Breaking News... Support for Deniz Göktaş from Özgür Özel! 'A strong leader is not afraid of cartoons or jokes'

The elected Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Özgür Özel, made statements at his party's parliamentary group meeting.

Recalling his visits to various provinces and meetings with the public over the past week, Özel said the following in his speech:

We did not sit in Ankara following the attack and occupation of our party. We were wherever we needed to be.

We are going village by village, town by town, city by city, and embracing our nation. We are growing the struggle street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood, square by square. We are weaving the politics, which is not based on someone else's plan but on the nation's account, stitch by stitch together with our people. Perhaps there are no offices, no flashy stages, but sometimes we are on the back of a truck bed, sometimes behind a tractor trailer, or on a coffeehouse chair, but we are in the hearts of the nation.

On one side, there is the loneliness of a handful of people who accepted the task offered by the absolute sultan with the hopes of dividing the party through a court decision; on the other side, there is the determination of hundreds of thousands in İzmir. I want to express my heartfelt thanks.

'DIYARBAKIR' VISIT

First, we were in Diyarbakır, we were on the streets of Diyarbakır. We knew that the city, which has suffered much from pressures and trustees, would be the city that understands us best. We set foot in Diyarbakır and had left certain debates behind. But a valuable name from Diyarbakır who welcomed us said, 'I have a greeting for you from last night.' He said, 'I heard that you were going to welcome the chairman, so I called my lawyers last night and said, convey my greetings to CHP Chairman Özgür Özel through him, welcome to our city.' We received Mr. Demirtaş's greetings and held them in high regard.

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There is a scene that befits Erdoğan and embarrasses us all. Something shameful is happening in Ankara. There is a strange situation where they make their own people suffer because foreign leaders are coming, and security measures are taken to unimaginable levels. There are also 225 people detained and 178 of them arrested on suspicion that there might be protest demonstrations.

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'DENİZ GÖKTAŞ' STATEMENT

"Comedian Deniz Göktaş... A young brother of ours who is doing political satire in our country after a long time and has the courage to do so. He went out and did a show. When people started talking about it, I watched the whole thing.

He criticizes the government, and he criticizes us too. He even makes fun of a part related to our rallies in Saraçhane. He criticizes Mayor Ekrem, he comes back and criticizes him with the books he reads, he makes jokes. He gets a good reaction, we all laughed. He also criticizes Erdoğan at that time, but he says, 'I am a candidate to be his therapist,' but he says, 'they won't let me,' and 'they will keep it within the family so the money stays inside.' That's all he said about Erdoğan, that's it. Sir, 'about the Quran and faith...' Let me tell those who don't know: He says, 'Well, they said the fourth book was the last book in the 600s, isn't that very ambitious?' But then he says, 'If it were me, I would be afraid,' and 'a new one might come out later.' He says it didn't come out later, and there is nothing else.

Because of this, pens close to the government targeted a very young person. Then, they blocked his video overnight and opened an investigation. We are facing a mentality that has no respect for art, does not understand jokes or humor, and cannot tolerate freedom of expression.

A strong leader does not tremble at a cartoon. They are not terrified of jokes, humor, or anecdotes. A strong leader is strengthened by these. I promise Deniz; we will end his 30-year journey with Erdoğan.

"I PROMISE, WE WILL END THE 30-YEAR JOURNEY"

I am addressing all young people: Do not think it was always like this. Do not think that a president, prime minister, minister, or party chairman has such immunity. No one has such immunity against humor or criticism. This is insecurity. Those before them tolerated 50 times more than this. Forget tolerating, they appreciated it. If there is humor in a country, the ruler has self-confidence. If there is criticism in a country, that government has self-confidence.

What is happening today is helplessness. What is happening today is being afraid of a joke. What is happening today is not some strong leader. A strong leader does not tremble at a cartoon. A strong leader is not terrified of jokes, humor, or anecdotes. A strong leader is strengthened by these. For this reason, I promise here. As Deniz says, 'I have a 30-year journey with Erdoğan.' I promise my brother Deniz that we will all end Deniz Göktaş's 30-year journey with Erdoğan together.

INFLATION FIGURES: 'WE ARE EXPERIENCING THE WORST PERIOD IN HISTORY'

Exactly, exactly like the AK Party's, they used to say in the past 'mastery period,' it is exactly the AK Party's period of exhaustion... What is appropriate? A third part. When they came, they came to fight against the 3Ys: To eliminate bans, poverty, and corruption. The point they have reached in corruption is obvious. We discussed the bans with the young people. And on the other hand, this dark order that impoverishes people. Unfortunately, income and wealth inequality have reached such a dimension that 80% of the country lives at African standards, while 20% lives at Luxembourg standards. There is such a divide. There is no middle class left, no middle-income level left. The middle class of the past is poor, the poor of the past are in the grip of deep poverty. We are first in Europe and fifth in the world with 32.6% inflation.

The European Union's average inflation is 3.3%. As they say, 'Inflation is everyone's trouble.' The European Union average is 3.3, Turkey's is 33, exactly 10 times higher! In other words, the speed of the cost of living in Turkey is exactly 10 times that of Europe, and every time, a price hike progresses by piling on top of the previous one.

We were counted among the countries that were self-sufficient in agriculture, now we are again first in Europe and fifth in the world in food inflation. Think of the world, think of all the countries in the world, there are only 4 countries in the entire world whose food inflation is worse than ours. We are in a much more advanced state in food inflation than the rest. Our food inflation is 35%, the world average is 2%. Turkey's food inflation is exactly 17 times the world average! We are experiencing the worst period in history in the economy. We are in an economic crisis that does not end and has no end in sight, and the most burning part of this is food inflation, because the calculation of every morsel, fruit, and protein that will pass through every child's throat is stuck here.

'INTERIM HIKE' DEMAND: THERE IS A GOVERNMENT THAT DOES NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT

The employee whose salary is not enough is loading up on the credit card. A person who withdraws a cash advance from a credit card, that is, goes and withdraws the defined cash advance or cannot pay the credit card debt, pays 94% annual compound interest, 94%! Debt can no longer be turned over with debt. When someone with money puts it in the bank, the bank gives 40%, when someone without money borrows from the bank, they pay 94% annual compound interest. Look at the difference, how this difference is formed, and most of all, look at this; do not forget that 30% tax is paid on the interest paid on the unpaid credit card, that is, on the interest that comes out, within this 94%. They take 30% from there. Someone with money puts money in the bank, they pay 18% on the interest they earn, while someone without money pays interest to the bank, they also pay 30% tax to the state on top of it. They pay tax to the state. They said this would be taken from those who earn, but while they could take from those who earn, they take from those who lose, those who are exhausted, those who are driven to bankruptcy, those who are in a crisis. And the interest on the money collected from the unpaid credit card is 94%. The compound interest applied to cash advances is 94%. Every day there is a price hike on everything from needles to thread, only salaries do not increase.

When we said it before the election, Erdoğan said if inflation is double digits, that is, if it is higher than 9%, 10% and above, we will adjust the minimum wage four times a year. Since that day, inflation has seen 80%, 65%, 33%, they did not give 4 times a year, they only gave the raise that was required by law and remained below inflation to the minimum wage earner. At the point reached today, the purchasing power of the minimum wage has fallen to 24 thousand liras with the value it had on the day it was given. It was 28,500 in January, if you compare that 28,500 with today's 28,500, it is now 24 thousand liras of that day. And this erosion occurred in 5 months for the minimum wage, there is a government that does not even think about making an interim hike, and never, ever mentions it. However, let's remember that while asking for votes from this nation in the election, he was saying, 'We will make adjustments to the minimum wage four times a year between two elections.'

'ABSOLUTE NULLITY' STATEMENT

The entire calculation of the AK Party and Erdoğan is to split the CHP right down the middle like a watermelon. While saying 'It would be fine even if it were 60 to 40,' while settling for 70 to 30... The nation did not split in half like a watermelon; it showed them the stem. 99 percent to 1 percent. Those 1 percent are the stem of the watermelon, the stem! Erdoğan says, 'I am not involved in any part of this business.' Do I make a statement saying, 'I am not involved in any part of the investigation opened against comedian Deniz Göktaş'? If I don't need such a statement, I am not involved. Everyone sees what is what, and the nation gives this reaction not because I say so, but because they feel it.

'FRANKENSTEIN' RESPONSE TO ERDOĞAN: LOOK IN THE MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

While explaining himself, he enters and exits topics he does not know. The other day he says, 'CHP members created a Frankenstein and are suffering the consequences.' Frankenstein is not the monster itself, but the doctor who created it. The one who wrote it also wrote it wrong. Let me contribute, we have worked under the same roof. If a Frankenstein is to be sought, one should look at today's Sabah newspaper. The monster should not be sought around here, but on the side of the Ministry of Justice.

We are fighting to take back our party. If the occupation does not end, we will not leave this nation without options. Let no one worry, we will win with the nation. We will win village by village, town by town, city by city. Let no one stray from the path. Our path is the right one, it is the path to power, our compass is the nation. Sooner or later, we will change the government, we will establish the people's government. You are the only hope of the nation, we are. Our only goal and hope is to save this nation from these difficulties, to complete this march, and sooner or later to carry this nation's party to power."