‘Six Arrows’ crisis grows in CHP: CHP leader Özel said ‘we will make it green and purple’ but CHP spokesperson backtracked

The Republican People’s Party (CHP) has decided to hold an extraordinary party bylaws congress. The congress schedule has also been finalized. The symbolic opening of the congress will take place in Sivas on September 4. The Extraordinary Congress, which will be held to amend the bylaws and initiate work on program changes, will officially begin on September 6 and continue its proceedings in Ankara until September 9.

The bylaws congress in the CHP has also brought a controversy with it.

A “six arrows” crisis has begun and grown within the CHP.

Now, let’s look step-by-step at how the six arrows crisis in the CHP developed.

The debate over the six arrows in the CHP began exactly one month ago.

CHP leader Özgür Özel gave an interview to the Cumhuriyet newspaper on July 5, 2024, and brought the color change regarding the six arrows to the agenda.

Özgür Özel had said the following in that interview:

“We are thinking of adding two colors to the CHP’s statism arrow. Green, representing sustainable development and environmental sensitivity while governing the state, and purple, representing gender equality. We are filling in the substance of the change.”

Following this interview by CHP leader Özgür Özel, 12punto’s Burak Demirbaş held a microphone to former SHP Chairman Murat Karayalçın and asked how he evaluated the proposal to change the CHP’s logo and its ‘six arrows’.

Murat Karayalçın had said, “If the CHP’s logo or colors need to be opened for discussion in line with this thought, I think it would be beneficial to do so by discussing it with the party base.”

Let’s continue.

The debate that started a month ago in the CHP flared up with the statements made by CHP leader Özgür Özel yesterday (August 4, 2024).

Speaking at the CHP Women’s Branch Congress, Özgür Özel announced that he wanted to change the color of the arrow representing statism among the six arrows in the party logo. Özel said, "We will paint half of the statism arrow green and the other half purple."

Here is that statement:

CHP’de ‘altı ok’ krizi büyüdü: CHP lideri Özel ‘yeşil ve mor yapacağız’ dedi ama CHP sözcüsü çark ettihttps://t.co/egUKZIynAi pic.twitter.com/i6FIEFJl5G

— 12punto (@12puntocomtr) August 5, 2024

Despite CHP leader Özgür Özel saying both at yesterday’s congress and in an interview a month ago that they would paint the statism arrow green and purple, a noteworthy statement came from CHP Party Spokesperson Deniz Yücel.

CHP Deputy Chairman and Party Spokesperson Deniz Yücel claimed that the colors of the arrow representing statism in the six arrows on the party symbol would not change.

Deniz Yücel’s statement is as follows:

- "The six-arrow symbol of the Republican People’s Party expresses the principles of our party, which consist of Republicanism, Nationalism, Populism, Statism, Secularism, and Revolutionism, in that order. Our party’s flag is a red flag with six white arrows on it.

- While explaining our understanding that the 'statism' arrow expresses, our Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel emphasized our commitment to environmentalist, nature-friendly, sustainable policies and gender equality. The green color representing environmentalism and the purple color symbolizing gender equality were expressed to be symbolized by our understanding of statism.

- Therefore, there is no question of any change regarding our party’s symbol and flag. It is the Republican People’s Party that will bring gender equality and environmentally sensitive policies to Turkey in every field. This statement has become necessary because the expressions used by our Chairman Mr. Özgür Özel at the Women’s Branch Congress held yesterday, using a language that everyone would understand, may have been misunderstood by some segments."