CHP Chairman Özel reacts to NATO summit and restrictions: There is a state of emergency

Özel made remarks regarding the agenda at his party's TBMM Group Meeting. Recalling that he was in İzmir yesterday, Özel said, "We were in the Küçük Menderes Basin in İzmir. We visited six of our districts in one day. We met with women who produce flowers in Bayındır at the breakfast table in the morning.

In Ödemiş, we were on the back of a trailer in the same square as the late Ecevit. We were with thousands, tens of thousands, while distributing ashure in Kiraz, pounding keşkek in Beydağ, and overflowing the streets in Tire. Finally, we went to Konak, to the Kordon. To our father's house just one street behind.

We embraced once again with tens of thousands in İzmir. On one side, there is the loneliness of a handful of people who accepted the task offered by the absolute sultan, with hopes of dividing the party through a court decision of absolute nullity, and on the other, I wholeheartedly thank the determination of hundreds of thousands in İzmir," he said.

"We hope it will be handed over to Turkey as soon as possible"

Speaking about the Gülistan Doku investigation, Özel said, "Her mother is the same as she was on the first day. You saw it, she says, 'You have been by our side since the first day.' We will continue to be. On the first day, her eyes were full of tears, and they are still full of tears. Of course, she put up a great fight. Our Republican People's Party women's branches, our lawyer deputies, and all our deputies, along with the opposition parties in parliament, took ownership of the case. Let it never be forgotten that at that time, when we said suspicious things about the city's bureaucracy and the situation there, they said, 'You are talking about the state's governor.

You are talking about the police chief, are you saying this to the police?' said the then-Interior Minister, and now we face the current situation. When our delegation went and reported it, I was one of the first to congratulate them. There, in Tunceli, a female chief public prosecutor is one of those who most deserves the title of 'republic' in her name these days. Despite everything, it has been 1.5 years, not just a month or two.

Since the day she was appointed, she has been pursuing this matter with determination. When our friends spoke out against the bureaucracy there at a press conference, we were almost declared traitors and enemies of the state. The then-Provincial Police Chief is under arrest, the then-governor is under arrest, the governor's son is under arrest, and the person pointed to is under arrest in America. We hope that he will be handed over to Turkey as soon as possible," he said.

"There is a state of emergency that has shut down the Parliament, public institutions, and streets just because there is going to be a NATO summit"

Evaluating the NATO Summit to be held in Ankara, Özel said, "When we leave the buildings in Ankara and see the excitement, support, and energy in the places we go, and see an anger we haven't seen before turn into energy, and that energy turn into determination, we sometimes say, 'Something is happening.' Something is happening in the Ankara we left behind, too. It's not that kind of Ankara, but something that befits Erdoğan, befits the management style of today's government, but something that embarrasses us all. There is a strange state of emergency that makes its own people suffer, takes security measures to unimaginable levels, closes the Parliament, closes ministries, closes public institutions, and closes streets just because there will be a NATO summit and foreign leaders will come. This is separate. And then there are the operations carried out on the suspicion that there might be protests during the NATO summit, with 225 people detained and 178 of them arrested," he said.

"Pro-government pens have targeted a very young person"

Regarding the investigation opened against comedian Deniz Göktaş, Özel said, "He is a young brother of ours who, after a long time in our country, does political satire and has the courage to do so. He went out and did a show. When it was recommended to me, or rather when people started talking about it, I opened it and watched the whole thing. He criticizes the government, and he criticizes us too. He makes fun of a part related to Saraçhane and our rallies.

He criticizes Mayor Ekrem. He turns back to the books he read and criticizes them, he makes jokes. He gets a good reaction, and we all laughed. At that time, he also criticizes Erdoğan, but he says, 'I am a candidate to be his therapist.' He says, 'But they won't let me.' He says things like, 'They keep it in the family so the money stays inside.' That's all he said about Erdoğan. That's it. He says, 'Well, in the 600s, they called the fourth book the 'last book', isn't that very ambitious?' he says.

But then he turns around and says, 'If it were me, I would be afraid that a new one would come out later,' he says. Then he says, 'It didn't come out.' There is nothing else. Oh, 'mocking religious values' and so on. Pro-government pens targeted a very young person over this. Then they banned the show video overnight and opened an investigation against him," he said.

"We are first in Europe with 32.6% inflation"

Stating that income and wealth inequality have reached significant dimensions, Özel said, "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 former middle class is poor, and the former poor are in the grip of deep poverty. We are first in Europe with 32.6% inflation. We are in fifth place in the world.

The European Union's average inflation is 3.3%. The European Union average is 3.3%, and Turkey's is 33%. 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 occurs, it builds on the previous one. Now we are first in Europe in food inflation again, and fifth in the world. Think of the world, think of all the countries in the world.

In all the countries of the world, there are only four countries whose inflation and food inflation are worse than ours. We are in a much higher position in food inflation behind them. Our food inflation is 35%. The world average is 2%. Food inflation in Turkey is exactly 17 times the world average. We are experiencing the worst period in history in the economy," he said.

"More than half of every 100 liras of tax collected is SCT and VAT"

Stating that there is no tax order in Turkey and that the people are being robbed under the name of tax, Özel said, "More than half of every 100 liras of tax collected is SCT (Special Consumption Tax) and VAT. Let's be clear, let's always say it, let's explain it. If the share of indirect tax in a country is 65%, that country has a tax system that exploits the poor, the retiree, and the laborer, and favors the rich. Because tax is taken from those who earn.

It is taken from those who earn a lot, and it is taken from those who have a lot of wealth. Less is taken from those who have less, and no tax is taken from those who do not earn. Tax is something that the earner pays. 100 liras of tax is collected in Turkey; 65 liras are indirect, 24 liras are income tax, that is, from salaries and other income, and 11 liras are corporate tax. In other words, those who are talked about a lot, those who earn a lot, pay 11% of the tax, and the rest of you pay 89% of the tax, meaning those who should either pay no tax at all or very little pay nine out of every 10 liras of tax, while those who should actually pay 1 lira out of every 10 liras of tax pay it. Indirect tax is a tax that does not distinguish between rich and poor. Indirect tax is the tax taken from electricity, water, telephone, and all kinds of consumption," he said.

News Source: 12punto