I am calling out to Erdoğan from here: Do not say 'I was deceived, I was misled, may my Lord and my nation forgive me'

The fact that numerous mayors, most notably İmamoğlu, as well as Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, are being held in Silivri Prison distinguishes this rally from others.

In addition to İmamoğlu, the fact that the mayors of Esenyurt, Beşiktaş, Beylikdüzü, Şişli, and Beykoz, along with Zafer Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ, are being held at the Marmara Prison in this district adds a symbolic meaning to the rally.

At the rally, which began at 20:30 at Silivri Atatürk Square, there is great anticipation regarding the letter Ekrem İmamoğlu will send to the citizens and the messages to be delivered by CHP Chairman Özgür Özel.

Speaking before the rally, CHP Group Deputy Chairman Ali Mahir Başarır said:

"We are in Silivri! We are where democracy has been suspended, where innocents, from our presidential candidate to artists, are unjustly imprisoned. We will put an end to this captivity with tens of thousands, saying 'Rights, Law, Justice'!"

MESSAGE FROM CAN ATALAY

The message sent by Can Atalay to the "The Nation Stands Up for Its Will" rally was read:

"They try every path to maintain their power, and they do not hesitate to violate every institution and rule. They do not want rivals; they want to rule as they please. The imprisonment of IMM Mayor and CHP Presidential Candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu is for this very reason, but there is no way. The resistance that began on March 19, bringing together all citizens who stand for rights and law, has shown what the National Will is. The citizens want an election immediately, an election right now."

MESSAGE FROM EKREM İMAMOĞLU

Republican People's Party Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik conveyed the letter from the imprisoned Ekrem İmamoğlu:

“We stood by our low-income fellow citizens and our farmers. With major investments and brand-new services, we improved and beautified every aspect of life in Silivri. While we were focused on protecting Silivri's natural and historical values and developing its agricultural and tourism potential, the government was busy filling the Silivri dungeon. One-man regimes that fail in the economy, in execution, and in increasing the welfare of citizens always do this; they strive to suppress the citizens and eliminate their political rivals. Those who cause beautiful Silivri to be associated with a dungeon are those who ignore the will of the nation and want to regulate politics through the judiciary. They are trying to turn the country into a dungeon for everyone who speaks the truth, seeks their rights, and demands freedom and justice. They only have tolerance for an opposition that does not step outside the boundaries they have drawn and will never win an election. This government, which grants no freedom to anyone but itself and has lost its sense of justice, cannot bring peace and tranquility to Turkey. It cannot bring prosperity and happiness.”

“I SET OUT ON THIS PATH READY TO PAY ANY PRICE”

“We set out for a just Turkey where everyone feels free, but no one's freedom harms another. Our path is the path of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who said, ‘Freedom and independence are my character. The basis of freedom, equality, and justice is national sovereignty.’ This is a very honorable and arduous path. I set out on this path ready to pay any price. For years, I have been fighting against all kinds of plots and slanders. I do not fear being investigated or tried, and I do not falter. But there is someone who is terrified even by my being tried without arrest. I ask Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: When you were the Mayor of Istanbul, you were tried on charges similar to those directed at me today, but you were not arrested for even a single day. In the case where you received a prison sentence, you were also tried without arrest. Why do the rules that applied when you were being tried not apply when I am being tried? Are you afraid that if I am tried without arrest, I will be on the streets and in the squares, looking my nation in the eye and telling the truth? Why are you afraid of me being tried without arrest? You cannot deceive anyone by saying, ‘I am not the one making the arrest decision, the judge is.’ This nation knows very well how you try to rule the judiciary and the pressure you exert on the courts. This nation knows very well that you are the real prosecutor of the cases in Silivri.”

“GOVERNMENTS COME AND GO, THE NATION REMAINS”

“My dear friends, my brothers and sisters; a government that has lost its justice is like a building without a foundation; it will surely collapse. We will definitely build a just Turkey where not even one person is in prison unjustly, where even those who have committed the most serious crimes are tried fairly, and where no criminal goes unpunished. We will make justice prevail for everyone, everywhere—not just in courthouses, but on the streets, in the markets, in workplaces, in schools, and in hospitals. We will make justice prevail in income, taxes, opportunities, and possibilities. We will bond more with each other with the peace of living in a free and just country, and we will become a much stronger country together. Trust yourselves. You are the owners of this country. Governments come and go, the nation remains. The nation is great. It is not Silivri that is warmed by the love of the nation, but the palaces frozen by the sighs of the nation that are cold. Stay well. Ekrem İmamoğlu.”

ÖZGÜR ÖZEL: I PROMISE YOU

The highlights from the speech of Republican People's Party Chairman Özgür Özel are as follows:

"I promise you, during Ekrem's presidency, we will turn Silivri into a museum of freedoms and democracy.

In 2008 and 2011, they set up FETÖ plots against the honorable soldiers and journalists of this country. The Prime Minister of that period had declared himself the prosecutor of those cases at the time. Soldiers were imprisoned, and all intellectuals were being silenced. There was a prosecutor named Zekeriya Öz, to whom the Prime Minister of the period gave an armored vehicle and said, 'I am behind him.' That day, one could not even approach that gentleman because of his airs. He was arrogant; he would take whoever he wanted, touch the most untouchable, and discredit them.

"IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SUFFER THE SAME END AS ZEKERİYA ÖZ, BE SMART!"

He was paving the way for Tayyip Erdoğan and cleaning up around him. The day came, and when they tried to crush the nation with the tanks they were given and bomb the Parliament with the planes they took off during the July 15 coup, that powerful Zekeriya Öz was one of the first to flee the country like a rat.

Now, I am clearly calling out to those whom Erdoğan has authorized and who are conducting political operations for him: the processes where you ignore the law, confidentiality, and the presumption of innocence, where you feed your lies to certain websites as if they were true, and where you assassinate people's reputations with certain newspapers, will not be forgotten.

If you do not want to suffer the same end as Zekeriya Öz, be smart, do not stray from the law, and do not be a slanderer! Erdoğan, who stood behind Zekeriya Öz, said 'May my Lord forgive me' when everything came to light.

I am calling out to Erdoğan from here: whatever plots were set up in Ergenekon, Balyoz, and military espionage in those days, the plot set up against Ekrem and our friends today is at least as much of a plot as those. Do not dare to come before us tomorrow and say, 'I was deceived, I was misled. May my Lord and my nation forgive me.' This time, this noble nation will not forgive you; it will hold you accountable for this.

They are trying to punish Boğaziçi University students. They are setting a plot against Boğaziçi. What they are doing is provoking Boğaziçi. They are trying to make it look like the Boğaziçi students are terrorizing the environment, despite Boğaziçi's justified reactions. I am calling out to the valuable people of this country who are watching us from their televisions with a conscience. Look, what is happening at Boğaziçi? It is a shame that neither TRT, nor the mainstream media, nor other channels... Except for a few channels, Sözcü TV, Halk TV, TELE1, and NOW TV, the other channels unfortunately do not explain the essence of the matter.

Beautiful people of Anatolia, AK Party members, clean people who vote for MHP, I am calling out to you. The words of the man named Nurettin Yıldız, whom the university students are objecting to, are these: 'A child can get married before puberty. There can be marriages between children, and adults can also marry minors. For example, a 7-year-old girl can be married to a 25-year-old man.' This is the dishonorable man who says this.

Sir, the Boğaziçi students pushed our police into a 5-meter pit. My brother, there is no such footage. It is a complete lie. Furthermore, if you bring such a dark man and impose him, if there is a scuffle there, if there is pushing and shoving throughout the night, are the bright children of Boğaziçi responsible for these events, or are the dark-minded men who brought this man here responsible? Shame on you.

Now that Erdoğan shamelessly says that an octopus-like criminal organization has emerged that threatens national security, has international ties, and extends its arms into Anatolia. It is the biggest slander I have ever heard. He used to put himself in the place of the prosecutor, now he has put himself in the place of the judge. 55 days ago, he was saying that in a month they wouldn't be able to look each other in the eye. 30, no, 55 days have passed. I look my relatives in the eye, and tomorrow I am with Ekrem. If you have the courage—I trust my friends—broadcast the trial on TRT and let me see!

Everything that Erdoğan claimed, everything that the false witnesses claimed, has come to nothing. They found three pieces of wood called oak, plane, and spruce, and made them slander.

Mehmet Şimşek, no matter where you go in the world, we will not let you go; we will tell the whole world that you are a coup plotter."

News Source: 12punto