CHP Chairman Özel: 'The CHP is under a major attack,' warns of insincerity

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel, along with Deputy Chairmen Gökçe Gökçen and Gökhan Zeybek, attended a mass opening ceremony in his hometown of Manisa for 43 projects and services, including many new investments, organized by the Yunusemre Municipality. The ceremony was attended by Manisa Metropolitan Mayor Besim Dutlulu, Yunusemre Mayor Semih Balaban, CHP Manisa Provincial Chairman İlksen Özalper, members of parliament, district mayors, party members, and a large number of citizens.

Speaking at the mass opening ceremony held at the 100th Year Square in front of the Yunusemre Municipality, Özel said, "There is now an approach that hears the people's problems and serves them. Gökhan Zeybek, my deputy chairman responsible for local governments, and Gökçe Gökçen, our deputy chairwoman, are here. She is also one of the closest friends of our sister Gülşah. Local governments led by the Republican People's Party have completed their 2nd year. Let us express this from our own city. We had set goals for our municipalities.

We said you would build a thousand nurseries. Mayor Semih has built five. He talks about it with justified pride. In Turkey, we have reached 801 of our target of one thousand nurseries in just our 2nd year. I congratulate all my mayors who have met the 80 percent target. We had requested 100 student dormitories. 77 are currently operational. There are also many projects and constructions in progress. We have met the 77 percent target there as well. In total, there are 172 city restaurants. There are 173 public dairies and public bakeries. The people of İzmir laughed at the story I told yesterday about Ferdi, which you know.

Throughout his life, he always used to tell me: 'Brother, there is big money in the dairy business. Shall we open a dairy?' I would say let everyone do the work they know. He was elected mayor. A month later he said: 'Brother, what did I open, what did I open? I opened a public dairy,' he said. I said good, it hadn't stayed in your mind. But he is such a person that today in Manisa, citizens buy a kilo of cheddar cheese for 380 liras instead of 650 liras. Today in Manisa, a kilo of ground meat is 550 liras instead of a thousand liras. So, people are remembered by what they do. As my brother Ferdi provides ground meat and cheese to poor people at two-thirds the price, with a 25-30-40 percent discount, and helps them feed milk to their children, there is a reward Ferdi earns with every bite they take. We remember him with mercy once again," he said.

"Our party is under a major attack"

Stating that "The party is under a major attack, but we know what these conspiracies are," Özel said, "The Republican People's Party is not a party that will be left to any perception management, nor is it one that will fear, step back, cower, remain silent, or surrender to these. A normal political party would be crushed under one-tenth of the burden we are carrying. But this party is the party of Corporal Seyit. It is the party of those who do not tire of the burden, who become legendary when they see the burden. This party is the party founded by those who do not surrender, who fix bayonets when they run out of bullets, who run to martyrdom against bayonets even if they are left alone, but who did not let the enemy pass at Gallipoli and did not surrender Anatolia.

Therefore, this nation has seen the insincerity of those who for years said 'national will, national will' when they won elections, and then called it 'dirty will' when that national will manifested against them, and who put the national will on a pedestal while simultaneously undermining it when it manifested in this way. I was elected chairman. We had martyrs at our base area in Northern Iraq. While there was professional information regarding the weather conditions for those martyrs being there, the area being temporarily evacuated and then re-established where UAVs could not protect them, and while we were waiting for these to be explained, they shoved a paper in front of us.

Sign it. The AK Party said, 'Join me under an A4 sheet.' I said that I condemn terrorism myself, but the Republican People's Party is not a party that will join you in this signature and follow in your footsteps. Then one of the martyrs was in our hometown. We came and met him at the airport. As we were coming towards the garden of this blessed mosque, calls came in. There is a preparation. They will attack you. The then-Governor and Police Chief provided information. I said that if I were not to attend a martyr's funeral in my own city, I would not be worthy of the seat of Atatürk's party. We arrived there. It turned out later with some reports. They had brought some people from the Yunusemre Municipality, the Metropolitan Municipality, and Kırkağaç and put them inside the mosque. Because they cannot find anyone in Manisa who can look Özgür Özel in the face and say that. They were chanting from there, 'Özgür Özel out.' We performed our prayer. We left, and there was a commotion on the way out. On television, 'Attack on Özgür Özel in his hometown.' The next week, six more martyrs came. They put the same paper. I said: 'I know the street. I am signing this signature again. I am standing where I stand.' This time, no opposition party signed it. Then do you know what happened, friends? We won Manisa with 60 percent of the vote, with the vote of one in two people, in this municipality where this happened in the mosque garden.

3 months after that incident. So, who does this nation believe in? Who do they trust? If you look at how they stand behind those who stand tall with courage, look at Manisa. If this land brings us to 60 percent of the vote on a path where I started with 6 percent, it knows, who is Özgür Özel? It knows, what is the Republican People's Party? If the children of this party, who have known the Republican People's Party from the day they were born until the day they die, that no one who loves terror will come out of this party, that no thief or corrupt person will come out, are not leaving this party alone under this rain today, there is something to this.

We are Manisalı to our marrow, we are Republican People's Party members to our marrow, we are Republicans, we are Atatürkists, we are Nationalists, with Mayor Semih, Mayor Besim, Mayor Hakan, all my mayors, and the late Gülşah and Ferdi. We are soldiers standing shoulder to shoulder with our friends who protect all the values that created this country, who stand side by side like lions, who are not afraid of anyone, who are not afraid of pressure, who are ready to die for their city but never surrender," he said.

Özel concluded his speech as follows: "In this city, or in whatever position we stand, those who are more worthy of that position than us are my older brother standing at the very bottom, at the very back of this square. It is my brother standing here. It is my youth here. It is the people of Manisa from every view. We are one, we are together. We love you all very much. I greet you all with the most beautiful, most sublime feelings. I am glad you exist. We will see much more beautiful days. Just as I went on television on the evening of March 31, 2024, at 9 PM and said, 'Yes, TRT, I have a surprise for you after 47 years. How did the Republican People's Party become Turkey's 1st party again on TRT screens,' watch the next election evening, my fellow citizens. The Republican People's Party, the ruling party again after 100 years. I will make this announcement. I will have this written on TRT screens. We will see very beautiful days all together."

Making the opening speech of the ceremony, Yunusemre Mayor Semih Balaban said, "Thanks to our CHP Chairman, we became the first party after 47 years. We also won this election. When we took over the municipality 2 years ago, the debt of the 16 municipalities in Manisa did not equal that of the Yunusemre Municipality. We have achieved important work without making excuses, with the support of our Chairman and both Mayor Ferdi and Mayor Besim," and talked about the services provided over 2 years and the projects opened.

Manisa Metropolitan Mayor Besim Dutlulu said, "A very big change took place in our Manisa with our Mayor Ferdi on March 31. Not only Manisa but all of Turkey saw this. There are no municipalities in Manisa that fight and compete with each other; there are municipalities that act together. Every step we take is open and transparent to the nation. We serve without being dependent on anyone and without entering anyone's shadow. The resources of this city belong to the people of this city," he said.

Following the speeches, the mass opening ceremony was held with the cutting of the ribbon with the participation of protocol members. After the ceremony, Özel left the city to go to his Bursa program.

News Source: 12punto