CHP leader Özgür Özel reveals: 'Serap Yazıcı wanted to join the CHP a few days ago'

CHP Chairman Özgür Özel made statements regarding the current agenda at his party's parliamentary group meeting. Speaking on many topics from the economy to politics, Özel revealed that Serap Yazıcı, who resigned from the Future Party 14 hours before the AKP congress held in Ankara recently and joined the AKP on the day of the congress, had wanted to join the CHP a few days earlier.

Speaking about the investigation launched into TÜSİAD, Özel stated, "The mayors of the main opposition party are in prison. Academics who tweet are in prison, trade unionists who express their opinions are in prison. The head of TÜSİAD, who expressed his discomfort, is being interrogated. Then they turn around and try to hold the falling stock market accountable and take action based on this."

Highlights from Özel's speech are as follows:

"We visited the Chairman of the Future Party, Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, and the Chairman of the TİP, Erkan Baş. We also hosted the Chairman of the İYİ Party, Müsavat Dervişoğlu. We reaffirmed our views on being one and united in front of the press once again. The chairmen shared their experiences and contributions with us. We discussed the judicial harassment that parties are subjected to during the early election tour.

Actually, I met with 4 chairmen, not 3. But one was in Silivri prison. We visited the Chairman of the Victory Party, Mr. Ümit Özdağ. They said Istanbul was 'unauthorized' for Ümit Özdağ. We all witnessed the character assassination carried out against a chairman. A chairman is holding his party's congress yesterday, and they are keeping the chairman who is competing with him in prison. This is the cowardice of those at the top.

Each of the arrests is unlawful in its own right. I have visited our Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat, Ms. Ayşe Barım, Tayfun Kahraman, and Osman Kavala separately. Wherever there is an injustice or a struggle for rights in Turkey, the CHP will be there to support it."

Continuing his remarks with the fire tragedy that occurred at the Grand Kartal Hotel in the Bolu Kartalkaya Ski Center, Özel said:

"They said they strengthened the expert witness report with reinforcements, but they did not anticipate that this document would reach us. In this expert report, the responsible parties are the Provincial Directorate of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. They told the expert, 'Remove the Ministry from there.' The experts said, 'No, we cannot remove it.' They covered it up by calling them 'pirates'."

Özel, who appeared with documents in his hand, said, "They did not accept the report, they covered it up by calling it 'pirate'."

Özel continued his words as follows:

"They called the expert report on the Bolu fire tragedy 'pirate'. In the report given by 7 people, 'a period of three days is given'. However, the prepared report is tried to be delivered on the last day. They say, 'Include the municipality, remove the Ministry.' The experts, on the other hand, ask to be relieved of their duties. The expert in Bolu walks with his head held high. We lost 78 of our lives in Bolu. We were in Bolu on the first day. We remind them every week. Those who said 'let it go wherever it leads' all went to the congress together yesterday. They had assigned a task to the expert committee. They called the expert and his report pirate. They did not accept the report. They called it pirate and covered it up. From now on, let these experts be witnesses in court proceedings, let them tell everything, so that you can see what pirate activity is through the Ministry of Justice, and let the Minister of Tourism, whom you are trying to save, see it too."

'FROM WHERE TO WHERE, MR. TAYYİP?'

Continuing his speech with the bad course of the economy, Özel continued with the inflation in basic food products in Ramadan packages. Saying, "Ramadan packages sold for 900 liras last year have risen to 1600 liras. The price of Ramadan pita, which we know will never be applied, was forcibly announced as 20 liras," Özel stated, "A slice of bread is 20 liras. Tayyip says 'From where to where', Ramadan is coming, Mr. Tayyip, from where to where."

Özel continued his words with the holiday bonus to be given to retirees:

"The bonus to be given to retirees during the holiday is still 3 thousand liras. Today, a 3 thousand lira holiday bonus buys one tray. If it is a 2.5-kilo tray, it buys 1.5 trays. Throughout Ramadan, we will continue to calculate both the pita and the baklava that cannot be bought in all 81 provinces, and to explain to what point this government has brought this nation."

RESPONSE TO ERDOĞAN'S 'RAKI CALCULATION': 'WHO ARE YOU?'

"Deaths from fake alcohol are increasing. We proposed a commission, they rejected it. They don't want to hear it for political reasons. 62 liras of a 100-lira drink is tax. He interrupts my words, makes them listen in his own group, and says, 'look, he's doing a rakı calculation.' Rakı is not something to be hidden or ashamed of. It is a shame that all these taxes are ideological. Drinking alcohol is not a crime. You are not in a position to question what anyone eats, drinks, or wears. Who are you! You cannot question people's lifestyle. My suggestion to the MHP group is this; end the 'deputy on hold' practice."

Continuing his speech with the investigation opened into TÜSİAD, Özgür Özel once again attacked Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. Özel said the following:

"Erdoğan says, 'I am an economist.' His favorite is Chief Prosecutor Akın Gürlek. He left no journalist, no politician, no academic, and finally they reached for the stock market. Actually, Mr. Akın is no stranger to the CMB (Capital Markets Board). His esteemed wife is already a senior executive at the Capital Markets Board, on the board of directors. If there is a crime, one goes to the prosecutor's office and files a criminal complaint about that crime. But when the order comes from Mr. Tayyip, he doesn't even have the patience to wait for his wife or his wife's institution. He went and launched an investigation because the stock market fell last Friday, and the chief prosecutor's office also launched an investigation into those who report and spread news about price volatility. We are facing a complete mental breakdown. You are the one who took the TÜSİAD president and manager under police escort the day before, and you are the one who presented that photo to the world while Mehmet Şimşek was making a presentation to find money... The president of TÜSİAD, which is expressed as the unity of bosses in Turkey, the unity of capital, says: 'Do not impose a travel ban. I have exports to 80 countries.' He imposes a travel ban on the man. All his interlocutors in the world, at least those 80 countries, see that the person who exports to them is being detained for criticizing the government in Turkey. Then why is the stock market falling?

Why does the stock market fall? It falls if there is no environment of trust. It falls if there is anxiety. It falls if the belief in the rule of law is shaken. Why does a foreigner leave the stock market? He leaves if he is worried about the environment in Turkey. When does he come? He comes if he believes in Turkey's future. Now they have left all of this aside. They are holding the stock market accountable because the stock market fell. Like a hypertension patient breaking his blood pressure monitor. He eats, drinks, eats salty, eats fatty, and when his blood pressure rises, he breaks the device. Can such a thing happen? That's why they invented a crime called 'false information', and Erdoğan, saying 'I know best', took from the poor and gave to the rich with the experiment he conducted in the economy, and as a result, everything in the country got mixed up. The country is going downhill, the person responsible is not being held accountable, the journalist who reports is in prison. The opposition leader of the opposition party who opposes this is in prison. The mayors of the main opposition party are in prison. Academics who tweet are in prison, trade unionists who express their opinions are in prison. The TÜSİAD president who expressed his discomfort is being interrogated. Then he turns around and tries to hold the falling stock market accountable and take action based on this.

If there is anyone giving false information, it is the one who promised to build 650 thousand houses in one year, built one-third of it in two years, and could not even move one-tenth of those staying in containers to them. Erdoğan had said, 'you will move into your house in one year' to win the election. 90 percent of the earthquake victims are still staying in containers. Those who had the statistical institution that does not upset them announce inflation as 1 percent in December, stole raises from 4 percent salaries, and announced it as 5.5 in January are spreading false information."

SERAP YAZICI WANTED TO JOIN THE CHP

CHP leader Özel said that Serap Yazıcı, who recently resigned from the Future Party and joined the AKP, wanted to join the CHP a few days ago.

Özel explained with these words:

"One of them resigned from her party one day before, 14 hours before. When the news came out that she was going to the AK Party, she tweeted in the afternoon, 'I am resigning out of necessity.' Three or four days before that congress, she came during my visit to her party, sat down, listened to me at the meeting, listened to that party's chairman, she was in the delegation, now she went to the AK Party.

She went to our Antalya deputy. 'Objection to the one-man regime is not enough in my party. I want to join the Republican People's Party.' she said. They came to me with our Antalya deputy. I told her, one, 'Your party has a group. Your resignation might cause your group to fall. Do not be the one who causes the group to fall. We are the party that gives deputies to that group so that the group does not fall.' Two, 'Even if you leave your party, we cannot accept you without a long time passing. Because we are not a party that covets another party's deputy.' Three, 'Even if you resign from that party and express your will to come to us, I have to make a phone call to your party's chairman, inform him of this situation, and talk about this issue,' I said in the presence of witnesses.

This person left us, then afterwards she joined the Justice and Development Party."

News Source: 12punto