you accountable for it. He said he would abolish the interview, he didn't. The minimum wage saw a raise. According to TÜİK, 3 thousand liras of the raise made has already gone. They will be in a worse situation than last year. It is essential to make an interim raise in July. The minimum wage determination commission is also antidemocratic. We are going to DİSK on Thursday. Then we are going to TİS. We will meet with Hak-İş and Türk-İş on Friday. We will determine the right figure. No figure is crossing my mind. We will ask those who know the job. We will ask for an interim raise that will satisfy both the worker and the employer. I am not the one who will make the raise. If they don't do it, they will pay the political price.

Won't we see Mehmet Şimşek anytime soon?

Şimşek is meeting with some people; it is reaching my ears too. Şimşek is the financial leg of the coup. He said, "These reserves were collected for these days." Şimşek is looking for a way out. But it might not be left to his wish. What you call Yeni Şafak is the Pravda of the AKP. They will try to do this during the holiday break.

What will the CHP do against the transfer of treasury resources to pro-government companies during its rule? How will the interest rate policy be?

Selin Sayek Böke has very clear studies regarding this. There are also arbitrations of international courts. I will cancel this hospital guarantee, passenger guarantee. We said you are making those who are not the cause of the crisis pay the bill. We will have a program study that will be official in September in our target. I am not saying anything to those who really benefit. But most of them bought villas, bought planes. These are continuing with 8 percent interest. If it were the CHP, the interest rate policy would be as follows; the pandemic caused inflation. Europe gave 7 interest to 6 inflation. It worked in the US, it worked in Canada. In Turkey, meanwhile, there is Nass. The money went, became dollars, they burned reserves, 128 billion dollars are gone. Money that should have been saved for nothing was spent. He created a fake consumer confidence index. He told everyone don't wait for your money, buy. After the election, neither Nass nor anything else remained. Our main rule is justice in taxation.

The presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu banner was hung on the Bosphorus Bridge. An investigation was opened.

Ekrem İmamoğlu is the elected mayor of Istanbul. There is an allegation, there is no indictment. İmamoğlu is innocent until proven guilty. You are a prosecutor, you cannot decide. You are not a judge, how will you ban it? Let one servant of God come out and explain this. The biggest insult the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor made was to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor. He opened an investigation here against Ümit Özdağ. He calls himself the Chief Public Prosecutor of Turkey. Erdoğan has spoiled him.

President Erdoğan said that some sects and communities have some legs abroad, and some businessmen have legs. What will you say about the information not included in these investigations?

I will show Erdoğan an octopus tomorrow. He is saying the accusation that the prosecutor did not direct as if it were proven. I will show the octopus that only Erdoğan sees at our group meeting. I told the Chief Public Prosecutor about the AKP municipalities. Let Akın Gürlek look at what the Court of Accounts said about Fatih Municipality. I will announce another district. The worst is not Fatih. I will say, if these are in Fatih, you think about Esenler.