Özgür Özel speaks at his party's group meeting! 'Declaration' call to IYI Party: 'Otherwise, it saddens us deeply'

Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Özgür Özel made statements regarding the agenda at his party's group meeting.

Highlights from Özel's statements are as follows:

'PROTESTS' AT MARTYR FUNERALS

"While the pain of the news of martyrs we received one after another just 20 days ago was still burning in our hearts, this time we received news of the martyrdom of 9 of our sons of the homeland from the same base area. They sacrificed their lives so that we could sleep comfortably in our homes and our glorious flag could wave. I convey our condolences once again.

In the last 3 months, we have lost 19 of our Mehmetçik (soldiers) from the same base area with the same known coordinates and altitude. After every news of a martyr, they invited us to repeat the same rote memorization, to follow in their footsteps, and not to hold anyone accountable. If the economy is poorly managed, if foreign policy is poorly managed, you criticize; if there is weakness in internal affairs, you criticize. But they say, 'News of martyrs is coming, do not discuss it,' they say, 'The blood of our children will not remain on the ground.' They say, 'Do not speak.' We will speak so that it is not that our children's blood will not remain on the ground, but that their blood will not flow. We object to this.

They tried to provoke us by taking their militants to the funerals of martyrs and attempting to protest us."

CALL FOR A DECLARATION TO IYI PARTY

This time, Saadet, Gelecek, DEVA, and the Democrat Party did not sign. The CHP had signed its own declaration in its Central Executive Board (MYK). Today, we are submitting it to the Speaker of the Parliament. Let them all be read, let it be clear who stands by whom. We expect the IYI Party, whose members' patriotism and Atatürkism we have witnessed in the field, and which also criticizes the wrong policies of the AKP-MHP, to sign its own declaration as well. Otherwise, it saddens us deeply.

The CHP is not doing this to gain votes in the election, but because when everyone lives without pain and without discrimination, and when they realize two things that have no color and are priceless; we embrace all laborers with the love and respect of the CHP. We will succeed for you, we will succeed together. The Justice and Development Party did not just create the cost of living. They did not just do evil by isolating Turkey in foreign policy. They played with the genes of the country. The head of the executive branch, a terrorist attack has occurred, and the debate continues over who he called and who he did not.

REACTION TO ERDOĞAN'S 'MARTYR PHONE CALL'

If you call some members of parliament and do not call others, it means you have become everything but you have not been able to become a statesman. Some phone calls are worse than not coming at all. I am proud of the phone call that did not come!

The Claw operation has been going on for 20 months. What are the political and military goals and the status of achieving these goals; is there a weakness? We are looking for answers to all these questions. We will continue to follow why the goals were not achieved in this operation. We will follow whether the needs of our soldiers in Syria are being met. These questions are not our questions; they are the questions of the families of the Mehmetçik.

NATO CRITICISM

We ask the AKP, which once raised hell for Sweden's NATO membership and then reached an agreement, and which took the step in the commission: If an ally's definition of terrorism is being debated through NATO, and if the PKK and its supporters are the primary ally of the US and NATO, what kind of connection are you establishing regarding relations with the US? You will both say the US supports the PKK-YPG, and you will be thick as thieves, bargain for F-16s with the US, and look the nation in the eye while doing it. If a NATO ally is under attack, this is an attack on all of NATO.

"ACCORDING TO ENAG, PRICE HIKES SHOULD HAVE BEEN 80 PERCENT"

In the field of economy, Turkey is very poorly managed. TUIK says food inflation has increased by 72 percent. But the World Food Organization announced that food prices fell by 10 percent in 2023. They made fake videos, saying 'If you don't vote for us, they will divide the homeland,' and they got votes once again and continued their rule. The CHP is still defending the personal rights of the imams and muezzins who recite the call to prayer 5 times a day.

They say 'call to prayer, flag, homeland,' get your votes, and since the day they came to power, gasoline has increased by 80 percent. Since May 28, on May 14, diesel was 18.50, now diesel is 40 liras. This government is a government that collects votes with lies until the election passes and then turns its back on you. Olive oil has received a 180 percent price hike in the last year. They gave civil servants a 49.25 percent raise. According to ENAG, however, the hikes should have been at least 80 percent.

The proposal of the CHP waiting in the commissions is for the lowest pension to be at least at the level of the minimum wage. Next year it will be 2 times worse than this. The largest deficit in the history of the Republic has been recorded.

"OUR CHILDREN ARE NOT SAFE"

Our motorcycle courier, who was hit and torn apart by a Somali national, is not safe. Those who go down to death every day in Soma are not safe. Those who lost their lives on that train in Thrace, where they quickly filled under the culverts while heading to the election, are not safe. Our brothers and sisters lying in Silivri and Bakırköy instead of all of us are not safe. But those who give banquets with music and entertainment in the palace are safe. Those who burn millions of light bulbs in the palace are safe. The 'powder sugar' user is safe. No matter what crime you commit, if you get on Süleyman's photo list, you are safe. He will say there are hundreds of terrorists in the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, then he will call it politics. This shameless person is safe, but our children are not safe.

We have no account that we cannot give to the CHP and the founder of the CHP, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Those who do politics with rhetoric have high stress. We are Atatürk nationalists in the real sense, not in name only like them. We do not line up behind him, we do not sign and legitimize it. Everyone should trust their party and the wisdom of this nation. The reason they attack is that the CHP's own power is high. The CHP will not make this nation bow down. We will defend our soldiers, and we will defend our country. I kiss the forehead of every member of the CHP. We are right, we will succeed. I trust you. Go and win this election. The CHP will show its true power to everyone.